As I look around, I know there are a few things we all have in common. For starters, we are all alive. Beyond breathing, eating, and sleeping, what else do we have in common? I doubt that everyone here is an American citizen, or Catholic, much less a Christian. What we all have in common is that God unconditionally loves us. We are here in response to God’s love. The question that this gospel brings to mind is do we in turn love God, and if so, how?

In this parable, Jesus speaks of some day separating us, “one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” Even today in the Holy Land, a shepherd will often herd sheep and goats together but come nightfall, they have to be separated. To be kept warm, Goats need to be sheltered. Sheep, however, do not need to be pampered.

Comparing those being judged with sheep and goats, Jesus proceeds to contrasts the good from the bad, leaving both groups somewhat surprised by the outcome. Nowhere does Jesus speak of evil or sin. Nor is anyone accused of doing anything bad. Rather, the lesson here is about neglect. Those who reach out to the least of his brothers and sisters will be blessed with eternal life while those who neglected them will be sent off to eternal punishment.

The basis of his judgment will be our response to the poor and the needy. Those who sought to meet their needs will be saved. Those who neglected them will be condemned. That may sound rather harsh but how can we claim to love God if we deliberately choose to ignore God? Yet that is where Jesus said that he could be found. “Whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.”

When we go to confession, we admit that we have sinned, but then some will say, “I can’t think of anything I’ve done that is seriously wrong.” Perhaps that is true. Most of us mean well and want to do the right thing, but often we tend to overlook what could be called sins of omission or neglect. Do we ever think to confess the times when we refuse, as did the goats in this parable, to extend a helping hand to those in need or to give of our time, talent, or treasure?

Think back to the gospel parable from last Sunday. Recall how each servant had to account for his use of the talents entrusted to him. Like those servants, God has blessed us with a share of the world’s goods and when the time comes, we will have to explain how we used them. Until then, like the goats, do we insist on pampering ourselves or do we invest our gifts wisely by sharing what we have with those in need of our help?

Even many saints were slow in learning this critical lesson of life. By her own admission, it was only after she had been a nun for twenty years that St. Teresa of Avila experienced a true conversion to Jesus. Thereafter, she spent her energy in serving others, fully aware that, as the parable implies, God is counting on us to build his kingdom. In one of her prayers, she wrote, “Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he is to look out; Christ’s compassion to the world. Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which he is to bless now.”

Jesus is giving us fair warning. The verdict of our judgment is ultimately in our hands. In the cathedral in Lubeck, Germany, there is a plaque that reads, “Thus speaks Christ our Lord to us; you call me master and obey me not; you call me light and see me not; you call me the way and walk me not; you call me the life and live me not; you call me wise and follow me not; you call me fair and love me not; you call me rich and ask me not; you call me eternal and see me not. If I condemn thee, blame me not.”

Each of us will be held personally accountable when we meet Christ at our last judgment. Do our deeds demonstrate the commitment we profess today as Christians to Christ our King? If there is a gap between the ideals we profess and the values we live by, then today would be a good time to recommit ourselves to Christ and his mission. We must take his message to heart and allow him to be our king, not just in name but in fact as well.

Our gospel passage today is full of examples where we can reach out. We can give food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty. The opportunity is always there for us to make a donation to our Outreach program, filling their bins or making a monetary gift to support Good Cheer, our local food bank. We can welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit the sick or the imprisoned, if not in person then by mail. These examples are called the corporal works of mercy.

The only real joy in this world comes from helping others. When we choose not to, then we choose not to love, and so long as we refuse to love, we blind ourselves to God’s unconditional love. As followers of Christ, we are called to make God’s kingdom a reality in whatever place we are and in whatever time we live. God’s reign is brought about by the simple acts of compassion, reconciliation, and justice. Only then can we see the face of Christ in every man, woman and child.

C.S. Lewis once said, “The normal state of humanity is barbarism, just as the normal surface of our planet is salt water.” Our mission is to prove otherwise, namely that the normal state of humanity is love.

I suspect every expectant mother has been told, “The baby will come when the baby decides to come.” When the baby does come, there is no stopping that birth. The same thing can be said about the end of time or the moment we die, whichever comes first.

Should we be afraid to die or the end of time? St. Paul tells the Thessalonians and us that we should be ready for the end, but we shouldn’t be afraid if death catches us off guard for as long as we live in the light of the Lord, we won’t be left in the dark. This is the paramount lesson of these readings.

Since Jesus talks about talents, which in biblical times was an extraordinary amount of money, this parable seems to be a commentary on financial investments but it really isn’t. Like the two that we heard on previous weekends, this parable speaks about the final coming of the Son of Man. Jesus begins by saying that before leaving on a journey, a man entrusted his possessions to his servants.

That man was Jesus. He left us behind when he ascended into heaven. We fit into the parable as one of the servants. Jesus didn’t entrust any sum of money to us but he entrusts us with his wisdom, his teachings, and his blue print for building the kingdom of God in our lifetime. The Church has become what it is today because many believers invested their knowledge of the faith well by sharing its Good News with others. The wisdom and understanding we possess today of our faith and Jesus Christ was passed on to us by our parents, catechists, homilists and many other Christians who influenced us over time. As his followers we are also expected to pass on the good news of our faith to others.

Every day we have many chances to use the talents God has given us. God expects us to use them for the salvation of the world. In the parable Jesus relates that two servants did that well. To both of them, their master said, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” He didn’t compliment the servant who returned the talent he had buried. Instead, that servant was reprimanded for being lazy and fearful.

For Matthew, the profitable servants stand for Christians who heard the message of Jesus, believe in him, and followed his new way of life. The unprofitable servant refers to those Christians who do not follow the way of Christ. Instead, they carelessly disregard the Word of God by their self-seeking and lack of concern for heeding his call to live the faith.

This parable has much to say to us modern American Catholics. For example, it says something to the pragmatic businessman whose work consumes his time and energy so he never questions his own values in relation to those of Jesus Christ. For him, Jesus is neither the meaning of his life nor the goal of his human activity.

This parable is also meant for Catholics who see their faith only in terms of occasionally attending Mass and when convenient, keeping the commandments. They feel no compulsion to live their faith consistently or to deepen their understanding of the faith they profess as Catholics. They fail to see that Jesus will want to know how we use what we have in order to help others also know and serve God.

They are often accused of being “cafeteria Catholics,” that is, selecting only what they like about the faith and ignoring what they don’t like. Actually, we are all “cafeteria Catholics.” Think back to when you last went through a buffet line that offered more than you could consume. You had to be selective. Our Church is like that. But is what we are helping ourselves to as we go through the line and define our notion of being Catholic leaving us with a balanced understanding of our Catholic faith?

We each approach our Catholic faith from different angles, ranging from conservative or traditional to liberal and many stages in between. Some in one camp are quite critical of those in the other without really understanding each side’s point of view. Even Pope Francis has his critics. The odds are, since both sides share the same belief in Jesus Christ, that they share the same viewpoint on relevant issues such as respect life, but are expressing their views differently.

Jesus expects us to do something for the salvation of the world but first we must grow and mature in our faith. We do that by investing time and energy to better understand what being a Catholic is really about. How many of us have tried to better understand the teachings of our Catholic faith since taking religious ed classes while growing up? Those who haven’t may not be looking at our faith with an adult mindset.

My friends, this parable is a wake-up call! Jesus expects us to use our talents and minds to build up the kingdom of God. This we are motivated to do when we better understand the message he left behind that has been passed on to us by the traditions and teachings of our Church. Otherwise, we may be afraid to share the good news out of ignorance.

To the degree that we use our talents in ways that are humanly and spiritually profitable, Jesus will reward us. We come here each week to study his message and model our lives on his example, along with being nurtured by him in the Eucharist. As long as we strive to use our talents to love, teach, pray and serve, Jesus will judge us kindly at the end of time with compassion and generosity, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Come share your master’s joy.”

How wise are we? That question comes to mind as I pondered these readings. “Resplendent and unfading is wisdom, and she is readily perceived by those who love her.” If we consider ourselves wise, then hopefully we are prepared for any unforeseen circumstance that could end our lives. Too often we are reminded that events beyond our control do happen: devastating earthquakes, raging forest fires, torrential downpours resulting in unanticipated floods, auto accidents, strokes, heart attacks, or a shooting spree can snuff the life out of us on a moment’s notice.

Like many in their day, Jesus and his disciples believed that the world would soon end. Biblical prophecies spoke of accelerating decay as a consequence of social chaos, political oppression, poverty, famine and rampant illness. The way the world would end was and still is a matter of debate. Some prophets, like Zechariah, envision a major catastrophe while others, like Isaiah, believed that the transition would be sudden yet peaceful.

Jesus described the end times both ways. Today’s gospel passage resembles Isaiah’s vision. Jesus’ return at the end of time will be like that of the bridegroom showing up late and unexpectedly for his wedding feast.

This parable of the ten virgins seems farfetched to us yet it describes a commonplace situation in biblical times. The groom would arrive at the house of the bride to claim her as his wife. If he arrived after sunset, the bridesmaids would greet him with lamps. Jesus used this familiar image to convey a lesson about his final coming. He warns his followers that his unexpected arrival would catch some of them off guard just as the bridegroom in this story caught five ill-prepared virgins by surprise.

We can interpret Jesus’ parable in this way: he is the bridegroom and the wedding feast stands for the eternal feast of heaven, which commences when Jesus returns in glory to claim the Church as his eternal bride. The wise virgins stand for those who are prepared to meet him while the foolish ones stand for those who are not prepared.

In the years following the ascension of Jesus, many of his followers anticipated his return in glory in their lifetime, but as time passed, they began to realize that Jesus’ return was not imminent. He was coming again, but as he warned, no one knew the day or the hour when he would return so Matthew and the other evangelists began to emphasize a spirit of readiness, challenging generations of Christians to live, like the wise virgins, ready for the final moment.

The odds are, that like countless other Christians, we will not witness the return of Christ in such a dramatic manner in our lifetime. The moment when we meet Jesus will likely be when we take our last breath and when we do, will we be ready? Or will he say to us, “Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.” If we don’t want to hear those words said to us, then we need to follow the example of the wise virgins.

You may feel that the wise virgins treated the foolish virgins in the parable unfairly. After all, Jesus often talked about sharing but keep in mind some things in life cannot be shared. I can borrow a cup of sugar from you but I can’t take credit for your good deeds or your relationship with Jesus. We cannot borrow our way into heaven. Repentance and our good deeds, which demonstrate how well we have obeyed God’s commandments, provide the “oil” we need to keep our lamps lit.

Two weeks ago I said, “There is only one means of loving God and proving that love: it is by loving our neighbor; there is only one medium by which we serve God: it is by serving our neighbor and conversely, love of neighbor is made possible by our loving relationship with God. The greatest commandment ultimately demands a new lifestyle, a way of living that draws us so close to God that we become His presence for others.” While we may feel sorry for the foolish virgins who are barred from the feast, we must take responsibility for our own readiness.

Many people try to avoid thoughts of death and so are not prepared for the moment when it comes. One litmus test that separates the wise from the foolish would be that the foolish have the attitude of “what me worry?” as though being baptized is all that matters. As wise Christians, our approach is quite different. We face the reality of death throughout our lives. The uncertainty that death could happen at any moment is the reason why we try to live our lives with meaning, purpose, and direction. When we don’t, we must then seek to be reconciled with God. Actively seeking Christ through worship and good deeds helps us to stay awake and be ready to greet him. We wisely realize that we are given this lifetime to prepare ourselves for where we will be for all eternity, which ideally will be at the eternal banquet.

We don’t know when we will take our last breath but when that moment comes, would we be ready to die well? The only real obstacle to dying well is our failure to live well. To live well, we need wisdom; that quality found in the beauty of truth, the radiance of peace, and the realm of love. Wisdom combines common sense, good judgment, and fidelity to God’s laws and ways. Wisdom awakens us to the reality that choosing to live well this day may be the wisest choice we can make for tomorrow we might not have that chance.

One day, two farmers were arguing about the validity of their respective religions. A third farmer listened for a while and then observed, “I’s been bringing my wheat here to this same mill for over forty years. Now, there be two roads that lead up to the mill. Never once, friends, has the miller asked me which road I takes. He just asks, “Is your wheat good?”

I doubt anyone here is a wheat farmer, but supposedly we are all on a journey leading us to be with God. When we get to the pearly gates, I don’t imagine St. Peter is going to ask us how we got there, but if this gospel is any indication, we will be asked, “Is your love good?”

In today’s readings we learn how essential it is for us to love.
Our short gospel passage makes that clear. Once again, the Pharisees set out to stump Jesus by asking him which is the greatest commandment. The Torah listed not ten but 613 commandments. Quoting scripture, Jesus replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment.”

Then he added, “The second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” This afterthought points out that the other commandments serve as ways for us to demonstrate that our love is good.

When we hear that word, we usually think of romance, joy and warm feelings and sometimes it is; other times love is a matter of dedication, loyalty and commitment. We think of love as being defined by the interior disposition of our hearts but these readings stress that love also involves doing what God wants us to, even if we don’t feel like it and our heart isn’t in it. Love of God is more than warm fuzzy feelings and thoughts. Love of God has to be shown if our love is good.

As Paul points out, we are called to imitate the Lord and serve the living and true God rather than idols. Idols in this day and age could be whatever obsesses us, such as the Internet, professional sports, or computer games. Instead, we are urged to take seriously the command to keep holy the Lord’s Day by taking time for worship, such as we are doing today. But will you do that on All Saints’ Day?

The passage from Exodus begins with God’s commands to be careful in how we treat others. God speaks of aliens, widows, and orphans as well as the poor and needy. If they are mistreated and cry out, God will hear their cries because God is compassionate and expects us to be as well. How can we hear this passage without thinking of those less fortunate than we are? Illegal immigrants, for example, who face a bleak future if they are deported, or folks standing on street corners with their possessions because they can’t find an affordable place to call home. When you see them, are you uncaring and harbor ill thoughts? Or are you prompted by God’s dire warning to show compassion toward them? If so, your love is good.

To profess that we love God while remaining indifferent to the plight of others is a contradiction. Showing love in such circumstances may be dreadfully difficult yet, more often than not, we meet God in such encounters. Our holiness is an illusion if we pray daily and attend Mass on Sundays, but distance ourselves from others. God cares about how we treat others for everyone is made in his image.

These two commandments, love of God and love of neighbor, are actually one. There is only one means of loving God and proving that love: it is by loving our neighbor; there is only one medium by which we serve God: it is by serving our neighbor and conversely, love of neighbor is made possible by our loving relationship with God. God’s unconditional love is what enables us to overcome our lack of concern for others and our selfishness. The greatest commandment ultimately demands a new lifestyle, a way of living that draws us so close to God that we become His presence for others.

In the corporal works of mercy God gives us ways to show that our love is good. Anytime you forget what they are, just look at our windows: visit the imprisoned, visit the sick, feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger and bury the dead.

God wisely gives us other ways to demonstrate love, such as the Ten Commandments. The first three remind us that God should come first in our lives, since without God, we would not even be alive, let alone gathered here in worship. The other seven are means for us to prove our love of neighbor, thus showing that our love is good.

In your next quiet prayer time, I invite you to reflect deeply on your relationship to your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers and even strangers. Ask yourself if there are there situations in your life where you refuse to forgive another person for something said or done to you? How do you feel when someone has treated you unfairly or unjustly? Your answer is one way of judging for yourself if your love is good.

 

We just witnessed a dispute between Jesus and the Pharisees on the question of paying the census tax. Every adult in the Roman Empire under the age of 65, regardless of gender or status had to pay this tax, which for many people equaled a day’s wages. They gave back to Caesar something that already belonged to the emperor, a coin bearing his image. For the Jews, this tax was scandalous for unlike the Romans, they did not see Caesar as a deity. With their question, the Pharisees were trying to trap Jesus one-way or the other. But instead of saying yea or nay, Jesus replied with one of his unforgettable lines, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”

What belongs to Caesar is easy enough for us to know. Many government agencies, from the county auditor to the IRS, find ways to tell us what we owe in taxes. But what do we repay to God? That is a question a fair number of us pay little attention to.

At the moment I suspect you are thinking, “Ah, there goes Father, talking about money again,” but we owe God much more than the loose change in our pockets. We owe God our very being. All that we are is God’s gift to us. This gospel passage invites us to look deep within ourselves and ask, “What are we really giving back to God?” Many people think of stewardship simply as a means for the parish to raise money. I won’t deny that, but more importantly, stewardship should be seen as a personal and spiritual journey, not just a fund-raising technique. Stewardship reflects our attitude of gratitude toward God.

The contrast between Caesar and God is a timeless reminder of
the clash between earthly and spiritual powers that compete for our attention. As people of faith, we are continually challenged to take the road less traveled by. That means seeing our relationship with God as an ongoing daily journey, fully mindful of the many spiritual and worldly blessings that we have been given. Such a lifestyle is a dramatic departure from our society’s consumer mindset with its emphasis on wealth, materialism, and individualism.

As people of faith, we are called to share what we have, to
serve others, and be actively engaged in our faith community, striving to build the kingdom of God. In the typical family setting, for example, its members usually come to realize that each person has an important role to play if the family is to thrive. In the family setting, we can see stewardship at work. When everyone pitches in, life on the home front is richly blessed.

Fifty years ago at Vatican II, the Church expanded that vision, making the point that every person should be proud of the many opportunities to carry out their mission in ways that give glory to God. The more we glorify God in what we do at work, home and in the parish, the more we are able to show others around us how life in Christ really does raise up the dignity of every person.

Occasionally some parishioners complain that our parish is becoming too political, lamenting that politics do not belong in a church setting. Actually, Jesus was quite political. He came to build a better world and politics plays a vital role in creating the society in which we live. Both religion and economics are embedded in politics and kinship. In this gospel scene, Jesus is challenging us to discern how the actual use of political power should relate to the sovereign authority of God.

Recall the point we heard in our first reading when the Lord reminded Cyrus, the king of Persia, “I am the Lord and there is no other, there is no God besides me.” Moments ago, in our response to the psalm, we sang, “Give the Lord glory and honor.” And rightly so for our life span on this planet is a mere microcosm of the time God gives us. Once we take our last breath, ideally we will spend eternity in God’s presence.
What we do in this lifetime reflects what we desire most to do in the next. Thus, our overriding commitment has to be to God. Of course, we must accept lawful civil authority; as Christians we are called to be good, responsible citizens, working for the common good of the community.

However, we cannot look to the state as our moral guide. There are too many laws that are immoral in the sight of God that diminish the dignity of some people or the world we live in, hence they fail to respect the sanctity of life. Nothing is politically right which is morally wrong. Whenever there is a genuine clash between our duties to the state and to God, there should be no doubt in our minds where our duty lies. We must put God and his laws first even if doing so puts us in conflict with the state.

As Christians we are citizens of both this world and the next. We have obligations toward both that we must honor. Hopefully the obligations we have toward each will never clash but when they do, we cannot afford to surrender our conscience if the choice before us violates the moral principles of our faith. We are urged to follow the example of countless saints who placed God first in their lives for that is what is expected of every citizen of heaven.
One such saint was Thomas More. As he was being led to his execution for refusing to recognize King Henry as the head of the Church, he said, “I die the King’s good servant, but God’s first.”

Every Christian living in the modern world is faced with difficult decisions at times since the state no longer bases its law on God’s laws and that can pose serious dilemmas for Christians. There are so many little “Caesars” always vying for a piece of our conscience, trying to draw us away from God and divine authority. Thomas More shows that we must give God the first and highest claim on our loyalty. When giving whatever else we must to Caesar, let us make sure that we do not surrender our conscience, the most precious thing we have.