Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 / 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 / Matthew 25:14-30
Whenever we want to give someone a present, we would usually have it wrapped, or at least we will put it in a bag.
The wrapper, or the bag, adds a sense of mystery or surprise to the receiver.
Also, the receiver would not know what the present is, and so there is also a sense of curiosity.
And the season for wrapping presents and giving presents is coming up.
In a month or so from today will be Christmas Day, when presents will be exchanged.
In choosing a present for a person, it requires us to know the person well enough to get a meaningful present.
And then after getting the present, we will also want to wrap up the present so as to have a sense of mystery and surprise.
And then we hope that the receiver will like and appreciate the present.
But what if we happen to find out that the receiver did not even open the present at all and left it aside?
We will feel disappointed, or even hurt, that the receiver does not think much about our gift, and maybe even does not think much about us at all.
In the Gospel, Jesus told a parable about a master who entrusted his three servants with an amount according to their ability.
So, one servant received five talents, the other received two talents, and the last received one talent.
In the Gospel context, a talent is worth about 20 years of a labourer's wages.
So even one talent is a considerable amount of money.
After a long time, the master of those three servants came back and went through the accounts of them.
The one who received five talents came up with five more.
Similarly, the one who received two talents came up with two more.
But the servant who received one talent returned it to the master.
His reason was that he heard that the master was a hard man, reaping where he had not sown and gathering where he had not scattered.
But the master called that servant wicked and lazy and punished him.
As we ponder about the parable, we wonder about that wicked and lazy servant.
In a way, he received a present from his master, but he didn't even open it and went to bury it in the ground.
So, the master called that servant wicked and lazy because that servant did not bother about the love and the trust that the master had for him.
The master trusted that servant to do something good with the talent, but that servant just didn't bother.
That servant was punished not because he didn't make another talent out of what he received.
He was punished because he didn't bother about the present his master gave him.
In other words, he didn't even open the present and went to hide it.
Next Sunday, we celebrate the feast of Christ the King, and it is also our parish feast day.
This coming Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday is the triduum, the three days of prayer in preparation for the feast day.
Christ is our Lord and King because He loves us and He saved us.
He wants us to make known His love and His gift of salvation to others.
Let us do that by bringing others along to the triduum and the feast day.
We give them the invitation in the form of our parish prayer card and the petition form.
We may just give it to one person, or two persons, or five persons or more.
Tell them that Jesus is inviting them to the triduum and also to the feast day to offer up their prayers and petitions, and that Jesus wants to bless them with His love.
It is like giving them a present of the love of Jesus.
Yes, it is as simple as that to make Jesus known and loved, and we already have the means for it.
It may be that simple, but when we are faithful in the little and simple and humble things, then we will see what great things the Lord wants to give us.
Let us be that good and faithful servant of God who will bring His love to others.