ARE WE LAZY SERVANTS?

XXXIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 25:14-30

Reading the conclusion of this Sunday’s gospel, we may get the idea that Jesus approved of capitalism. Jesus said: 

“For to everyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (Mt 25:29).

Indeed, capital brings more capital, thriving in profit and increasing one’s wealth. The ones who have little easily loose the little they have, which is taken over by the one who is already rich enough. In this way, the rich become richer and the poor poorer, so that the gap between the rich and the poor becomes wider. This is a social and economic reality that find in our everyday lives, and it is not surprising that some use Jesus’ words to justify the capitalism. 

We should not misunderstand Jesus since he was not speaking about wealth; in fact, he refused to deal with issues of money (see Lk 12:13) and was very critical of those who make capital the god they worship (Lk 16:13). The parable of the talents read in this Sunday’s gospel is about the Kingdom of God and about the attitudes required to be admitted into it.

The parable speaks about a man who went on a journey and entrusted a great amount of money to three of his servants, and each one was entrusted with different responsibilities “in proportion to his ability.” (Mt 25:15). The parable helps us to understand that we are different, because of our different abilities, our different backgrounds and the different circumstances we live in. Being different, the expectations and the demands on the performance of each one of us are different as well. In spite of this difference, each one was expected to give the best of himself in commitment and in hard work. The results can be different, but they will not be the proof that one is better than the other. What is important to God, to the others and to themselves is that each must be true to himself, working wholeheartedly. All of them had to account for what they did with the talents received. Indeed, all of us are accountable for whatever we do. Life is to be taken seriously and faith implies commitment. We should never take God for granted.

Out of the three men in the parable, one was condemned as lazy and punished with exclusion from the welfare granted to the others. What was wrong with him? Out of fear, he did nothing. Knowing that his master was very demanding, he decided to hide the treasure entrusted to him, burying it and keeping it intact in order to return it to his master. He was condemned for his lack of vision and initiative. He was not prepared for adventure and he would not take risks. In the end, fear was just an excuse for his laziness.

Like the other two servants, we must be ready to use whatever the Lord has given us to invest and bring development to ourselves and the others.