Newsletter November 15th 2020 (33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

At first sight, today’s parable seems to suggest that the third servant took a prudent course of action–“I heard you were a hard man, reaping where you have not sown.” The scribes and Pharisees, towards whom it was directed, would argue: God demands perfection; the Law expresses his will; only a scrupulous observance of the Law can give us security. But God’s way is different: He wants an abundant harvest. Jesus wants us to know that salvation come to those who are prepared to risk their all for him. A talent is given to bear fruit, not to lie there unused. It may seem prudent not to risk, but in the end it is not what God expects of us.