Wednesday, Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Luke 19:11-28
In his Confessions St. Augustine asks, “What then is time?” He says that he knows what it is if no one asks, but when prompted to explain it, then a sufficient answer escapes him. In the gospel today, Jesus does not attempt to explain what time is. But he compares it to gold coins that a rich man might give to his servants to be invested shrewdly. Like the coins, time is not a gift and much less a luxury. Rather it is an article of trade that humans are to use for producing the tender care that is pleasing to God.
In Jesus’ parable, as we just heard, one servant returns the coin to his master with no interest at all. He has not squandered his time but has not taken advantage of it either. We can imagine him getting up in the morning, going to work, eating dinner and watching television before going to bed – a cycle that is repeated thousands of times in a long life. What we might find innocuous, God finds deplorable. He condemns the man’s life as worthless and sends him packing.
If the judgment sounds harsh, we should take note of the last line of the passage. Jesus is off to Jerusalem where he will lay down his life for our welfare. We must read this as more than preparing a place for us in eternity. It means also that he releases for us the graces to make much of our time. We too can follow his way of selfless love that restores sight to the blind and sets captives free. Such acts make life – the time we have – worth living.
