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Commentary for the 33th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Fr. Phil Bloom - Fri, Nov 11th 2011

Bottom line: Today Jesus asks you to do small things with great love.

There is a humorous story about a family coming out of Mass. The man says to his wife, "That wasn’t much of sermon that father gave." The wife adds, "Yea, and the choir sang off key." Meanwhile, their small son has been listening to his parents' conversation. Finally, he speaks up, "It seemed all right to me," he says, "especially considering that it only cost us a dollar!"

Well, I won't say that you get what you pay for - but Jesus has some words this Sunday about investing what we receive. He tells the famous parable of the talents. The man who receives five talents, put them to work and made an additional five. The second receives two and makes two more. But the man who receives one talent, buries it. Jesus calls him "wicked" and "lazy."

Now, it might surprise you that in this parable the man who had received the least gets chastised. Usually, Jesus is on the side of the underdog. The point of the parable, however, is that the man who received least was driven by fear. He compared himself to others and was afraid to fail. So he did nothing. That was the problem. He did nothing. He buried his talent.

What is the antidote to fear? It is this: an attitude of gratitude. Whatever God has given you, thank him and ask his help to invest it as best you can. Mother Theresa said, "Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies." She didn't speak about doing great things, but doing little things with great love.

This Sunday I am going to ask you to make a conscious investment. I will be giving out a card that lists some of the opportunities in our parish, our homes, our community. Each of you has received talents of time, abilities, energy, relationships and financial resources. Jesus wants you to have an attitude of gratitude that drives out fear. To help with this, I am going to ask one of our youth to give a testimony. It will inspire you to give your all and to support the mission of our parish. Today Jesus asks you to do small things with great love. Amen.

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