First Reading: Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31
Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6
Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30
Today's readings go hand in hand with the readings that we had last week. Last week the readings talked about what is true wisdom. True wisdom is to see the things as God sees them, to understand things the way God understands them. Today's gospel talks about talents, gifts. What does it mean to be successful? Society has its own standards of success. The more one possesses, the more degrees you have behind your name, the more successful you are and the more respect you are entitled to. However, the majority of the people in the world do not have many University degrees and do not possess much wealth. Does this mean that they are not successful? Of course not.
A very prestigious school was celebrating its fiftieth anniversary since it was first established. Many old boys decided to attend. It was a terrific gathering with a lot of memories shared and a lot of friendships renewed. One of the longest serving teachers in this school was a priest. He taught most of the people who gathered for the reunion. Naturally, many of his past pupils went up to greet him and gathered around him. He asked them what work they were involved in. One of them was an architect who had been responsible for the building of many well known buildings both in his native land and in foreign countries. He was even responsible for building some churches. Another was a very successful lawyer, well known for his capacity to win seemingly lost cases. He was well renowned and people held him in high respect. Another shared with the group that he was a very successful farmer who managed to invest wisely and that he was doing very well indeed. The last person in the group was a very successful banker who managed to reach the highest position in his business.
The old priest listened to all this with a smile on his face. He nodded every now and then as if to show that he was really contented with what he was hearing. He congratulated each one of them at their achievements. As one can imagine those around him felt very contented and at ease at the reaction of their old teacher. Then all of a sudden this priest said to them, "Now what have you made of yourselves? How is your life as a human being going?" A sudden silence enveloped everybody. They just froze where they were standing. You see their personal life was not really a success. They were so focussed on their careers that they had neglected the most basic elements in living a good, down to earth human life. Their attention and their energies were so focussed on succeeding in their professional lives, that emotionally they were still like little kids. As a consequences their relationships with their own wives, family, and parents were impoverished indeed.
Pablo Picasso, a very famous painter as we all know said one day, "It is not what an artist does that matters, but what he is." This is very interesting coming from a person like Picasso. He became a much sought after painter. People and art museums all over the world were prepared to pay huge sums of money to purchase one of his paintings. He became extremely rich yet his private life was a shambles as he journeyed from one relationship to the next, trying to find some peace and tranquility for his restless heart. It is very often the case that people may have done great things in their public life but are so poor in their private lives. Indeed, one can safely say that in many cases their so called success was often achieved at the expense of their personal lives.
In today's gospel we have Jesus talking about three people who were given three different talents. He praised two of them because they used their talents well. He was very disappointed with the third because he hid his talent. Jesus is not talking here simply about what achievements we have accumulated. This is also important. But in reality he was also referring to the great talent of what we have done with our personal lives. This is where success is measured. Not simply only what we have achieved professionally or academically, although this is also important. Yet more importantly success according to Jesus is measured by how much our personal lives are in agreement with His values, ideals and principles.
The first reading of today talks about the perfect wife. This is taken from the Book of Proverbs. Why is this woman perfect? She may have possessed great wealth and great beauty. However what has made her perfect is something else. She is perfect because she is caring, wise, virtuous, industrious and attentive to her commitments in life as a wife. She possesses the greatest talent of all: A loving heart. She uses this talent for the benefit of her husband, her family, her neighbours and the poor. It is because of this that she is respected and esteemed by those who know her.
This is the success that Jesus is referring to. When our personal lives are in agreement with that Jesus is teaching, then we can reach our full potential as people created by God. Moreover, we can in turn help those around us to reach their full potential. This is success. This is what it means to use our talents wisely. Our life is a gift from God. What we do with our lives is our gift to God.
God Bless
Bishop Joe Grech
