CONNECTIONS – 33rd Sunday of Year A

Fr. Joe
Jagodensky
SDS

SOULFUL MUSE

33rd Sunday of Year A

Three financial words – investment, yield, return. Those earthly felt feelings that we yearn for? They are divinely provided for us through every, single situation in our lives.

Marry those three business words to these three words Father, Son, Spirit and we then have what’s called a sacred, blessed, holy life. Financially, it’s not a bargain. Perhaps, even a bad risk for what’s called for in our lives. It becomes a divine investment. Not of our making ours for the taking.

Lectionary
Comic Strip

James Wetzstein
Lutheran Pastor

33rd Sunday of Year A

SOURCE: Agnus Day Archive

Word of the Week

Sunday Index

33rd Sunday of Year A

FIRST READING

Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 - Wisdom is the dominant theme of this first reading as well as the Gospel selected for this Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. Under the light of the Gospel, this passage reinforces the importance of using our time well and profitably and in a manner that results in a readiness for whatever may come. Here, and in other passages, we seewisdom personified as a woman. In this particular passage it is a mother extending teachings of wisdom to her son who is a king!

SECOND READING

I Thessalonians 5: 1-6 - Human beings, especially Christians, have been fascinated by the end time issue since the Church’s very beginnings. There is mention throughout the scriptures of, “the signs of the times” that speak of the importance of being ready. Wisdom calls us to be vigilant about leading virtuous lives and by doing so we need not concern ourselves with “the when” of the end times. Rather, we are called to expend our energies in seeking to live a life of goodness, as the letter of Saint Paul encourages the Thessalonians and us to be children of the light.

GOSPEL

Matthew 25: 14-30 - The Gospel encourages us to recognize the gifts God has given us and to use them wisely. The servant who buried his talents did so out fear. Time and again Jesus will tell us that fear is useless, what is needed is trust. Fear causes much destructive behavior of others and of ourselves. Fear narrows and constrains; it paralyzes any good outcome. Wisdom will not allow fear to reign over us. Wisdom then is our defense during fearful times. If you take some time to think of some of the greatest leaders in history, you will see that they led in fearful times and allowed wisdom to help them to move beyond their fear.

Gospel
Haiku

Fr. Don K.

33rd Sunday of Year A

Lectionary
Poems

Scott L. Barton

Presbyterian Pastor

33rd Sunday of Year A

Treasure
This

Beware that you don’t use this text
To be the means whereby the next
Year’s budget you might “make” converges
With what it seems the story urges.

One talent being far too much
For common laborers to touch,
It speaks, instead, of what is gained
When nothing you did, you attained.

CONTINUES

Movies &
Television

33rd Sunday of Year A

The Croods (2013)

The 2013 animated film 'The Croods' is a contemporary retelling of the parable of the talents. At the center of the story is Grug, a caveman patriarch whose fear of the unknown and lack of creativity have served as a barrier to his progress and success. When his family is forced to leave their cave, Grug is initially resistant to the idea of embracing change, but he eventually discovers the power of his unique gifts and uses them to his advantage.

Much like the parable, the movie follows Grug's journey to find his purpose as he embraces the unknown and learns to use his talents to his benefit. Through the lessons he learns, Grug comes to understand that taking risks, embracing change, and using his creativity are the keys to success. Through his journey of self-discovery, Grug ultimately comes to realize that his talents are not only valuable, they are essential to achieving his goals. In the end, Grug's journey of transformation serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of recognizing one's talents and using them to their advantage.

1776 - The Movie (1972)

1776, a movie based on the 1969 musical by the same name, is an excellent example of how Jesus’ parable of the talents can be applied. The film follows Thomas Jefferson as he struggles with composing the Declaration of Independence. Despite being initially resistant to taking on the task, Jefferson eventually discovers his talent for writing and finds a way to use it to make history. The song "But Mr. Adams" encapsulates this perfectly, showing how Jefferson's unique talents are brought out in order to create something great. Through Jefferson's story, 1776 demonstrates that we all have special gifts and talents that can be used for good if we embrace them and find the courage to use them effectively.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

One element that is often overlooked in this scene is the lighting. Notice how they are in the shadow at the beginning, then when Andy says, "Get busy living, or get busy dying," he walks into the light. Then as he tempts Red with his secret, Red also walks toward the light, though not completely out of the shadow. It's perfect foreshadowing for the end of the movie. So so beautiful.

Choosing to Live

by Fr. George Corrigan, OFM

One of my favorite films is the 1994 drama, The Shawshank Redemption. It is a movie I never tire of watching. One of the central characters in the movie is Ellis “Red” Redding, portrayed by Morgan Freeman. As a young man Red was rightly convicted of murder and has spent 40 plus years of his adult life in Shawshank Prison. There he knows the routine, has a certain status among the inmates, and has settled in. As he remarks about himself – he is an institutionalized man. Part of that life is that he lives in a state of managed fear from the guards, prison gangs, and the long silence in the night when he is alone with his thoughts. Part of that life is the operation of a contraband business acquiring and selling goods and hard-to-get items to other prisoners. In his own way, he is comfortable… safe. He risks little, he gains nothing.

There are two events that shatter his world. One is when a friend Brooks, the prisoner librarian, is given parole after almost 60 years in prison. Too quickly they receive word that Brooks has taken his own life, unable to live his redemption and live as a free man in the world – unable to escape the fear which has gripped his life for too long. All of the wonderful gifts that made Brooks beloved among the other prisoners now lays buried along with him.

The other event which shakes Red’s world to the core is when his friend Andy escapes. The day before, Andy had cryptically made Red promise that when Red was paroled, to go to an obscure field outside Buxton Maine and dig up a box. And then Andy’s last words to Red are You get busy living or you get busy dying.

When Red is paroled he discovers how deep are his fears that he is an “institutionalized man” and will all too soon follow Brooks path to suicide in order to bury himself in life or turn to crime to bury himself in prison. Either way to bury himself and all that he has become – afraid to Hope, afraid to explore, to risk the offer of freedom that his friend Andy has waiting for him outside Buxton Maine.

CONTINUES