AFRAID TO COMMIT SIN BUT NOT AFRAID TO OMIT GOOD?

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mt 25:14-30

The 25th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew is divided into three parables. The first, which was the Gospel Reading last Sunday, is the Parable of the Ten Virgins. The second, which is the Gospel this Sunday, is the Parable of the Talents. And the third, which will be the Gospel next Sunday, the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe, is the Parable of the Last Judgment. Evidently, this chapter of Matthew reminds us of three things: first, that the Lord Jesus will come again at the end of time; second, that we shall give an accounting of the lives to the Lord when He comes again on the Last Day; third, that the Lord will judge us according to our deeds.

But what seems to be striking about the three parables that constitute the 25th chapter of Matthew is that those who are condemned in all three parables are not explicitly described as wicked, immoral, sinful people. The five virgins in the first parable are simply foolish. The third servant in the parable today, who goes off after being entrusted with one talent by his master and digs a hole on the ground where he buried the talent, is simply lazy and afraid of his master. And the Parable of the Last Judgment does not paint the condemned as a gang of notorious people. In the third parable, it is very clear that the focus is not on the bad deeds committed but on the good deeds omitted.

As regards the parable today, we may ask, “What immoral thing the third servant did to deserve the punishment he got from his master? Is burying his talent under the ground for safekeeping sinful? What wicked deed did he do to be so severely penalized?” The answers are clear. The third servant did nothing immoral. No, burying his talent under the ground for safekeeping is not sinful. He did nothing evil. But the problem is that he also did nothing good. For fear of his master, the third servant failed to do the good he is supposed to do: invest the talent entrusted to him. The message relative to the final judgment is clear: we shall be judged not only based on the evil we do but also equally, if not more heavily, on the basis of the good we fail, or worse, refuse, to do.

As far as sin is concerned, there are two kinds. One is the sin of commission where we actually do something evil. The other is the sin of omission where we omit doing the good we are supposed to do. Thus, in the final analysis, salvation is not merely a matter of avoiding evil. It is also very much a matter of doing good.

Let us avoid doing evil. But let us not forget doing good. If we fear committing sin, should we not also be equally, if not more, afraid omitting good?