Newsletter November 19th 2017
|Although the Book of Proverbs was written in a patriarchal society that viewed a wife as a possession, the first reading for today still praises skill and labour above charm and beauty. This praise was counter-cultural at the time. In the second reading, the author warns the people not to be lazy, but to be alert and ready for the “day of the Lord” (end of the world), for they were certain that Jesus was returning to earth in their own lifetime. In the gospel, Jesus praises the servants who take risks and work hard, not the servant who buries what he is given out of fear.