INVESTING THE GIFTS OF FAITH

November 17, Wednesday

Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

      We hear the inspiring story of the mother and her seven sons who with great courage preferred to die for their faith rather than to sin against the Law.

      Faith, the Gospel and the life of Christ are rich gifts which we have received to work with, to produce with, to do business with, as the Gospel says. We cannot just take our faith for granted. We are stewards of the goods of the kingdom; a good steward does not only keep what the master gives him or her, but invests it to produce more. One who has will be given more. This is Luke’s presentation of the parable of the talents. How productive is our faith?

 

First Reading: 2 Maccabees 7:1,20-31

Another historical item; another story from the past.

What about the mother? She was a remarkable woman, worthwhile remembering in this account. As her sons were perishing right before her eyes, she kept her cool, for she had hope in the Lord. one by one she encouraged them in Hebrew, although Antiochus understood only Greek. She gave a woman’s tender voice to her sons’ rock-hard courage with these words of wisdom.

“I don’t know how you all appeared in my womb; I wasn’t the one who gave you life and breath, and I didn’t give you shape and form. The Creator

of the world did that. He’s the one who made the first human and every- thing else in the universe; he’s the one who’ll restore all of you, body and soul, because you loved him more than your lives.”

Antiochus suspected insult in her words, so he tried a different tack with the youngest of the seven, a boy just reaching puberty, by trying to win him over. The king was a smooth talker, and he sent a barrage of promises the young man’s way and confirmed them with an oath. He said he could make the youngster a rich and happy man. All he had to do was abandon his ancestral ways, and was that so bad? over and above that, he promised to give him the prestigious Friend-of-the-King medal, with the assurance of a political career when he grew up.

The boy wasn’t impressed. The king turned toward the mother and said, “Listen, if you want to save his life, tell him to give in.” She pretended not to hear the king at first, but when he yelled at her, she said she’d give it a try.

She turned to her youngest son and once again in her own language, Hebrew not Greek, told him the opposite of what the king had suggested. “Son, have pity on me. I carried you in my womb for nine months. I breast-fed you for three years; I’ve nourished you and brought you to the present age. I’m your maid, your servant, your mother. So I beg you to raise your gaze from the earth to the heavens, taking in everything you see. God made them all out of nothing, including humankind. So what about this king? No need to fear him; he’s just a butcher. I want you to be worthy of your brothers and join them in their death. As for me, I look forward to seeing you all in the time of divine mercy to come.”

 

Gospel: Luke 19:11-28

While he had their attention, and because they were getting close to Jerusalem by this time and expectation was building that God’s kingdom would appear any minute, he told this story:

“There was once a man descended from a royal house who needed to make a long trip back to headquarters to get authorization for his rule and then return. But first he called ten servants together, gave them each a sum of money, and instructed them, ‘Operate with this until I return.’

“But the citizens there hated him. So they sent a commission with a signed petition to oppose his rule: ‘We don’t want this man to rule us.’

“When he came back bringing the authorization of his rule, he called those ten servants to whom he had given the money to find out how they had done.

“The first said, ‘Master, I doubled your money.’

“He said, ‘Good servant! Great work! Because you’ve been trustworthy in this small job, I’m making you governor of ten towns.’

“The second said, ‘Master, I made a fifty percent profit on your money.’

“He said, ‘I’m putting you in charge of five towns.’

“The next servant said, ‘Master, here’s your money safe and sound. I kept it hidden in the cellar. To tell you the truth, I was a little afraid. I know you have high standards and hate sloppiness, and don’t suffer fools gladly.’

“He said, ‘You’re right that I don’t suffer fools gladly—and you’ve acted the fool! Why didn’t you at least invest the money in securities so I would have gotten a little interest on it?’

“Then he said to those standing there, ‘Take the money from him and give it to the servant who doubled my stake.’

“They said, ‘But Master, he already has double . . .’

“He said, ‘That’s what I mean: Risk your life and get more than you ever dreamed of. Play it safe and end up holding the bag.

“‘As for these enemies of mine who petitioned against my rule, clear them out of here. I don’t want to see their faces around here again.’”

After saying these things, Jesus headed straight up to Jerusalem.

 

Prayer

Good and loving Father,
you have made us rich in many ways,
our faith, the good news of the Gospel,
your Son Jesus Christ, above all,
with his life and his Spirit,
and the people around us.
Help us grow in this faith and this love,
teach us to invest ourselves
in your kingdom of goodness and hope,
that we may be worthy of your trust,
by the power of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

 

Reflection:

Invest your riches wisely

Jesus and his disciples are nearing Jerusalem. The disciples had a feeling that the reign of God was about to appear. As the beginning of the Acts of Apostles reveals, they “were hoping” that Jesus was about to restore the political kingdom of Israel. But the Kingdom of Jesus was not at all in the way they expected.

Jesus uses a popular story of those days about Herod the king to speak about the Kingdom that he was going to establish. The parable of the noble man going to a distant land to get appointed as the king is perhaps the story of Herod Archelaus who had gone to the emperor in Rome, seeking to be declared the king of Judaea and Samaria. His two brothers as well as a delegation of key people from both Judea and Samaria opposed his move. When Jesus spoke this parable, his audience could immediately associate the story with the incidents of the past that they knew well.

Archelaus, the son of Herod the Great, had gone to Rome in the year 4 BC to get himself appointed king. On his return, he succeeded his father. Similarly, Jesus is soon to depart and in the future will return as king. During his absence, his servants are entrusted with their master’s affairs.

In the parable, the king, before leaving, gives ten units of money to each of ten servants and tells them to invest the money until his return. Luke’s narrative differs from that of the Matthew. In Luke, all the tenants are given equal amount to do business with. A major difference is that there are people who despised this man and did not want him as their king.

In the same way, Jesus was soon to go away and return some day as King and Judge. While he is ‘away’, his ‘servants’ will be entrusted to take care of their Master’s affairs. But many will reject him completely.

Today we are asked to reflect on the special gifts that God has given to each one of us and how are we using them – investing them? When we invest our riches – talents in love of God and neighbour, we multiply our riches. Where do we invest our gifts, our talents both inborn and acquired?
The message is clear: the more we invest, the more we will gain. We cannot stand still or just cling to what we have. The only way to gain is to let go, to give and to share.
It is not collecting but sharing that generates wealth, the wealth that really matters – freedom, security and peace.

 

Video available on Youtube: Invest your riches wisely