In Making the Most; In Going Beyond the Given

Homily: Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Matthew 25: 14:30

15 November 2020

Fr. Ricky Montanez

In Making the Most; In Going Beyond the Given

People can’t wait for 2020 to be over.  Many will say it’s the worst year of their life yet. It’s already November but the bad news keeps coming from different parts of the world. In the Philippines, we began the year with the eruption of Taal Volcano. Then Covid 19 hits our shores and in no time, is declared a worldwide pandemic and we follow suit as countries go into lockdown. The crisis has had a negative impact on society, particularly the economy, the health sector, labour, national security and a host of other rights and freedoms we take for granted like education, worship, etc.  And if this was not enough, we were recently blindsided by two strong typhoons, the first, dubbed the strongest tropical cyclone in the world this year and the second so devastating that it has displaced a large number of people in many parts of Bicol, NCR and other regions of Luzon. Not to frighten you, but the year is not over yet. Who is to say what awaits at the 11th hour? 

This year’s circumstances have pushed us to live in fear of many things… unemployment, hunger, illness, political and social unrest, economic disaster. Disaster response to the health crisis was poor and slow. Anywhere in the world, authorities scrambled to gather their experts to figure out what was going on and to find a solution. As other countries went into general lockdowns, the Philippines had to be a little bit more creative with its permutations of CQ acronyms. All of it is reactionary.  That’s why Filipinos are tired of being described as resilient. (Indulge me. I will be brief.) There is nothing wrong with being resilient. It’s a great character trait of a people. Resilience is one’s capacity to rise and recover from difficult conditions. The premise however is that one has taken a beating. The question is, why must we always be blindsided by crisis in the first place? Why must the punches land solidly on our face? In boxing, small, necessary movements and sharp anticipation will help you to dodge any jab, hook or uppercut. Preparation is the answer. I feel that the Filipino people are looking for leadership that focuses on learning from the mistakes of history to properly plan and prepare us for any crisis instead of one that allows the people to suffer the blows and expect to be consoled by compliments on our resilience. 

On this Sunday’s gospel passage from Matthew we are invited to imbibe this attitude of preparedness every day of our lives in anticipation of the coming of the Kingdom of God and the return of Christ our King. Through the gospel parable we are made to look towards the ‘day of reckoning’ and the preparations we need to make in order that we may live “in the Master’s joy”. Notice that the Master did not give any specific instructions as to what his servants were to do with the talents he entrusted to them. The two servants were conscientious and creative enough to make a profit from the talents given them. Take note also, that the parable never said they had to go to school or learn a new trade in order to prosper the Master’s possessions. They simply went about the natural course of their business, using skills they already possessed. Their industry brought impressive returns on their efforts.  The wife described in the First Reading from the Book of Proverbs, also exhibits a similar situation. The text indicates clearly the characteristics and duties of a good wife. Everything mentioned is within the scope of her role as wife. It does not require her to learn or possess extraordinary skills that will be of no use to the tasks of her role and circumstances. 

In the same way, God does not ask the impossible of us.  He has entrusted each of us with the blessing of being alive and of being stewards of His creation. He has equipped us with the knowledge, strength and grace that enable us to go through life wisely and productively and to each fulfill our unique mission for Him.  Paul reminds us “all of you are children of the light and children of the day…. let us not sleep as the rest do but let us stay alert and sober.”  (1 Thessalonians 5:5-6) As long as we persevere and prosper with the means and capacity we have been given, there is no need for us to worry and be anxious about things we may have no control over.  We are assured that as long as we do what we must, we will be prepared for any eventuality.

At this point, I would like to commend the local government of Marikina for quickly evacuating people by the river and being ready with their disaster response teams. The experience of flooding during Ondoy has taught them to be prepared for inundation and as a result, fewer lives were lost and rescues did not have to drag on for days. Beautiful Batanes has been consistently hit by storms, even before I can remember. If you visit the place you will behold how their homes and their way of life help them to adapt and thrive despite the unfortunate circumstance that their location is often in a typhoon’s track. Japan is also a good model of preparedness. Earthquakes are frequent and common in Japan so the Japanese developed a technology that allows their buildings to withstand any seismic stress.  They no longer run or cower when the earth begins to shake. Even the children know what to do.  The Japanese people are confident that they are well-prepared for the occurrence. 

In the examples I just mentioned, people are rewarded for their astuteness in being prepared — they get to continue to live their lives. They are not consumed by fear of the unknown because they live in expectation of these occurrences — not to invite them, but to be prepared should they happen at any time. As Christians, we live in anticipation of the coming of God’s Kingdom. St. Paul in his First Letter to the Thessalonians says that “the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” (1 Thessalonians 5:2) The end would come suddenly and unexpectedly. Jesus said that only God the Father knows the exact day and hour. Until then, we must deal with another unknown deadline. I speak of the limits of human life. We all have a finite number of years to spend on earth. No one lives forever.  We don’t know when it is our time to die. We don’t know when God, our Master, will call us to Himself and make an accounting of what we have done with the blessings He has given us. Hence, as God’s servants, we should be most prepared. Now. Always.  As Christians we are invited to live daily as living witnesses, working examples of a true Christian, grounded in imitation of Jesus Christ, instructed by the Church, and guided by the spiritual and corporal works of mercy such as praying for the living and the dead, comforting the afflicted, giving shelter to the homeless; feeding the hungry, and clothing the naked. We cannot be complacent and lazy lying in wait like the third servant in the gospel parable. Paralysed by his fear of the master, the third servant was negligent with what was entrusted to him. The fact that no returns were gained on the talent means he was remiss in his typical duties, leaving his talent unused and buried in the ground. 

In closing, I would like to tell you of a man who was forced to work from home because of the lockdown. Although he continues to work to earn a living, he is now able to spend precious time with his son every day to guide him, teach him and encourage him. The crisis has enabled the man to be the dad, husband and family man he needed to be — one who not only provides the financial needs of his family, but who supports his wife in managing the household and in raising their child to be a good Catholic Christian and productive member of society. As early as now, he is helping his young son discover his gifts and preparing him for life so that no matter what happens he is ready and he need not live in fear. He was surprised when his son declared that 2020 has so far been the BEST year of his life! That, to him, was enough reward.  We learn from this little family the attitude of being true to our calling, making good use of our time and resources, and doing our best to be always prepared. It gives us an assurance that on the day God holds us accountable for what was entrusted to us, we, too, may be as esteemed as the dutiful wife and the industrious servants, and be worthy of an eternal reward.