MARY MOTHER OF GOD

Num. 6:22-7; Gal. 4:4-7; Lk. 2:16-21

Welcome to today's celebration of the Feast of Mary. This Feast of "Mary, Mother of God" is very appropriate to start a new year. This celebration echoes that the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is the Mother of God, is also our Heavenly Mother.

We base our faith in this dogma on the words of Elizabeth who was the cousin of Mary. When the Blessed Virgin Mary visited Elizabeth after the angel had appeared to her and told her that she would be the mother of Jesus, Elizabeth said, "And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?" [Lk. 1:43] Through Elizabeth who was full of the Holy Spirit, it was acclaimed that Mary had been chosen to be the Mother of God.

In the fourth century, a priest named Arius claimed that Jesus as the Son of God was created by God. This would mean that Jesus was an amazing creature, but not God, so it was a denial of his divinity. The idea took hold, and Arianism became popular in the Eastern and Western Roman empire. 

Opponents such as St. Athanasius, who was exiled multiple times for his belief, said that would be a return to polytheism, since Jesus in the Arianist view was not God, but was still worshipped alongside God the Father.

In 431 A.D. the Council of Ephesus affirmed that Mary was truly the Mother of God because "according to the flesh" she gave birth to Jesus, who was truly God from the first moment of His conception. Twenty years later, in 451 A.D. at the Council of Chalcedon, it was affirmed that the Motherhood of Mary was a truthful dogma and an official doctrine of the Holy Catholic Church. The Feast of the Mother of God affirms that Mary was the mother of Jesus who was both God and human. The Holy Scriptures teaches us through the Gospel of John that Jesus was both God and human. "The Word became flesh and lived among us." [Jn. 1:14]

Mary chose to be the mother of God, with her unconditional faith, submission and hope. When the Angel announced the news that she had been chosen to be the mother of God, her response was: “Behold, I am the hand maid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word."

She was well aware of the consequences of being found with a baby before marriage. She had witnessed the punishment given for infidelity. Still when the word of God made demands on her she did not think about the worries that "tomorrow" might bring. This is a great lesson for us. We, often, live in the worries of the future. Our life is engulfed by the regrets of the past and the unknown worries of the future. After all today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday.  As we are setting foot to the New Year, our mother stands beside us, encouraging us to be optimistic in life.

In today's Gospel Mary teaches us one of the most important virtues of all: wisdom. St Luke tells us how Mary responded to the wonderful things that God was doing in and around her: "Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart."

Just as Mary's womb was open to receiving God's living Word at the moment of Christ's Incarnation, so her heart was constantly open to receiving God’s ongoing words and messages as He continued to speak through the events of her life. This capacity and habit of reflecting in our heart on God's action in our lives is both a sign and a source of wisdom. And we can never become mature, courageous, and joyful followers of Christ unless we develop it.

Mary was Jesus’ mother in the flesh, and she is our mother in grace. And just as we learn from our natural mothers how to be good human beings, so we learn from Mary how to become mature Christians. She is the living school where we learn every virtue that leads to happiness and holiness. Inspired by Mary’s example let’s strive to begin this new year as a year of a more profound love for Christ; in that way, it will indeed be a happy new year.

The year 2020 has not been without its challenges and its trials and yet in so many ways we can find the hand of God at work within each of us and within His Church.  There can be no growth without some growing pains, without some struggle, without some change. Even in dark days, our God never deserts us. He is present with his people. And he has unseen purposes that he is fulfilling through all this.

And now we look forward to a new year – another gift of our loving God – and we pray that it will be a fruitful year, a life-giving year, a grace-filled year!  We pray that it will bring us closer to our God and to each other as we work together for His glory by deepening our discipleship.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God and our Mother, wrap us safely in her mantle and bring us closer to her Son.

 

CHRISTMAS 2020.

 

We have four sets of readings for different Masses for Christmas, but I chose to preach on just one of them. This homily may sound a bit theological but it is important to know who Jesus is and how his nature is before we can understand Jesus and the Bible.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. (Christmas day mass reading). How did the Word become flesh and what are the implications involved?

Unlike in the Hindu incarnations where the supreme God incarnated as fish or tortoise, in the Christian revelation God incarnated only once and that too in human form because only humans can sin. The Word became flesh because he came to save us from our sins and not for any other purpose. Since God is immortal and cannot suffer or die, he became human.

Jesus is technically human but not a human being, that would be like saying he is a human person. He is a divine being with two complete and unconfused natures. In him they are two natures in a perfect inseparable union called in theological term, hypostatic union.

The Old testament prophecies represented the coming Saviour as sometimes divine and sometimes human.

(Messiah as God himself) He was the Branch “of the Lord” (Is 4:2). He was the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the “Prince of Peace” (Is. 9:6). The one who was to come forth out of Bethlehem and be the ruler in Israel, was one whose goings forth had been from the days of eternity (Mic 5:2). It was none other than Yahweh Himself who was to come suddenly to the temple (Mal 3:1). (The annunciation account says his kingdom shall never end… Is there any king whose kingdom never ends? Every king dies and so his kingdom also ends. But Jesus’ kingdom will never end? It means he will live forever).

Yet on the other hand, he was the woman’s offspring (Gen 3:15); a prophet like unto Moses (Dt. 18:18); a descendent of David (2 Sam 7:12-13); (the genealogy clearly shows his ancestry). He was Yahweh’s “servant” (Is 42:1); He was “the man of sorrows” (Is 53:3).

And in the New Testament we see these two different sets of prophecies harmonized. The One born at Bethlehem was the divine Word. The Incarnation does not mean that God was merely manifested Himself as a man (as in Vishnu’s incarnation). The word became flesh; he became what he was not before, though he never ceased to be all he was previously. “Though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance (Phil. 2:6-7). The babe of Bethlehem was Immanuel- God with us.

He was more than a manifestation of God; He was God manifest in the flesh. He was both Son of God and Son of Man; not two separate personalities, but one person possessing two natures, the divine and human.

If Jesus was two persons one totally different from the other Mary could not be called the Mother of God.

In His divinity, He is of the same nature of the Father. In His humanity, He’s of the same nature as us. It’s in this way that He is able to serve as a bridge between God and man.

The sacrifice of Jesus had infinite merits, because he was a divine person. He suffered in his human nature; (divine nature could not suffer or die) The merits of his suffering is of the divine person. He had human nature but he was not human person.

 

When we think about Jesus, we think of him primarily as God. From this perspective, we will not be able to understand anything that happened in the real life of Jesus. This prejudice distorts everything that the gospel narrates. Luke says that Jesus grew in stature, in knowledge, and in grace before God and men. (God cannot grow).

Jesus displayed his human life like any other human being. As a man, he had to learn and mature little by little, making use of all the resources he found in his path.  If we do not understand that Jesus was fully man, we do not accept the incarnation.

 Jesus has a true human soul. Christ’s human soul is created, but (like His Body) His soul is united to Him from the first moment of its existence, not pre-existing like his divine nature.

If Christ didn’t have a human soul, He wasn’t fully human.  If Christ didn’t assume a human soul, He didn’t redeem human souls. The whole point of the Incarnation is to unite humanity with divinity so that humanity can be saved. If Christ didn’t have a human soul, He couldn’t suffer or die.  It’s also due to His human soul that Christ weeps for the death of His friend Lazarus, etc.

 Jesus has two wills is clear from his prayer: Father take this cup away from me but not my will but your will be done. Again, he says: I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father who sent me." (John 5:30). So Jesus had his human will and also his divine will which he shared with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

God became man on Christmas Night 2000 years ago because he wanted to correct our mistaken ideas about what he's like. He wants us to have the right idea about him, so that we can live in a right relationship with him. If we have wrong idea about God we would not be able to relate with him in the right way. Jesus was the only one who told us God is our Father. The Jews hesitated to call God their Father.

Baby Jesus smiling helplessly at his mother Mary is the true God, a God who comes to meet us right where we're at. He wants to give forgiveness, hope and meaning to everyone around us who is suffering and searching, but he refuses to do it alone. He entrusts us with the task of bringing him into the world. Not because we're so great, but because he is so great that he lets us share his all-important, everlasting mission.

He is glad that we are here today to celebrate his birthday, and he is hoping that we will give him the only present he really wants: our renewed commitment to spread the Good News of salvation to everyone around us - a commitment that we fulfill in our everyday activities, through our way of life, words, and works. May the infant Jesus take birth in our hearts so that we can share him generously with others.

 

 

ADVENT III (Is 61:1-2a, 10-11; I Thes 5:16-24; Jn 1:6-8, 19-28)

The third Sunday of Advent has been "Gaudete (rejoice) Sunday" ever since the time of Pope St. Gregory the Great, in the sixth century. It's the reason for the rose-colored vestments and Advent candle. One thing that can inhibit our experience of Christian joy is wrong expectations. The joy that comes from Christ goes deeper than passing emotions. It is a joy that comes from knowing that Christ is always with us, guiding us, and loving us, even amidst life's trials.

When John the Baptist began his ministry, a deputation came to interview him. The deputation was composed of two kinds of people - priests and the Levites. Their interest was natural. The priests wanted to know that John was the son of a priest, therefore, why he was behaving in such an unusual manner. Second, there were emissaries of the Sanhedrin. John was a preacher to whom the people were flocking in hordes. The Sanhedrin may well have felt it their duty to check up on this man in case he was a false prophet.

They asked him three questions: Firstly, they asked him if he was the Messiah. Then they asked him if he was Elijah. Then they asked him if he was the expected and promised prophet. When they found that John’s answer was ”no”, they asked him the most difficult question: “Who are you?”

We seldom know what gifts we are endowed with. We will have to learn where we belong, what we have to learn to get the full benefit from our strengths, where our weaknesses lie, what our values are. So, it is fundamental to know oneself. Where do we come from? Where are we going? What is the objective of existence? Why do we live? What do we live for?

 The replies that John gave to the deputation that came to interview him shows that he was a man who knew himself. Therefore, he was profoundly humble. He pointed to Jesus and declared: “I am not fit to undo his sandal strap.”  Undoing the straps of someone’s sandal was the work of slaves towards their masters.  At the sight of Jesus John realized not just his littleness, but his nothingness.

John was different from us all who try at all times to appear more than what we are. So, the season of Advent invites us to reflect on the following three questions:

 ·         What do I think of myself…?

·         What do people think that I am…?

·         What does God think about me…..?

Only when we know who we are can we, like St.John, point others to Christ. Otherwise we will point others to ourselves and our achievements.  The Jewish leaders’ own preconceived notions impeded their acceptance of God's word spoken through John. They heard the prophecy, but it didn't help them at all. They tried to fit God inside the box of their own preferences and prejudices, and God was not their highest priority.

Having the right expectations in our relationship with God means always keeping the door of our hearts open to his grace, always being ready to do whatever he asks, even when it's difficult or uncomfortable. Here at the midpoint of Advent, we can examine our expectations for this coming celebration of Christmas. On a simple, human level, we are expecting to receive some Christmas presents. But all of those gifts are just symbols of God's great, everlasting gift of grace, of friendship with Jesus Christ. God wants to give us a new outpouring of that grace this Christmas. But unless we have the right expectations, we will not be ready to receive it. That means three things.

First, it means we have to avoid the trap of the Pharisees. We must not think that we know it all already; that we already understand how God works; or that we are beyond a true, transforming encounter with the living God.

Second, it means that we have to spend quality time in prayer during the next ten days. We have to "fix our thoughts on Jesus" (Hb 3:1). This will tune our souls to God's wavelength, so that we can hear his voice when Christmas comes.

Third, having the right expectations means spending time before Christmas reaching out to others in need. Whether the need is material, spiritual, or emotional, the best to way to "make straight the way of the Lord," as St. John the Baptist did in preparation for the first Christmas, is to give others an experience of God's goodness. By reaching out to others, we clear the runway of our hearts for the arrival of God's grace to us.

In a few moments, Jesus will renew his commitment to us through the sacrifice of this Mass. When he does, let's stir up our desire to know him better, and to receive whatever grace he wants to give us this Christmas.

 

 

DECEMBER 8 in 2020: Feast of the Immaculate Conception of BVM

(Gn 3:9-15, 20; Eph 1:3-6, 11-12; Lk 1:26-38)

Today, Holy Mother Church commemorates and celebrates the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. This feast celebrates the Church’s dogmatic teaching that the Blessed Mother was given the gift from God of being conceived without original sin. That is to say, that from the moment of her conception, Mary was given the grace not only of freedom from original sin, but of being the only human being other than her Divine Son who lived a life without sin. The Church teaches that the Blessed Mother was given this very special Grace of liberation from the effects of sin in part because she would be the Mother of God, she would bear the second person of the Blessed Trinity in her womb for nine months. As any scholar of the Old Testament could tell us, God could not dwell in the presence of sin.

Even though the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was infallibly defined in 1854 by Blessed Pope Pius IX, the Immaculate Conception is something that has been believed as a matter of reality in our faith for many centuries. We see evidence of the reality of the doctrine that Mary was conceived without sin when the angel Gabriel greeted her to announce to her that Christ was going to be born and that she was going to give birth to him.

In the year 1846, the Bishops of the United States unanimously chose Our Lady as the patroness of the United States under the title of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. This was done some years before the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary was infallibly defined.

 

Fulton J Sheen said why Mary is made so faultless in her birth is because Jesus, her son wanted her to be so. Sheen says: Just suppose that you could have pre-existed your own mother, in much the same way that an artist pre-exists his painting. Furthermore, suppose that you had the infinite power to make your mother anything that you pleased, just as a great artist like Raphael has the power of realizing his artistic ideas. Suppose you had this double power, what kind of mother would you have made for yourself? Would you not have made her, so far as human beauty goes, the most beautiful woman in the world; and so far as beauty of the soul goes, one who would radiate every virtue, every manner of kindness and charity and loveliness; one who by the purity of her life and her mind and her heart would be an inspiration not only to you but even to your fellow men, so that all would look up to her as the very incarnation of what is best in motherhood? Do you think that our Blessed Lord, who not only pre-existed His own mother but Who had an infinite power to make her just what He chose, would in virtue of all the infinite delicacy of His spirit make her any less pure and loving and beautiful than you would have made your own mother?

 

What mattered most for Mary was God's action in her life, and the same thing matters most for us. The Immaculate Conception was God's way of giving Jesus a worthy mother on earth, and of giving us a worthy mother in heaven.

We should thank him for this great gift, and the best way to do that is to follow in our mother's footsteps, answering every call that God sends to our hearts and consciences in the same way that Mary answered her call, by saying: "May it be done to me according to your word."   God invites each one of us to continue Mary’s “Yes” by welcoming Jesus and making room for him in our lives.

 

God gave her this special privilege because he had assigned her a special mission - to be the mother of Christ and the mother of the Church.

We have not been given that same privilege, because we don't have that same mission. But we have been given a mission, each one of us is called to know, love, and follow Christ in a completely unique way. And so we have also received God's grace, and we continue to receive it. If Mary was "full of grace," we are "being filled with grace." The more aware we are of this grace, the better we can collaborate with it, and being aware of it means knowing what it looks like.

 

As we honor our spiritual Mother and receive the Holy Sacrament in this Mass, let's ask her to increase our faith, so that we can be, like her, more and more filled with God's grace.

 

 

 

ADVENT II [B]: (Is 40:1-5, 9-11; 2 Pt 3:8-14; Mk 1:1-8)

 

All three readings focus on the absolute necessity of our readying ourselves by repentance and reparation for Christ’s coming.  John the Baptist always plays a big role in Advent. He was the last and greatest of a long line of Old Testament prophets. God sent those prophets to prepare Israel for the arrival of the Messiah, the anointed Savior and Redeemer of the world. Isaiah's prophecy in today's First Reading was made more than 700 years before John the Baptist's prophecy, but their substance is very much the same: God has not forgotten his people, and in spite of their sufferings, sins, and failings, he will come and save them, shepherding them to happiness beyond what they can imagine.

As the first New Testament prophet, John the Baptist has three valuable lessons to teach us about how to be a prophet. First, John invited the people of his time to repent from their sins, so that they would be ready to welcome Jesus, the Savior. We too are called to invite others to leave behind the sinful patterns of life that our society encourages, so that God's grace can come into their lives. If we really care about other people, we will do our best to warn them against sin.

 

Second, He called for repentance, for people to turn away from their sins, but he also turned people's  attention towards something - the greatness, the beauty, and the transforming power of Christ: "One mightier than I is coming after me... He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." We too are called to turn people's attention to Christ, so that they can discover his love, goodness, and transforming power.

 

Third, Perhaps the most remarkable thing about St John the Baptist was that so many people actually listened to him. Why was that? Because how he lived was consistent with what he said. John’s ministry was effective primarily because his life was his message:  he lived what he preached. He was a man from the desert. In its solitude, he had heard the voice of God, and, hence, he had the courage of his convictions. His camel’s hair garment and leather belt resembled those of Elijah and other great prophets of Israel. His food, too, was very simple:  wild locusts and honey. The Israelites had not had a prophet for four hundred years, and the people were waiting expectantly for one. John’s message was effective also because he was completely humble.   His role was to serve Jesus and to serve the people. “He must increase, I must decrease,” he says elsewhere (Jn 3:30). He frankly admitted that he was the Messiah’s humble and obedient messenger, preparing a straight way for the Messiah in the hearts and lives of the Jews.

 

Everyone who knew John and heard him speak could see immediately that he was not living a self-centered life, and that opened their hearts. We too, as New Testament prophets, are called to live in such a way that the best argument supporting our words about Christ will be that we are living like Christ. This is the real power behind all the saints. As New Testament prophets, we must use words to invite repentance and to tell about God's goodness and Christ's truth, but our best argument will always be Christ-like lives.

According to the prophet Isaiah, there are two things we can do to get ready to receive those blessings: to fill in every valley and to make low every mountain.

The valleys stand for our sins of omission, the things we should be doing but aren't. For example, if we aren't spending quality time with our family, we need to fill in that valley. If we aren't spending at least a few minutes each day in prayer with God, we need to fill in that valley.

John’s message demands from us too, to level the mountains of ego and the selfish and sinful habits that we have built up; the sins of commission. If we like to gossip and spread criticism, we need to tear that mountain down. If we are leading a double life, indulging in hidden sins or lies that are poisoning our souls, we need to lay low that mountain.

If we are arrogantly treating our colleagues, teammates, or family members like lower class people, we need to get rid of that mountain. The mountains and valleys inhibit God's grace from traveling into our hearts; they are roadblocks that keep out God’s mercy, peace, and wisdom. Advent is the season to smooth out and clear up the roads to our hearts.

 

It was their stubborn pride and self-centeredness, which blinded the eyes of the Jews and kept them from recognizing Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah. The same stubborn pride, the same exaggerated sense of our own dignity, blinds the intellects of many of us today who not only fail to accept Christ and his good tidings, but also prevent others from accepting him.

Every Christian is called to be another John the Baptist, and that's why the Church always holds his example up for our consideration during Advent. Today Jesus will come onto the altar here in this church as truly as he came into the manger at Bethlehem. When he does, let's thank him for not forgetting about us, and let's promise him that this Advent we will do our best to fulfill our Advent mission, by striving to follow the example of St John the Baptist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHRIST THE KING: Ez 34:11-12, 15-17; I Cor 15:20-26, 28; Mt 25:31-46

Polycarp, the second century bishop of Smyrna, was arrested and brought before the Roman authorities. He was told if he cursed Christ, he would be released. He replied, “Eighty-six years have I served Him, and He has done me no wrong; how then can I blaspheme my King, Jesus Christ Who saved me?” The Roman officer replied, “Unless you change your mind, I will have you burnt.” But Polycarp said, “You threaten a fire that burns for an hour, and after a while is quenched; for you are ignorant of the judgment to come and of everlasting punishment reserved for the ungodly. Do what you wish.”

 

Jesus makes an unambiguous claim to universal authority. He doesn't say he is one wise man among many, one philosopher among many, or one prophet among many. He tells us that all the nations of the world will come before him to be judged; all the angels of heaven make up his royal court; he holds in his hands the eternal destiny of every man and woman of all time.

 According to Islamic teaching, one of Allah’s names include the title “the Just Judge”. The Quran itself testifies that there is no other judge besides Allah, and also proclaims that judgment belongs entirely and solely to Allah. However, Muhammad told his followers that Jesus would return from heaven to reign on the earth as a just ruler and fair judge. It is written: “One of the signs of the last Hour will be the appearance of `Isa son of Maryam before the Day of Resurrection.” 

Though Muslims do not accept Jesus as the son of God he is accepted as the final judge, which is really absurd. It is interesting to note that, neither Muhammad, nor any other prophet will come as the final judge but Jesus who will come to judge. Jesus did not die on the cross according to Islam but God took him up into heaven. Why would God do this to Jesus and send him a second time to act as the judge, a prerogative attributed only to Allah? Wonder why wouldn’t any Muslim of common sense question this to himself.

 

In most of the Messianic prophecies given in the Old Testament books of Samuel, Micah, Isaiah and Jeremiah, Christ the Messiah is represented as a King.  Seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus, the Prophet Micah announced His coming as King. “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrata, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days” (Micah 5:1).  Daniel presents “One coming like a son of man … to him was given dominion and Glory and Kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.  His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away and his Kingship is one that shall never be destroyed” (Daniel 7:3-14).

The Kingdom of God is the central teaching of Jesus throughout the Gospels. The word Kingdom appears more than any other word throughout the four Gospels. Jesus begins His public ministry by preaching the Kingdom. “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mk 1:14).

The New Testament tells us that Jesus is the long-awaited King of the Jews.  In the account of the Annunciation, (Lk1:32-33), we read: “The Lord God will make him a King, as his ancestor David was, and he will be the King of the descendants of Jacob forever and his Kingdom will never end.”  The Magi from the Far East came to Jerusalem and asked the question: (Mt 2:2) “Where is the baby born to be the King of the Jews?  (When Pilate asked the question: (Jn 18:33) “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus, in the course of their conversation, made his assertion, “You say that I am a King.  For this was I born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the Truth. Everyone who belongs to the Truth listens to My Voice” (John 18:37). 

One of the reasons we celebrate this great Solemnity of Christ the King at the end of the liturgical year is to remind us that Jesus Christ is the end of our lives. He is our salvation and he is the Lord of Lords; he alone is the Holy One and the Most High, as we just proclaimed in the Gloria. 

Jesus Christ still lives as King in thousands of human hearts all over the world.  The cross is his throne and the Sermon on the Mount is his rule of law.  His citizens need obey only one law: “Love others as I have loved you” (John 15:12).  His love is selfless, sacrificial, kind, compassionate, forgiving, and unconditional.  That is why the Preface in today’s Mass describes Jesus’ Kingdom as “a Kingdom of truth and life, a Kingdom of holiness and grace, a Kingdom of justice, love, and peace.”  He is a King with a saving and liberating mission: to free mankind from all types of bondage, so that we may live peacefully and happily on earth and inherit Eternal Life in Heaven. 

 

Today especially, before we receive our Lord in Holy Communion, let us put more meaning than usual into the words that sum up every Christian's fundamental mission and deepest desire:

Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.

 

 

OT 33 [A] Prv 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31; I Thes 5:1-6; Mt 25:14-30

Back in the 1940’s Clarence Jordon founded a farm in Americus, Georgia, and called it Koinonia [Christian Fellowship, Communion with God and with Fellow-Christians] Farm. Koinonia was a community of poor whites and blacks who cooperated in earning a living. The integrated status of this community bothered many local citizens. They tried everything possible to wreck Koinonia. They boycotted its farm products, and slashed the workers’ tires when they came to town. Finally, in 1954, the Ku Klux Klan decided to get rid of Koinonia Farms. One night they came and burned every building except Dr. Jordon’s home. They chased off all of the families except for the Jordons and one black family. The next day a local newspaper reporter came to the farm to see what remained. The rubble was still smoldering. But Clarence Jordon was busy planting and hoeing. With a haughty spirit, the reporter said to Dr. Jordon, “Well, you got two of those Ph.D. s and you’ve put fourteen years into this farm, and there’s nothing left to show for it. Just how successful do you think you’ve been?” Clarence stopped hoeing, turned toward the reporter with his penetrating eyes, and said quietly but firmly, “Sir, I don’t think you understand us Christians. What we are about is not success; what we are about is faithfulness.” In order to be faithful, we must be willing to take risks for that One who dared to march into the very jaws of Hell for us.

 

The main theme of the three readings is an invitation to live in such a way that we make the best use of the talents God has given us, so that at the hour of our death Our Lord will say: “Well done, my good and faithful servant! Come and share the joy of your master” Matthew 25:21). 

 

This parable has a number of messages for us. First of all it tells us that God gives man differing gifts. One man received five talents, another two, and another one. It is not a man’s talent which matters; what matters is how he uses it.  God never demands from a man ability which he has not got.

The parable expresses that men are not equal in talent; but men can be equal in effort. It is quite remarkable that the man simply entrusted the talents to the servants. He did not tell them what to do with them. Neither did he tell them that he would demand them back on his return. The servants drew conclusions for themselves. Two of them decided to take risk and put them to use. While the third decided to play safe, burying it.

As the man expected his servants to be fruitful we are also expected to be fruitful. We are also expected to appreciate all of the gifts that we have received, not only appreciate them but also use them to their greatest potential.

There are three steps we must follow in order to invest our gifts well - from a supernatural perspective.

First, we must identify what our gift is.

We should always thank God for all countless blessings, but we should also reflect on the one or two strong characteristics, traits, or talents that God has given us personally.

What type of thing do you enjoy most?

What type of activity has always made you excited?

What personality characteristic have people always complimented you on?

What have you always dreamed of doing but were afraid to get started on?

The second step is to get right with God and stay that way. The third servant left his life-mission unfulfilled because he didn't have a good relationship with his master. He judged him to be a tough master who demanded back what he had not given.

 

Our lame excuses invite punishment: The third servant decided to avoid risk-taking and showed too much caution with his talent.. His excuse was that, after all, he had not been given explicit orders about how to do his investing. Besides, any type of business was risky, and the Master might hold him accountable for any loss. He probably knew the long-standing rabbinic teaching that anyone who buries money that has been put into his care is no longer liable for its safety. Through this description of a lazy servant, Jesus teaches us that that there is no “safe” position in life. Christian living is strenuous business involving occasional risk-taking. God expects us to use our every talent for personal growth, and for bearing witness to the Goodness of God to all whom we encounter. As Pope St. John XXIII said, “We were not put on earth to guard a museum, but to produce new spiritual wealth from the talents God has placed under our stewardship.

 

We need to “trade” with our talent of Christian Faith: All of us in the Church today have received at least one talent. We have received the gift of Faith. Our responsibility as men and women of Faith is not just to preserve and “keep” the Faith. We need to work with it. We need to offer it to the men and women of our times. Unless we do this, we stand in danger of losing the Faith just as the third servant lost his talent. The way to preserve the Faith, or any other talent that God has given us, is to put it to work and help it bear fruit.

 

When we receive Jesus in Holy Communion, let's promise that starting this week, we will go out and courageously invest our God-given gifts.