The 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 19, 2023

Matthew 25, 14–30

Jesus told his disciples this parable: “A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one— to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. Likewise, the one who received two made another two. But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money.  After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’ His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’ ”

According to St. Matthew, the Lord Jesus told two parables immediately before his graphic account of the Second Coming and the great judgment in which the eternal destiny of each human person who ever lived will be announced (Matthew 25, 31-46).  The first of these is that of the Wise and Foolish Virgins.  The second is that of the Ten Talents.  We learn essential features of the end times from each of these.  Both speak of the unexpected coming of the Master, and both speak of how his subjects may gain reward and avoid punishment.  The first parable particularly emphasizes the desire of the wise virgins to take part in the wedding feast.  The second, the potential for each human person to receive a heavenly reward.

In the parable which is used for today’s Gospel Reading, the Master is going away on a journey and he sets up his servants to carry on his business for him. “To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one— to each according to his ability.”  He knows his servants’s abilities, and he distributes his talents among them according to his expectations in light of this knowledge.  He does not distribute the talents in an equal way because he understands that the three servants do not have the same abilities.  It is noteworthy that he does not give all the talents to the one who is best qualified to handle these talents — the one to whom he gives five.  He would have made more money that way, in the end, but it seems that making money is only a secondary factor here.  What the Master really intends is to give all three of the servants who have handled his money a chance to shine, and to be rewarded for their work.  Thus, the Lord entrusts each person with a calling — a vocation — and the grace necessary to know, and to carry out, his calling.  His purpose for doing so is not to enrich himself, for he is infinitely rich in glory and happiness, but so that he might have cause to grant a share in his riches and joy with us.

What are these vocations, in general?  The Church Father Origen taught that the five talents signified a complete knowledge of God’s law, as the number five was the number of the books of the Pentateuch.  The person who received these was meant to govern in some way.  Learned and able, this one might be a member of the clergy, or a secular authority, or a teacher.  The number two signified the the material and the spiritual aspects of the world, and for Origen this meant that the one who received two talents was meant to build, for instance.  This could be a missionary, or a construction worker.  This person would have practical knowledge and cleverness.  The one talent signified the unity of one, and this meant the spirit.  Origen considered that the person who received the one talent actually received more than the one who received the five because the spiritual person is greater than one who merely governs things and people.  These talents — these vocations — are given to be developed.

When the Master returns, he calls his servants to him in order to learn how they succeeded.  Now, the Lord Jesus knows all things and does not need us to tell him anything.  But he wants us to admit the truth, to take responsibility, for what we have done.  In the present case, the man with the five talents has governed wisely.  He has rejected attempts to enrich himself at the expense of others and the temptation of abusing his authority.  This might be Pope St. Gregory the Great, or St. Catherine of Sweden.  The servant with the two talents has also worked hard, building.  This might be a Catholic wife and mother, Louis Pasteur, or Father Damien of Molokai.  The servant called to the spiritual life might be St. Claire or St. Francis.  But in this case, the servant failed.  He rejected his spiritual calling or failed to make progress in it once he had begun.  As his Master tells him, all he had to do was the most basic thing, accept the vocation and make even the smallest progress, but he did not even do that.  If he had truly applied himself, he could have made many more times the amount the one with the five talents did, and this would have rebounded to the glory of the Master.

Because the servant with the one failed to carry out his vocation, he is cast out into the fearsome darkness.  Had the one with the five not produced, this would have been his lot as well.  How essential is it to know and to carry out our vocations!  And yet this is a terrible problem in our society today.  So many people do not know what to do with themselves.  This applies to people of all ages.  Young people graduate from high school with no ideas or plans and then accrue enormous debt in college and still have no real ideas or plans.  People in the midst of their careers suddenly wonder what it is all for.  Folks who retire early from their government or corporate jobs now face nearly half their lifetimes with no real idea for what to do next.  But this is not hard to figure out.  Understanding our vocations comes down to thinking about how we can serve God and our neighbors, given the talents, abilities, and interests that we have.  In the end, it all comes down to service, to answering the question, How can I help?

May we serve our God with all our hearts so that one day we may hear him say to us, “Come, share your master’s joy.”