Homily For The 33rd Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year A.

Proverb 31:10-13. 19-20.30-31; Psalm 128:1-5; 1Thessalonians 5:1-6; Matthew 25:14-30.

“PREPARING FOR THE DAY OF THE LORD!”

By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide.

·       Today the church celebrates the 33^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A. Technically speaking, the church comes to the end of her liturgical year today, since next Sunday is the Solemnity of Christ the King. The Sunday after, the church begins a new liturgical year.

·       As is characteristic of endings, as the church comes to the end of the year, the end approaches with a lot of anxieties and uncertainties. What will become of us at the end of time? Are we prepared for the day of the Lord? If the world comes to an end now, where will my destination be: heaven or hell?

·       When the Scriptures use the expression: “the day of the Lord”, it refers to the day of reckoning, the day of judgment, the day we will give an account of our Christian life. Every good Christian must have that day in view when we shall give an account of the time God gave us here on earth.

·       The second reading (1Thessalonians 5:1-6) tells us that the day of the Lord will come upon us like a thief in the night because no one knows the exact day and time the Lord will come calling; no one knows when the world will end. Hence, we must not let ourselves be distracted so that that day takes us unaware.

·       We must not allow that day to overtake us like a thief because we are sons and daughters of light and should never be comfortable in darkness. We must keep our eyes open. We must stay awake and alert, going about our daily activities with the consciousness of heaven. We must occupy ourselves with good works while we wait.

·       The Gospel reading (Matthew 25:14-30), on the other hand, elaborates on the fact of the end time with the parable of the talents. The life we have is a gift given to us in trust, and we should, in gratitude, live it in such a way that the one who has given it to us will be happy. Our talents are God’s gift to us; what we do with that talent is our gift to God.

·       God represents to us the master in the parable who generously shared his talents with his servants. To some, he gave more; to others, he gave just enough; to others, he gave just what they could handle, as demonstrated in the five, two, and one talent, respectively. 

·       The meaning of the parable is that we are the servants. The talents are the blessings God has given us – time, intelligence, our capacity to love, temporal goods, family, and the like. The journey of the master signifies our life in this world. His sudden return stands for our death. The settling of accounts is our judgment. The eternal banquet is in Heaven. The master entrusted talents (a significant amount of money or gold) to his three servants before he went away for some time. The amount was proportionate to the capacity of each servant, and the master had hoped that it would be handled properly until his return. The first two servants invested the money and, as a result, they were able to double the amount when the master returned. The third servant acted foolishly. He buried the money of his master. 

·       Dearly beloved in Christ, the Lord bestows on us these talents and graces based on our positions and challenges in life to help us go through life still bearing fruit and living up to our Christian commitment. One thing is sure: God’s grace is always sufficient for us.

·       Today we must ask ourselves a personal question and go into deeper reflection to see how far we have fared with the time and talent God gave us. Have we allowed them to impact positively on the lives of others, or have we buried them in selfishness and recklessness, not allowing them to grow? We must keep in view that the life we have is not our own; hence, we must give an account of it.

·       The Lord rewards and appreciates hard work and productivity. Notice that the man with the five talents was given more after he gave a good account of himself; likewise, the man with three talents. Unfortunately, the man with one talent refused to see his one talent as an opportunity to grow; hence, he was rebuked and punished.

·       Friends in Christ, the parable also tells our story in relation to the day of reckoning. We too have been entrusted with so many talents and time. What are you going to present to the Lord on the day of reckoning? Is it a life full of grace and righteousness or a life wasted in sin and recklessness? The choice is ours to make; do not imagine that there is enough time.

·       It is the earnest desire of God that we all should be saved, and that is why he continues to urge us on and supply us with all the necessary graces while expecting us to be productive. What shall you present to the Lord in gratitude for all these favours?

·       The Psalmist tells us that “Blessed are all who fear the Lord” (Ps. 128:1). If we fear the Lord, we will be propelled to do the right things and live a life of grace. And if we always live a life of grace, there will be no need to be afraid because the day of the Lord will meet us well-prepared.

·       May the good Lord bless his words in our hearts, through Christ our Lord, Amen!

·       Happy Sunday!!!