20201118 RESPONSIBILITY TO BUILD THE KINGDOM OF GOD
18 November, 2020, Wednesday, 33rd Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading |
Apocalypse 4:1-11 © |
He was, he is, and he is to come
In my vision, I, John, saw a door open in heaven and heard the same voice speaking to me, the voice like a trumpet, saying, ‘Come up here: I will show you what is to come in the future.’ With that, the Spirit possessed me and I saw a throne standing in heaven, and the One who was sitting on the throne, and the Person sitting there looked like a diamond and a ruby. There was a rainbow encircling the throne, and this looked like an emerald. Round the throne in a circle were twenty-four thrones, and on them I saw twenty-four elders sitting, dressed in white robes with golden crowns on their heads. Flashes of lightning were coming from the throne, and the sound of peals of thunder, and in front of the throne there were seven flaming lamps burning, the seven Spirits of God. Between the throne and myself was a sea that seemed to be made of glass, like crystal. In the centre, grouped round the throne itself, were four animals with many eyes, in front and behind. The first animal was like a lion, the second like a bull, the third animal had a human face, and the fourth animal was like a flying eagle. Each of the four animals had six wings and had eyes all the way round as well as inside; and day and night they never stopped singing:
‘Holy, Holy, Holy
is the Lord God, the Almighty;
he was, he is and he is to come.’
Every time the animals glorified and honoured and gave thanks to the One sitting on the throne, who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders prostrated themselves before him to worship the One who lives for ever and ever, and threw down their crowns in front of the throne, saying, ‘You are our Lord and our God, you are worthy of glory and honour and power, because you made all the universe and it was only by your will that everything was made and exists.’
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 150 © |
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty.
or
Alleluia!
Praise God in his holy place,
praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his powerful deeds,
praise his surpassing greatness.
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty.
or
Alleluia!
O praise him with sound of trumpet,
praise him with lute and harp.
Praise him with timbrel and dance,
praise him with strings and pipes.
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty.
or
Alleluia!
O praise him with resounding cymbals,
praise him with clashing of cymbals.
Let everything that lives and that breathes
give praise to the Lord.
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | 1Jn2:5 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Whenever anyone obeys what Christ has said,
God’s love comes to perfection in him.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.Jn15:16 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I chose you from the world
to go out and bear fruit,
fruit that will last,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 19:11-28 © |
The parable of the talents
While the people were listening, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and they imagined that the kingdom of God was going to show itself then and there. Accordingly he said, ‘A man of noble birth went to a distant country to be appointed king and afterwards return. He summoned ten of his servants and gave them ten pounds. “Do business with these” he told them “until I get back.” But his compatriots detested him and sent a delegation to follow him with this message, “We do not want this man to be our king.”
‘Now on his return, having received his appointment as king, he sent for those servants to whom he had given the money, to find out what profit each had made. The first came in and said, “Sir, your one pound has brought in ten.” “Well done, my good servant!” he replied “Since you have proved yourself faithful in a very small thing, you shall have the government of ten cities.” Then came the second and said, “Sir, your one pound has made five.” To this one also he said, “And you shall be in charge of five cities.” Next came the other and said, “Sir, here is your pound. I put it away safely in a piece of linen because I was afraid of you; for you are an exacting man: you pick up what you have not put down and reap what you have not sown.” “You wicked servant!” he said “Out of your own mouth I condemn you. So you knew I was an exacting man, picking up what I have not put down and reaping what I have not sown? Then why did you not put my money in the bank? On my return I could have drawn it out with interest.” And he said to those standing by, “Take the pound from him and give it to the man who has ten pounds.” And they said to him, “But, sir, he has ten pounds…”. “I tell you, to everyone who has will be given more; but from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
‘“But as for my enemies who did not want me for their king, bring them here and execute them in my presence.”’
When he had said this he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
RESPONSIBILITY TO BUILD THE KINGDOM OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [REV 4:1-11; LUKE 19:11-28 ]
During the time of our Lord, there was a great expectation of the coming of the Messiah to establish the Kingdom of God. It was thought that the Messiah would restore peace, joy and justice on earth (cf Isa 11:1-9) and most of all, overthrow the Roman conquerors and restore the kingdom of David. This explains the excitement of the Jews when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a colt, symbolizing the entry of King David into Jerusalem to restore peace to Israel. Jesus knew that death was awaiting Him, so just before He entered Jerusalem to be hailed as king of Israel, He reminded His disciples to be strong and patient when He went away, that is, to His death. It is within this context that Luke gives us the final parable of the Jerusalem journey of our Lord.
This parable underscores the responsibility of the disciples of our Lord in ushering the fullness of the Kingdom between the Lord’s ascension and His Second Coming. This parable seeks to prepare His disciples of the eventual departure of our Lord as they waited for the full consummation of the Kingdom of God. Because the kingdom is in the future, the disciples had to be prepared for stewardship in their service of the realization of the kingdom. (cf Acts 1:6) Instead of focusing their eyes on heaven (Acts 1:11), they were to go and establish the kingdom on earth.
The disciples were to prepare the people to accept the kingship of our Lord, otherwise, as the parable implied, there would be serious consequences. “‘But as for my enemies who did not want me for their king, bring them here and execute them in my presence.’ When he had said this he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.” Indeed, the Lord has come to establish a kingdom of peace, justice and love. By His death and resurrection, He reconciled man with God and man with each other through loving and humble service.
Consequently, until the Second Coming of Christ the King, the disciples of the Lord, the servants of the King, were entrusted with the task of investing in the kingdom. Each was given the same sum of money to do what was best with no conditions or specific instructions. Indeed, God showed Himself to be generous and trusting. After giving his servants the money, the king went away. He did not interfere or dictate how they were to use it. He left it to their discretion and resourcefulness. Of course, He expected His servants to be responsible, diligent, creative and reliable. The money symbolizes whatever gifts the Lord has given to us and which are to be used for His greater glory, the building of His kingdom of justice and love. These are not necessarily gifts concerned with skills but they could be anything, time, resources and virtues. We are called to invest and use them well. These gifts are meant to be developed and used for the good of all.
This is the way God tests His people to see if they are ready to be admitted into the kingdom. God wants to see if we can be faithful with small things before He entrusts us with bigger things. Those who are found to be responsible are given greater responsibilities. To the first servant who made ten pounds from the one pound, he was put in charge of ten cities by the king. The second was put in charge of five cities after the king’s return since his one pound earned him another five. Indeed, God rewards those who use their gifts wisely and responsibly. The fact that all have been given one pound meant that God gives all of us sufficient graces to accomplish what the Lord intends us to do.
One thing that God will not tolerate is our indifference, irresponsibility and those who are not willing to take risks in life. The third servant said to the king, “Sir, here is your pound. I put it away safely in a piece of linen because I was afraid of you; for you are an exacting man: you pick up what you have not put down and reap what you have not sown.” The response of the king was swift, “You wicked servant! Out of your own mouth I condemn you. So you knew I was an exacting man, picking up what I have not put down and reaping what I have not sown? Then why did you not put my money in the bank? On my return I could have drawn it out with interest.” The important lesson of life is that those who do not take risks will never be able to achieve much. Taking risks requires trust in God and at the same time, doing our best according to the resources we have been given.
Indeed, by not venturing out, we will lose whatever little we have. This principle applies not just to financial investments or business but in the living out our faith as well. Those who keep their money in fixed deposits cannot expect their money to grow but instead may see it shrink because of inflation. Only those who are willing to invest in more risky financial instruments will have hopes of making greater returns on their capital. When we fear to evangelize and share Jesus with others, we will lose whatever little faith we have. Those who keep their faith to themselves are like the man who kept the pound instead of investing it. Faith, like relationships, is never static. One does not own a spouse or children, or friends, but like plants, they need watering and nurturing for the relationships to grow. So we either grow in our faith or lose our faith. Hence, the king said “‘Take the pound from him and give it to the man who has ten pounds.’ And they said to him, ‘but, sir, he has ten pounds…’ ‘I tell you, to everyone who has will be given more; but from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Indeed, those who squander the trust the Lord gives to them, even that little would be taken away.
Taking risks requires that we trust in God. This is what the last servant did not have. In fact, he had a wrong image of God as a taskmaster. He perceived Him as a disciplinarian to be feared, just like most of us. He said, “I put it away safely in a piece of linen because I was afraid of you; for you are an exacting man: you pick up what you have not put down and reap what you have not sown.” We think that God is constantly watching us and waiting to catch us fall so that He could punish us. We fail to see that God has greater trust in us than we in Him. In the parable, He gave absolute freedom to the servants to do what they will with the money given to them. He trusted that they would use them well and increase what they have been given. Indeed, God has given us the grace to fulfill what He has called us to do. He desires that we fulfill our vocation in life so that we can find self-realization and self-fulfillment. If we trust in Him, He will provide us the grace and assistance we need. A slavish fear will breed anxiety and paralyze us from doing great things for God. But His love will strengthen and empower us to do more than what we imagine.
On another level, the Lord was reminding the Christians of the need to build on the gift of faith they had received. They had to hold on to their hope of realizing the kingdom of God to the fullest. Whilst Jesus is apparently ruling from a faraway land in heaven and will return at the end of history to judge the world, the disciples of Christ must not take advantage of His apparent absence to slack in their vigilance. Rather, the disciples of Christ must struggle against evil and not remain indifferent or idle to the power of Satan and evil in the world to influence people to live a life of selfishness, slavery to one’s sensual passion, pride and the world. If we want to share in the glory of the King when He returns on the last day, we must cooperate with His grace.
Indeed, God will bless our efforts when we cooperate with His grace. He will reward us according to our capacity to receive in the next life. Whilst all will share the joy of God to the full, it will be according to one’s capacity. Not all will share in the heavenly happiness to the same degree, as it depends on how big our heart is to receive His love. Hence, every step that we take today, every sacrifice, effort, generosity and compassion we render to others, to that extent we will be able to receive His goodness and love. The principle of heavenly reward, as the Lord says, is that “to everyone who has will be given more; but from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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