how are you spending your talents?

XXXIII Sunday "A" Matthew 25:14-30 25:14"For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 25:15to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. At once 25:16the one who had received the five talents went off and traded with them, and made five more talents. 25:17In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 25:18But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. 25:19After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 25:20Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.' 25:21His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' 25:22And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.' 25:23His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' 25:24Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter, 25:25so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' 25:26But his master replied, 'You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I did not scatter? 25:27Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 25:28So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 25:29For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 25:30As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"

As you know, next Sunday is the feast of Christ the King. It will be the end of the liturgical year and the church invites us to think about the end. But the parable of the talents is not about the end of the world. Jesus isn't saying what's going to happen when the world ends. Rather, the parable is about the present and how we are to live in the present. You can read the whole Bible, but there's nothing about the end of the world. The Bible isn't about the end, it's about the present. So today's parable teaches us how to live today. The importance of accumulating talents. How can we multiply our talents, the benefits that we've received from God? What is it that we should do today to gain more with what we have? Of course, we can't hide our talents, we can't bury them in the ground. The question is, how are we to live our lives today? The whole of Matthew´s Gospel has the answer. He explains to us how we can multiply our talents. Next Sunday is the feast of Christ the King and next Sunday we will read the parable of the separation of the sheeps from the goats. It clearly tells us what we have to do to use well our talents, it is to do works of charity, to feed the hungry, provide drink to the thirsty, to receive strangers, to visit the imprisoned and the sick. If we read the word of God we will not find the answer of how, nor when the end of the world will be, but we will learn how to live in the present so that when the end comes we will be ready. Living an honest and peaceful life, helping our neighbors. The second reading from Paul´s letter to the Thessalonians also says that we don't know when the end of the world will come, but it will come like a thief in the night. To prepare for a thief isn´t like preparing for a storm. We have no idea when the thief will come so we are always ready. We lock the doors, we have a security system. We always have to be prepared. We have to help our neighbor today, not tomorrow. By citing the parable of the thief in the night, Paul lifts up the topic of the end. And what he's saying to the Thessalonians is saying to us, we always have to be alert, as if parousia is coming at any moment. But Paul, and also Jesus, insists in a sense that the kingdom of heaven has already arrived. "We are already sons and daughters of light and of the day." We are called to be what we are. So the answer to the question of when when the end is going to come, is not to give you a date but to say, to live in the present and know that our works of love and charity are not only preparing us for the coming Kingdom, but they are creating the Kingdom.