Prov. 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31; Ps. 128:1-5; 1 Thes. 5:1-6; Mt. 25:14-30

Today the Lord reminds us that there are different times and seasons in life, just as the song says, “a time to be born and a time to die”.  What happens in between determines our destiny.  The parable of the talents tells us we are living in a time when the Lord has entrusted his “servants” with the treasure of his kingdom. 

In baptism God has already deposited in his servants an investment of wealth waiting to see the return on his investment.  God’s investment of his riches is not an economic, social or political investment, it is a personal investment of himself in a treasure of gifts, talents, graces, and virtues. 

Our treasure chest may include among others the gift of voice to sing praises to the lord or proclaim his word, the talent to build up the kingdom of God in our homes and community, the grace to comfort the sick and attend to the suffering, and the virtue of humility to honor God in our service and mission in life.  We all receive our unique set of treasures in who God created us to be.  All baptized to be rich by our active participation in salvation.  God multiplies the wealth we receive in the faithful servant who works on the soil of his soul. 

This is a time and season to live in fear of the Lord for our salvation.  Blessed are they who fear the Lord.  Fear of the Lord makes us aware of our responsibility to serve God.  Wisdom is given to them as children of the light.  Fear of the Lord comes from receiving the Lord’s revelation of his truth and responding in love of God to his will.  The Lord’s truth recognizes good and evil, mercy and justice, the blessings of obedience and accounting for sin.  Fear of the Lord is a reality check when we realize our own mortality and God’s divinity, there is a God and we are not him. 

In today’s time the world is filled with people who are led to believe they can be their own god.   They can choose what sex they want to be, what child they want to give birth to or terminate, and what day they want to end their life.  These choices come when there is no fear of the Lord.  They are made in freedom but they do not set you free.  The bondage of these choices come from the consequence of mortal sin against the love and the law of God.  The day will come when faced with the truth of God and the understanding of “what have I done” that the soul can turn to God and his mercy and seek forgiveness but we must humble ourselves before God. 

There are a time and season for growing our domestic church at home.  It comes with fear of the Lord which unites a worthy wife to the family, brings prosperity to a man, makes for children of the light.  A worthy wife is the heart of the home in our domestic church who labors for the good of her family.  The church is the worthy spouse of God who labors for the salvation of souls.  The love of a wife is a compass in the mind of a man that brings prosperity to the home and together the children grow in faith, hope, and love.  Together they face life challenges and serve the greater good.  This is the kingdom of God with a call to greater responsibility. 

Now who wants more responsibility, greater commitment, a call to sacrifice?  This is what God is seeking out of his people, to multiply the blessings that come from the call to love and serve the Lord.  When we face a challenge, we can respond with “why me?” versus “why not me!”  Those who say “why me” seek to bury their “talent” that is the graces and gifts of the Spirit, and avoid the call from God.  Those who say “why not me” are not fearful of the world but carry the fear of the Lord and courage to say “yes Lord”.

The parable of the talents is a reminder that the time is coming when the “Master” will come and we will account for his investment in our lives.  Those who are ready to give a good account with be rewarded and hear “Come, share your master’s joy.”  Those who are foolish as the virgins of last week, or as the servant who “dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money” will hear “throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”  Is “Abba” God being mean to his people?  No “Abba” God is giving us a reminder of a reality in time, God’s time is coming when there is no more redo or “next time”, when we already made our choice by the way we lived our life and enter eternity by the choice we made. 

God’s wealth is eternal and his gifts for us are to be multiplied to serve eternity.  One good act of service to God for his people can have eternal blessings.  The blessing we serve in one life can lead that one person to be a blessing to many others many times over.  It is the multiplication of the loaves that keeps feeding everyone with plenty left for future generations to come.  We will never know the good one act of charity can have in the transformation of many until we reach the glorified state and all things are revealed to us.  We also will be faced with the consequence and harm each act of sin continued to impact the life of others. 

The parable emphasizes the great value that God is entrusting to us in our life. We are blessed!  A blessing is the power of God and we are to exercise the power of God in our lives.  From our baptism we are given the gifts of the Spirit and the power to reject sin, to make holy, and to bring others into his kingdom.  When we were born, God gives us the gift of ourselves with a free will with his desire that our lives be lived as the gift of ourselves to him.  Let us live the fear of the Lord without fear in giving of ourselves for his greater glory.

This is the time and the season to respond to the Lord.  We are the treasure chest in which God makes his deposit of wealth to be invested into his kingdom.  The time to sow is now that the harvest may be rich in due season.