{"id":1691,"date":"2017-11-14T07:29:35","date_gmt":"2017-11-14T07:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/batkol.info\/?p=1691"},"modified":"2017-11-14T07:29:35","modified_gmt":"2017-11-14T07:29:35","slug":"the-thirty-third-sunday-in-ordinary-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/2017\/11\/14\/the-thirty-third-sunday-in-ordinary-time\/","title":{"rendered":"The Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (19 November 2017)<\/p>\n

Prov 31:10-13,19-20,30-31; Ps 128; 1 Thess 5:1-6; Mt 25:14-30<\/p>\n

Theme: Blessed are those who fear the Lord<\/p>\n

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Download<\/a><\/p>\n

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The woman whose praises are sung this Sunday is so full of energy.\u00a0 In the passage as a whole (Prov 31:10-31) we learn she not only makes garments but sells them, she gets up while it is still dark \u201cand provides food for her household and tasks for her servant-girls,\u201d she buys a field, she plants a vineyard, she gives to the poor.\u00a0 Her strong arms and skillful hands are always at work.\u00a0 This is someone whose fear of the Lord is expressed by active engagement in the life of her family and her community.<\/p>\n

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Such a life of active service is held up for our imitation by Matthew, not only in the parable of the talents but in the two preceding parables, first of the faithful and unfaithful slave and then of the ten bridesmaids (Mt 24:45-25:13).\u00a0 These three parables are followed by an account of the judgment of the nations, at which we will be rewarded or punished according to whether we have served others or have not.\u00a0 In serving others we serve Jesus, who is our master.\u00a0 As our master he will judge how well, or poorly, we have served him.<\/p>\n

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Michael Crosby writes: \u201cThe concept of \u2018doing\u2019\u2014in contrast to \u2018saying\u2019 \u2013and \u2018doing good\u2019 in contrast to \u2018doing evil\u2019 or nothing at all in the face of injustice and evil is central to Matthew.\u201d (Crosby, 37)\u00a0\u00a0 One image for the contrast of doing good to doing evil\/doing nothing is the image of light as opposed to darkness, which appears in all three of this Sunday\u2019s passages. We are told of the woman in Proverbs that \u201cher lamp does not go out at night (31:18). Paul tells us that we are \u201cchildren of the light\u201d so we should not \u201csleep as the rest do but\u2026stay alert and sober.\u201d\u00a0 Paul\u2019s words echo Matthew: \u201cBlessed is the slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives.\u201d (Mt 24:46) The servant who buries his master\u2019s coins in the ground is condemned to be thrown \u201cinto the darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The parables of the bridesmaids and the talents can make us uncomfortable.\u00a0 Couldn\u2019t the wise bridesmaids have given some oil to the foolish ones? (Even though oil sufficient for five lamps would not have provided light for very long when distributed among ten lamps.) \u00a0\u00a0The third servant may not have made his master any money, but he has not lost him any money either; burying coins for safe-keeping was normal practice.\u00a0 (The fact that it was normal practice may explain why the master entrusts his servants with money rather than other forms of wealth such as olive groves or flocks of sheep. The parable requires property than can safely be hidden in the ground.)<\/p>\n

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But these parables were not written to instruct us in how we should treat our colleagues \u2013 who has not at some point either borrowed or lent \u2018oil\u2019? \u2013 or deal with workers who try to get by with doing as little as possible \u2013 yes, the man was timid and lazy but being thrown into outer darkness seems excessive.\u00a0 We must remember that the message of the parables is how we are to serve Jesus\u2014the bridegroom and the master.\u00a0 If he wants ten lamps burning or his property to thrive that\u2019s what he should have. After all, how hard would it have been to bring a flask of oil in case the bridegroom was late or to take the coins to the bank?<\/p>\n

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Bibliography: \u00a0Crosby, Michael H., \u201cMatthew\u2019s Gospel: The Disciples\u2019 Call to Justice,\u201d in The New Testament-Introducing the Way of Discipleship, ed. Wes Howard-Brook and Sharon H. Ringe (Maryknoll NY: Orbis Books, 2002), 16-39<\/p>\n

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For Reflection and Discussion: 1. What have I been given\u2014e.g., good health, education, money\u2014that I have hidden in the ground rather than use it to serve? 2.\u00a0 How could I dig up my \u2018talent\u2019 and put it to use?<\/p>\n

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This week\u2019s Sunday Gospel Commentary was prepared by<\/p>\n

Anne Morton, BA, MA, MA (Theology); Bat Kol Alumna 2010
Email address: anmorton@mymts.net<\/p>\n

[Copyright \u00a9 2017]<\/p>\n

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PLEASE NOTE: The weekly Gospel commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Sunday Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol.\u00a0 Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome<\/p>\n

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Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem<\/p>\n

1983-2017<\/p>\n

\u201cChristians Studying the Bible \u00a0within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.\u201d<\/p>\n

gill@batkol.info<\/p>\n

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The Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (19 November 2017) Prov 31:10-13,19-20,30-31; Ps 128; 1 Thess 5:1-6; Mt 25:14-30 Theme: Blessed are those who fear the Lord \u00a0 Download \u00a0 The woman whose praises are sung this Sunday is so full of energy.\u00a0 In the passage as a whole (Prov 31:10-31) we learn she not only…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":1686,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1691"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1691\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}