Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mass Celebrated by Archbishop Denis Hart
at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne,
on Sunday, 17th November, 2002, at 11.00am

Introduction

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Gospel story of the talents today challenges us to see whether we have become automatic Catholics, afraid to take a risk, provided that our routine is not disturbed.

In the face of a hostile world Jesus has invited us, not merely to have faith, but to use all its vibrant effect to challenge ourselves and others to be apostles of the kingdom. Truly the consequence of our knowing and loving Jesus as our Saviour is the call to ‘launch out into the deep’ in what we do with the gifts God has given us.

As we call to mind our sins, let us ask the Lord to give us the courage to face the real consequence of the love with which God has enfolded us.

Homily

My dear Friends,

While I was away on retreat two Sundays ago I received a message to say that a longstanding friend had died. She had a few days knowing that she was seriously ill and a priest had been and anointed her and had given her the last Sacraments in hospital.

Many of you may be aware of young people who have died a sudden and unprovided death. As we consider the end that we all must ultimately face it is most important for us to realise that the gifts God gives us are special and precious and are his gift to us and to no other.

Today’s Readings challenge us to look at the varying responses of people. We are invited to become acquainted with three of the most admirable and one of the most pitiable of all the characters we read about in the Scriptures.

The two enterprising servants in the Gospel and the woman in the first Reading from Proverbs was a doer. She made the best use of her talents, was exemplary in her normal vocation and reached out to the poor. She was a member of a community and reached out to that too. In the Gospel the two servants who were entrusted with stewardship of their master’s funds were also admirable. Each one according to his own abilities dared to do whatever was necessary to fulfil their responsibility and make a profit for their investments. Each was willing, and I note the challenge, to risk the loss of their own security in order to prove themselves worthy of their master’s trust. As a result both servants were praised as industrious and reliable and each was given even greater responsibilities; both were invited to share in their master’s joy. Similarly, the woman in the first Reading received well-deserved high praise for her virtue and enterprise.

In sharp contrast to this trio is the servant who chose to dig a hole and bury his master’s money. Rather than risk his own security and his master’s displeasure, he did nothing. Because of his lack of daring he lost everything.

The challenge is given to all of us. Can we be satisfied with doing the minimum, not being challenged, or do we find in the very comfort and seeming tranquillity of our life something that eats away at what our life is meant to be? Our gifts, our time, are squandered by habit and laziness. God has equipped each of us to make a unique contribution and yet we have chosen not to do it.

The best way for us to reflect on the Gospel is to think about our talents, our responsibilities as members of the family and community, the things with which perhaps we are gifted, but others have not been given. An ability to work with others, a gift of leadership, a capacity to influence and challenge others, an ability to disconcert and get people to rethink what they take for granted, a love of God, freely shown to us, for which we are humbly grateful.

Like the three figures in the Scriptures, God has entrusted us with the responsibilities of stewardship. We can either hide it or dare to do whatever is necessary to fulfil our responsibilities.

Four years ago the author David Knight suggested that the whole point of today’s Gospel is that Jesus expects every one of us to do something for the salvation of the world. The particular talents with which we have been gifted determine what he expects of each of us. In other words, we are responsible, that is we will eventually be called upon to answer to God and to give an account of our stewardship.

Least we feel that the Gospel is merely an invitation to prudence, we notice that the prudence of the man who buried his talent and give it back was condemned. The Gospel does not simply encourage us not to lose the grace we have received. The Good News is a message of love and love must have flare, imagination and creativity.

To sum up briefly in the words of William Barkly, Jesus tells us that there can be no religion without adventure and that God can find no use for the closed mind. It tells us that God gives men differing gifts. It tells us that the reward of work well done is still more work to do. It tells us that the one who is punished is the one who will not try.

My dear friends, I believe it is important for each of us to know that we have talents which are valuable. We all have a contribution to make. Life’s journey consists in an exciting search to find out those talents by responding generously to the invitation of the Lord. This is a balance between the reverence we have for God, “Happy are those who fear the Lord”, (Psalm 127.1) and the constant leading our journey with Christ, “Live in me and let me live in you, my branches bear much fruit.” (John 15:4.5)

+ Denis J. Hart,
Archbishop of Melbourne.