Money, gifts and faith

The talent of people is a theme running through the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today. One point of view to consider is the effect or consequence of the wise use of charisms, treasure and faith. Friar Jude Winkler offers the reflection that the male oriented society in which the passage from Proverbs praises the "good wife" concentrates on her ability to make her husband successful and noticed in the community. The fruit of her activity in which the husband trusts her deeply is the success of his mission. When the passage from Proverbs is related to the parable of the Ten Talents from Matthew's Gospel, Fr Larry Gillick, SJ, understands the role of our works is to present a sign of the Works of God to Whom goes the praise for the actions. As we grow into the position of intimate marriage in our relationship with the Divine, we become the "capable wife" of the Proverbs. The psalmist reflects on the fruit of this "successful marriage" in the abundance of children gathered around the table. This image is one which the "New Evangelization" can work towards when a great harvest of the children of God are gathered around the table of the Lord. The evangelist requires some trust that efforts to bear fruit are the will of God especially when the Master appears to have gone on a journey. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is using the Parable to instruct His disciples that faith is a gift from God and it is not equally distributed among people. The trust in God is necessary to for all faith to bear fruit. Without that trust, the talent or faith is wasted and the disciple servant, who may have been paralyzed by an immature understanding of his relationship to the Master, is judged not to be ready to enter into the joy of the Master. The invitation to work in the vineyard requires change. We cannot expect fear of consequence, not being ready for the "day of the Lord", or the "judgement of the Master" to motivate us to the necessary intimacy where we trust that we can move like Abraham and Mary into areas and actions which are beyond merely human talents and charisms.