Breakfast with the Word Wednesday 33rd Week Ordinary Time of the Year B
A reward is something we give in recognition of someone’s efforts and achievements. To get a reward, we have to work for the reward.
The parable today is Luke’s own account of the parable of the talents.The main thrust of today’s reading is its eschatological implication.
In the gospel we can see that Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem to fulfill His destiny, thus signifying the end of His life. Then the people thought this journey is a sign that the Kingdom of God is to appear immediately.
Therefore, the parable reveals what we must expect at the end of time. In the end, there must be a reward and punishment for all the things we do, use, and not do or use.
In the Gospel
The parable, involves the king who gives coins or mina to His servants and asks them to do business with it until He comes back.
Here, we have ten servants but only two are faithful to the Master. The third servant hides his own money but the other seven reject the king outrightly.
At last, only those who make use of what the king gives to them, receive a handsome reward, while the servant who did not use his own and those servants who reject His Kingship receive punishment.
Little Interpretation
Just like the King left, Jesus is leaving them because He is on His way to Jerusalem, and just like the King handed them responsibilities each, is a way Jesus is telling them, that they now have the work continuing from where he stopped.It is their responsibility to promote the gospel message.
In essence, God also bestows upon us natural and spiritual endowments, strength, positions, time, wealth, knowledge etc.
Those who rejected the King’s rule are interpreted as the Pharisees and Jewish leaders who rejected Jesus outrightly.
Therefore, the King’s return points to the fact that one day, Jesus will surely return to repay each man according to His deeds and the only way to get a reward is to use even the little things we have and work for God.
We have to use what God gives us to work for the salvation of souls. To get a reward from God, we have to work for it. From the parable, the end will never augur well for anyone who refuses to use whatever God gives us and trades on it.
Whatever God gives
Whatever we have in this life is all for the glory of God. In that parable, the money given to each is of the same amount and no longer different like that of Matthew’s account (Matthew 25:14–30).
So, this goes beyond our natural endowment and spiritual resources, to include our lives, time, mind, body, our responsibilities, services, etc.
God gives us these not to misuse them but to use them and work for Him. So, the wisdom and knowledge you have are not there to be hidden, they are not there to be used against God.
God bestows them that we use them to work for the salvation of souls. God wants nothing from whatever you have if not to use them for His own glory. Nothing that you have is there to be wasted.
A Reward comes from What You do
Give God your strength, mind, talent, gifts, knowledge, wealth, life, time etc. Trade with your time, mind, gifts, etc to win souls for God. They are not there so that we waste them.
In the end, only those who make good use of them will receive a reward from God. To be nothing, do nothing but to become something, we have to do something. To get a reward for something, we have to work for it.
There is no reward for laziness. To get a reward for success, we have to work for success. The reward comes from your labour.
To reap, you must plant. If you want to be successful in life, work towards it. We do not wait until manna falls from heaven. Grace comes from what you do.
At the end of a football match, only those who participated in the field are to be rewarded but those who only watch the match are forgotten.
Therefore, We have to participate and get ourselves involved in life, to be rewarded by life. Also to get a reward for eternal life we have to work for eternal life. If you want to go to heaven, work for it. There is a reward awaiting everything we do.
May God bless you dearest and give us the grace to work for the good of all. Amen.
You may read
Because of the Crowd.Tuesday 33rd Week Ordinary Time
Six Reasons to Pray and not Lose Heart. Saturday 32nd Week
When Life will Take you Unawares