THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)
Prv 31:10-13,19-20,30-31; Ps 128; 1 Thes 5:1-6; Mt 25:14-30
COMMENTARY
Wise Foresight for the End Time
We have reached the penultimate Sunday of the liturgical year. In today’s Gospel, the Lord invites us to reflect once again on the wisdom of living in the time of the end, and he does so by another parable, as beautiful and profound as that of the ten virgins last week: the parable of the talents.
1. Still the Eschatological/Wisdom Approach
Our parable follows the parable of the wise/foolish virgins and is in the midst of the end-time teachings: first there is the so-called eschatological discourse in Mt 24, and then there is the parable of the Last Judgment, which speaks of the same theme of final retribution at Christ’s return (Mt 25:31-46). Thus the eschatological-sapiential perspective of Jesus’ teaching in the proposed parable becomes clear, insisting on the wisdom of life that every servant must have for the time of the end, when the “Master” returns.
In this regard, it should be noted that in the biblical-Jewish tradition, wisdom also consists of prudence and practical skill in managing one’s possessions and enriching oneself, as we have seen in the beautiful poem of the “worthy” and therefore wise woman (cf. Pr 31:10-31; first reading), especially: “Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize” (Pr 31:11). Thus the master of the story rebuked the last servant who had not found a way to make something of the “talent” entrusted to him: “Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?” (Mt 25:27).
2. “Good and Faithful Servant” vs “wicked, lazy servant”
From this sapiential perspective, we can better understand the “merits” or “demerits” of the servants to whom the master has generously and wisely entrusted a portion of his property, “according to his ability.” These given “talents” are indeed a great free gift (each talent is worth 10,000 denarii, about half a million today), but they require a responsible and wise use by each servant. This is the commitment that comes almost naturally from gratitude for the trust the Master has placed in each of his servants.
The first two servants, who received five and two talents, respectively, and earned the same amount of money, were praised by the master as “good and faithful” and were allowed to enter the master’s joy. The last servant, on the other hand, was rebuked as a “wicked, lazy servant.” His drama is that he does not believe in the goodness of his master. This is the attitude that breeds doubt, suspicion, fear, and ultimately a completely distorted view of the Master’s person, as expressed in the servant’s own words, “Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter.” Such a view has paralyzed the servant and thus leads him not to freely engage in making the gift received bear fruit. In fact, if one does not believe this, any excuse will be good to do nothing, to remain lazy in everything.
In this regard, for further study, it should be noted that the lazy person is often denounced in the biblical-Judeo sapiential tradition with the very “colorful” ironic texts such as:
Pr 19:24: The sluggard buries a hand in the dish; not even lifting it to the mouth.
Pr 22:13: The sluggard says, “A lion is outside; I might be slain in the street.” (So he will never leave home!)
Hence:
Pr 10:26: As vinegar to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes, are sluggards to those who send them.
And so it is recommended to this guy:
Pr 6:6: Go to the ant, O sluggard, study her ways and learn wisdom.
In the light of these texts, laziness is a particular expression of human foolishness. Thus, the last servant in the parable, denounced by the master as “wicked and lazy,” actually becomes the image of the foolish man/woman who does not know how to value and thus appreciate the gifts he has received, so as to be able to use them wisely and responsibly for a final accounting at the meeting with the master.
3. The Missionary Perspective of the Story i.e., the Eschatological Dimension of the Mission of Every Disciple of Christ
The parable we have analyzed is a clear warning to all the disciples of Christ. They are called to live the time of waiting for the certain return of their Lord, and each of them is entrusted with the various gifts, among which the grace of faith and the knowledge of God stand out. Each one, therefore, is called to live the time of waiting not in a foolish and lazy way, but with wisdom and ingenuity, so that the gift of faith received may grow and bear fruit first in himself and then in others: “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give” (Mt 10:8b). This is the primary mission of every disciple of Christ who awaits his coming. It is not a question of how great the return will be on the capital received, but rather of recognizing the gifts that the Lord has given us, and then working with them according to one’s ability and with the constant support of the same Lord who, when he sent his own on a mission to all peoples, promised: “Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Mt 28:20b). So be it. Amen.
Useful points to consider:
Pope Leo XIV, Extraordinary Consistory, Homily, St Peter’s Basilica, Thursday, 8 January 2026
[…] God’s love, of which we are disciples and apostles, is a “Trinitarian” and “relational” love. It is the very source of that spirituality of communion, by which the Bride of Christ lives and desires to be a home and a school (cf. Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, 6 January 2001, 43). Expressing the hope that this spirituality would flourish at the dawn of the third millennium, Saint John Paul II described it as “the heart’s contemplation of the mystery of the Trinity dwelling in us, and whose light we must also be able to see shining on the face of the brothers and sisters around us” (ibid.).
Our “pausing,” then, is first and foremost a profound act of love for God, for the Church and for the men and women of the whole world. Through this, we allow ourselves to be formed by the Spirit: primarily in prayer and silence, but also by facing one another and listening to one another. In our sharing, we become a voice for all those whom the Lord has entrusted to our pastoral care in many different parts of the world. We must live this act with humble and generous hearts, aware that it is by grace that we are here. Moreover, we bring nothing that we have not first received as a gift or talent, which are not to be squandered, but invested with prudence and courage (cf. Mt 25:14–30).
Saint Leo the Great taught that “it is a great and very precious thing in the sight of the Lord when the whole people of Christ apply themselves together to the same duties, and all ranks and orders… cooperate with one and the same Spirit.” In this way, “the hungry are fed, the naked clothed, the sick visited, and no one seeks his or her own interests, but those of others” (Sermon 88, 4). This is the spirit in which we wish to work together: the spirit of those who desire that every member of the Mystical Body of Christ will cooperate in an orderly way for the good of all (cf. Eph 4:11–13). May we fully carry out our ministry with dignity under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, happy to offer our own labor and to see it its fruits mature. May we likewise welcome the labors of others and rejoice in seeing them flourish (cf. Saint Leo the Great, Sermon 88, 5). […]
Pope Leo XIV, Message for the 63rd World Day of Prayer for Vocations, 4th Sunday of Easter, 26 April 2026 […]
“The Lord of life knows us and enlightens our hearts with his loving gaze.” Indeed, every vocation begins with the awareness and experience of a God who is love (cf. 1 Jn 4:16). He knows us profoundly; he has counted the hairs of our head (cf. Mt 10:30) and has envisaged for each person a unique path of holiness and service. Yet this awareness must always be reciprocal. We are invited to know God through prayer, listening to the Word, the Sacraments, the life of the Church and works of charity for our brothers and sisters.. […]
Dear young people, listen to this voice! Listen to the voice of the Lord who invites you to a full and fruitful life, calling you to put your talents to use (cf. Mt 25:14-30) and to unite your limitations and weaknesses with the glorious cross of Christ. Make time, then, for Eucharistic adoration; meditate faithfully on the word of God, so that you may put it into practice each day; and participate actively and fully in the sacramental and ecclesial life of the Church. In this way, you will come to know the Lord. Through the intimacy of his friendship, you will discover how to give of yourselves, whether through marriage, the priesthood, the permanent diaconate, or consecrated life. Every vocation is an immeasurable gift for the Church and for those who receive it with joy. To know the Lord means above all learning to entrust oneself to him and to his providence, which is abundant in every vocation. […]
Pope Francis, Vespers for the Beginning of the Missionary Month, Homily, Vatican Basilica, Tuesday, 1st October 2019
In the parable we have heard, the Lord appears as a man who, before leaving on a journey, calls his servants and entrusts his property to them (cf. Mt 25:14). God has entrusted us with his greatest treasures: our own lives and the lives of others. He has entrusted any number of different gifts to each of us. These gifts, these talents, are not something to be stored in a safe; they are a true vocation: the Lord calls us to make our talents bear fruit, with boldness and creativity. God will ask us if we stepped forward and took risks, even losing face. This extraordinary Missionary Month should jolt us and motivate us to be active in doing good. Not notaries of faith and guardians of grace, but missionaries.
We become missionaries by living as witnesses: bearing witness by our lives that we have come to know Jesus. It is our lives that speak. Witness is the key word: a word with the same root as the word “martyr”. The martyrs are the primary witnesses of faith: not by their words but by their lives. They know that faith is not propaganda or proselytism: it is a respectful gift of one’s life. They live by spreading peace and joy, by loving everyone, even their enemies, out of love for Jesus. Can we, who have discovered that we are children of the heavenly Father, keep silent about the joy of being loved, the certainty of being ever precious in God’s eyes? That is a message that so many people are waiting to hear. And it is our responsibility. Let us ask ourselves this month: how good a witness am I?
At the end of the parable, the Lord describes the enterprising servant as “good and trustworthy”, and the fearful servant as “wicked and lazy” (cf. vv. 21.23.26). Why is God so harsh with the servant who was afraid? What evil did he do? His evil was not having done good; he sinned by omission. Saint Albert Hurtado once said: “It is good not to do evil, but it is evil not to do good”. This is the sin of omission. This could be the sin of an entire life, for we have been given life not to bury it, but to make something of it; not to keep it for ourselves, but to give it away. Whoever stands with Jesus knows that we keep what we give away; we possess what we give to others. The secret for possessing life is to give it away. To live by omission is to deny our vocation: omission is the opposite of mission.
We sin by omission, that is, against mission, whenever, rather than spreading joy, we think of ourselves as victims, or think that no one loves us or understands us. We sin against mission when we yield to resignation: “I can’t do this: I’m not up to it”. How can that be? God has given you talents, yet you think yourself so poor that you cannot enrich a single person? We sin against mission when we complain and keep saying that everything is going from bad to worse, in the world and in the Church. We sin against mission when we become slaves to the fears that immobilize us, when we let ourselves be paralyzed by thinking that “things will never change”. We sin against mission when we live life as a burden and not as a gift, when we put ourselves and our concerns at the centre, and not our brothers and sisters who are waiting to be loved. […]
Saint Therese of the Child Jesus shows us the way: she made prayer the fuel for missionary activity in the world. […] Then there is Saint Francis Xavier, one of the great missionaries of the Church. He too gives us a jolt: can we emerge from our shell and renounce our comforts for the sake of the Gospel? Finally is the Venerable Pauline Jaricot, a labourer who supported the missions by her daily work: with the offerings that she made from her wages, she helped lay the foundations of the Pontifical Missionary Societies. […]
We are accompanied by a religious woman, a priest and a lay woman. They remind us that no one is excluded from the Church’s mission. […] The Lord is asking you to be a gift wherever you are, and just as you are, with everyone around you. He is asking you not simply to go through life, but to give life; not to complain about life, but to share in the tears of all who suffer. Courage! The Lord expects great things from you. He is also expecting some of you to have the courage to set out and to go wherever dignity and hope are most lacking, where all too many people still live without the joy of the Gospel.
