Homily – Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Talents were a measurement of weight in biblical times mostly used to weigh gold or silver as a method for accounting for money.  Back in the day, ancient Rome used a standard silver coin called a denarius which was worth a day’s wages, while a single talent was equivalent to 6,000 denarii representing many years’ worth of wages.  Thus, receiving just one talent meant it was a huge gift!  Over time, the English term for talent moved away from this measurement or accounting of money to our understanding today as a gift or natural ability.

This weekend’s parable continues to build on November’s liturgical theme of eschatology.  Last week’s parable of the ten bridesmaids conveys the message to remain alert and ready for the Christ’s return, while the parable of the talents alerts us to make use of our time and gifts during our time on earth.  Within the parable Jesus tells of three servants given different amounts of talents. The first received five talents, the second two talents and the last was given one talent.  The first two servants were rewarded for their astuteness and savviness for increasing their amount of talents, however, the third servant was reprimanded for hiding his share and failing to produce more.

The parable highlights the uniqueness of each individual person possessing their own unique gifts.  Not everyone possesses the same gifts and some are blessed with more, but God does expect us to make use of our own gifts to the best of our ability.

The third servant failed primarily because of his fear and laziness – hiding his talents and burying them elsewhere.  The same could also be said of us.  We have gifts but for whatever reason, out of fear or laziness, we might not want to use them.  Looking at the beginning of the parable we know the master entrusted talents to his servants.  God also trusts us with the gifts we possess.  He knows more about us than we do, and he understands the extent of our ability and capacity to use our gifts.

Practically speaking it is easy to undermine our own gifts due to comparison.  We like to compare and highlight gifts in others, sometimes at the expense of our own.  While we can appreciate others for their gifts, we shouldn’t hide or ignore our own.  God has graced us with our gifts and he trusts us to use them in proportion to our own ability.  It’s his imperative for us to discover and make use of them.

Part of the Christian life is self-discovery of our own gifts and utilising them according to our ability for the glory of God.  This weekend’s parable asks us to reflect on our own gifts.  In discovering these gifts, how then can we use this for the glory of God?

By Fr Ian Vergel