Thirty-third Ordinary

Matthew 25: 14

Jesus continued, “It’s also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities”.

I have a friend whose father worked a lot of evenings and also travelled a lot for his job. She once told me, “I was always relieved when I heard Dad’s footsteps on the stairs coming up to our house. Life never seemed quite right when he was away, and for a while I found myself becoming withdrawn and even depressed during his absences”.

Though God never leaves us, there are times we experience the absence of God. This week’s gospel begins by saying that the landowner was leaving – going on a journey. The story revolves around what happens in the landowner’s absence. Some people stay busy and involved in life, putting their “talents” to good use. Others withdraw from life and get disengaged.

Perhaps one of the best benefits of having faith, even in those times when we don’t feel God’s presence, is that it gives us the confidence to continue to function well in life – physically, emotionally, and spiritually – despite our uncertainties.

This is one of the biggest gifts that parents can nurture in their children – the ability to have faith even in times of doubt. We will all go through times of confusion. But the worst thing we can do at such times is to withdraw our gifts and our talents from the world. For it is in putting them to good use that we’re most likely to hear God’s footsteps and know that all is well.