33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (year A)

(Mt 25:14–30)

16 The one who had received five talents went and put them to work, and gained five more. 

17 Likewise, the one who had received two gained two more. 

18 But the one who had received only one talent went and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money there. 

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There are two different attitudes within the Church. There is the fruitful commitment of those who have responsibilities at various levels (the five and the two talents) and those who, on the other hand, having few responsibilities, do not feel called to a serious commitment because of this (one talent). 

The total number of talents is eight. This number is not random. In the New Testament, the number eight is closely linked to the resurrection of Jesus, which took place on a Sunday—the first day after the Jewish Sabbath—marking the beginning of a new creative week. On the seventh day, God brought creation to completion, ceasing his creative activity and consecrating this day to himself. The seventh day, therefore, marks the conclusion of the first creation; but on the eighth day—the day following the seventh, the day of the resurrection—God began a new creation. In Christ, he has made us new creatures.

The eight talents, therefore, allude to all the spiritual blessings that Jesus inaugurated through his resurrection, and which he has placed within the Church, which is now called, in varying degrees of responsibility (five, two, one), to manage them and bear witness to them before the world. Through baptism, the believer is clothed with Christ as with a new garment. A new reality lives within him, and he has been conformed to this reality to such an extent that it is no longer he who lives, but Christ who lives and works within him. It is, therefore, the duty of every believer to become aware of this new existential condition, acquired through faith and baptism.

These spiritual gifts are entrusted to all Christians; no one is excluded, and the modest quantity of these gifts does not exempt the believer from their commitment towards them, of which they are the steward and guardian. Everyone, according to their own role, is responsible for them. The fact that the first two doubled the assets entrusted to them, on the one hand, demonstrates the utmost commitment they showed in managing the spiritual assets of which they were stewards; on the other hand, it serves to create the greatest possible contrast with the third servant, thereby highlighting his negligence and, consequently, the full extent of his guilt.

Taking this reasoning to its extreme, we might even say that the talent is our very life itself, a gift from God. The last servant believes that the talent that he is does not belong to him, but to the Lord, and that he must return it to him. Therefore, his whole life is spent repaying the debt for what he has received. He lives according to the logic of debt. So what does he do? He simply does nothing—nothing wrong—for in the end one dies, one returns one’s life to God and says to him: ‘Look, you gave it to me; I’m giving it back to you; I haven’t done anyone any harm.’ But for those who have received it as a gift of love, what is life? It is a response of love to the love received. These are two different ways of understanding existence: either as love or as a debt. So, if you see it as a debt, you lead a life that is legally in order, observing the law, and that is where it all ends – but you are not truly living. The other, however, lives a life in love, a fruitful life, a life that enables him to truly understand his truth as a son. One is driven by the feeling of love, which by its very nature is fruitful and creative; the other, on the other hand, is driven by a feeling of fear, a servile dread, and so remains paralysed and barren. The talent he has been given weighs heavily upon him, and he hides it.

We note that the first servant goes and puts the talents he has received to work and gains another five. He does not know when his master will return, but when he does return, he will have nothing to fear; he has already gained his five talents. A wise, prudent, intelligent man. He does not waste his time. He does not put off until tomorrow what ought to be done today. Even the one who had received two talents does the same. He uses his time wisely. He received two talents; he earned two talents. The proportion is the same. He worked just as well as the first. He earned proportionally as much as the first.

Here, too, we can apply this to our own lives. We know when we enter this world, but we do not know when we will be called to leave it. That is why no moment should be wasted, no moment squandered, no moment put off. Every moment must be made the most of, for it is precisely at that moment that the master might return and call us to him. Upon his return, everyone must give an account of every good thing received.

The third servant’s burying of his single talent follows the rabbinical provisions according to which anyone who buried a deposit was relieved of all responsibility; that is, if it were stolen, he was not obliged to return it or pay compensation. So it is stated in the Talmud. The servant plays it safe: in case it should be stolen from me, or I should lose it, it is better to hide it, because if I am called to account, I will not have to return it. He continues to live as a servant despite having been called to divine adoption, incapable of acting as a son. It is clear that this final servant is unworthy. The point is that the master expected his assets to increase, and he entrusted his wealth to the servants charged with making it grow. Safeguarding what had been received was not part of the servant’s duties.

There are also those in the Church who receive the gift and begin a new life, but are then drawn back into the mindset and spirit of the past. They immediately come to a standstill, dare not take risks for the sake of the Gospel, and return to the old way – the least productive, yet the safest. They labour with their eyes fixed on the earth, forgetting the grace that comes from heaven.     

 Argentino Quintavalle, author of the books 

- Revelation – an exegetical commentary 

- The Apostle Paul and the Judaizers – Law or Gospel?

Jesus Christ, true God and true Man, in the mystery of the Trinity

Jesus’ prophetic discourse (Matthew 24–25)

All Generations Will Call Me Blessed

Catholics and Protestants Compared – In Defence of the Faith

The Church and Israel According to St Paul – Romans 9–11

(Available on Amazon)