Again, the 3rd Sunday of a month and you have the opportunity of reading the homily of our Permanent Deacon, Gary Bockweg, at St. Joseph's Parish.
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Those were the famous words of Franklin Roosevelt Seventy five years ago.
In his 1933 inauguration speech. The country was gripped in fear. In the midst of a bank panic and in the midst of the Great Depression.
But "Change" was
at hand. Roosevelt was initiating a New Deal.
He had the talents to be a strong leader and a great communicator.
The country would begin aggressive positive action to get back on track
To move forward.
He looked for other talents where he could find them.
And he took risks by calling on some unlikely resources.
Like putting the newly created Securities Exchange Commission
Under the control of a man who’d been criticized for his questionable Wall Street tactics.
A man who’d built a fortune as a stock and commodity speculator using those tactics. The fox in charge of the hen house, some might say.
But that new chairman, Joseph P. Kennedy, took swift and positive action. He introduced major reforms that benefitted the industry and the country.
We don’t have to stretch too far to find some parallels with our economic situation today.
And we don’t have to stretch too far to find some spiritual parallels.
Those three main factors in that economic story are also three of
the key factors in our scripture readings today: Fear, Talent, and
Action. And our scripture adds another dimension—the deadline—the Master’s return.
Our reading from Proverbs tell of fear of the Lord.
The woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
And our Responsorial Psalm echoes that.
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord.
They say fear of the Lord is a good thing. And it is.
But it doesn’t refer to a cowering fear.
A fear that paralyzes us and holds us back from action.
It refers to respect—a recognition of the awesomeness of God.
An appreciation for the relationship he offers us to enter with him.
And a fear that we would do something to violate that relationship.
That we would try to take undue advantage of the mutual love between him and us.
It’s a fear that moves us to positive action to strengthen our relationship.
And indeed, the woman in Proverbs pursues many noble actions.
She uses her talents to help others.
Not only her family, but the poor and the needy.
And we’re told that she will be rewarded for her actions.
St Paul’s letter urges us to take action. To keep always alert and sober.
Because the master is returning, and we don’t know when he will come.
And Paul also assures us that we do have the ability to stay always ready,
Because we are children of the light.
We receive the light of Christ at Baptism.
And it’s because of that light that we know he’s coming.
And that we know the value of being ready to greet him.
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the servants and the talents.
He stresses the certainty of the Master’s return.
And he stresses the great value of the reward he’ll bestow on those
Who have taken action with the talents he’s given them.
He’ll call them to share in his joy.
He also points out the dangers of wasting or misusing our talents—
Of failure to act.
The servant who buried his talents is not rewarded.
He’s thrown out into the darkness.
According to the servant, it was fear of the master that kept him from acting. He fell victim to that paralyzing fear.
That fear of dire punishment. He could have benefitted from a good fear. A healthy sense of fear that he might disappoint his master
Could have pushed him to do his very best.
The master saw his inaction as laziness.
He hadn’t asked that much of the servant.
Only that he act according to his known ability.
He didn’t have to double the money like the other servants.
Putting it in the bank would have been sufficient.
Yet, the servant failed to do even that much.
So his punishment was just.
Whether the servant’s failure was due to fear or laziness
His fate might heighten our sense of fear.
But let it be that good fear.
A fear that is eased by the repeated assurances that Jesus has given us.
He’s dramatically demonstrated his love for us.
He’s told us of God’s great love for us.
He’s told us that we can even call God our Father.
And he’s told us that God will show us abundant mercy.
In the end—and we do know that end is coming—
That mercy is all any of us can rely upon.
In the mean time, while we alertly await our Master’s return,
We can take positive action to strengthen our relationship with him.
Action that serves him by serving others
Through use of the talents he’s given us.
We should ask ourselves –
What actions are on my spiritual to do list?
Is there something I’ve been too fearful or too lazy to tackle?
If so, Matthew’s Gospel is urging, "Do it now!"
In his 1933 inauguration speech. The country was gripped in fear. In the midst of a bank panic and in the midst of the Great Depression.
But "Change" was
at hand. Roosevelt was initiating a New Deal.
He had the talents to be a strong leader and a great communicator.
The country would begin aggressive positive action to get back on track
To move forward.
He looked for other talents where he could find them.
And he took risks by calling on some unlikely resources.
Like putting the newly created Securities Exchange Commission
Under the control of a man who’d been criticized for his questionable Wall Street tactics.
A man who’d built a fortune as a stock and commodity speculator using those tactics. The fox in charge of the hen house, some might say.
But that new chairman, Joseph P. Kennedy, took swift and positive action. He introduced major reforms that benefitted the industry and the country.
We don’t have to stretch too far to find some parallels with our economic situation today.
And we don’t have to stretch too far to find some spiritual parallels.
Those three main factors in that economic story are also three of
the key factors in our scripture readings today: Fear, Talent, and
Action. And our scripture adds another dimension—the deadline—the Master’s return.
Our reading from Proverbs tell of fear of the Lord.
The woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
And our Responsorial Psalm echoes that.
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord.
They say fear of the Lord is a good thing. And it is.
But it doesn’t refer to a cowering fear.
A fear that paralyzes us and holds us back from action.
It refers to respect—a recognition of the awesomeness of God.
An appreciation for the relationship he offers us to enter with him.
And a fear that we would do something to violate that relationship.
That we would try to take undue advantage of the mutual love between him and us.
It’s a fear that moves us to positive action to strengthen our relationship.
And indeed, the woman in Proverbs pursues many noble actions.
She uses her talents to help others.
Not only her family, but the poor and the needy.
And we’re told that she will be rewarded for her actions.
St Paul’s letter urges us to take action. To keep always alert and sober.
Because the master is returning, and we don’t know when he will come.
And Paul also assures us that we do have the ability to stay always ready,
Because we are children of the light.
We receive the light of Christ at Baptism.
And it’s because of that light that we know he’s coming.
And that we know the value of being ready to greet him.
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the servants and the talents.
He stresses the certainty of the Master’s return.
And he stresses the great value of the reward he’ll bestow on those
Who have taken action with the talents he’s given them.
He’ll call them to share in his joy.
He also points out the dangers of wasting or misusing our talents—
Of failure to act.
The servant who buried his talents is not rewarded.
He’s thrown out into the darkness.
According to the servant, it was fear of the master that kept him from acting. He fell victim to that paralyzing fear.
That fear of dire punishment. He could have benefitted from a good fear. A healthy sense of fear that he might disappoint his master
Could have pushed him to do his very best.
The master saw his inaction as laziness.
He hadn’t asked that much of the servant.
Only that he act according to his known ability.
He didn’t have to double the money like the other servants.
Putting it in the bank would have been sufficient.
Yet, the servant failed to do even that much.
So his punishment was just.
Whether the servant’s failure was due to fear or laziness
His fate might heighten our sense of fear.
But let it be that good fear.
A fear that is eased by the repeated assurances that Jesus has given us.
He’s dramatically demonstrated his love for us.
He’s told us of God’s great love for us.
He’s told us that we can even call God our Father.
And he’s told us that God will show us abundant mercy.
In the end—and we do know that end is coming—
That mercy is all any of us can rely upon.
In the mean time, while we alertly await our Master’s return,
We can take positive action to strengthen our relationship with him.
Action that serves him by serving others
Through use of the talents he’s given us.
We should ask ourselves –
What actions are on my spiritual to do list?
Is there something I’ve been too fearful or too lazy to tackle?
If so, Matthew’s Gospel is urging, "Do it now!"
