As we come up on the close of what’s called Ordinary Time in our church calendar, my friends, the Scriptures we listen to talk a lot about the “end times,” and how it is we each shall be called to account for the gifts and talents God has given to us.

The first reading today boasts of the virtues of a worthy spouse: faithful, reliable, dependable, caring for those in need: a person of integrity whose reputation is known and praised by all at the city gates.

The Gospel gets into a little more detail about what our Creator expects us to do with the equipment He gives us.

We see in that passage what the Master is pleased with. We also see how displeased the Master is with the one who is lazy and fearful about using what had been given to him.

Then in the second reading, St. Paul cautions us that we just never know the day, nor the hour, nor the circumstance where God will say to us: That’s it! Your job on earth is finished. Come, now, and be judged to receive your eternal reward.

And we all sure do want to hear those Gospel words: “Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter the joys I have prepared for you.”

So the keys to this eternal reward are: Our faith in the promises Jesus has made to us about life after life on this earth, and how well we use the talents and skills, the energies and abilities, we have been created with for the sake of the City of God here on earth.

Now for those who are in the traditional school-age years of life, there’s a very concentrated focus on training and learning in order to become competent to meet adult responsibilities at home, in the workplace, and in the community.

So a student puts today’s Scripture lessons into practice by studying hard, passing those exams, and really taking one’s schooling and education seriously.

It’s always sad to see a student who doesn’t do that, but simply “blows off” the school years as a waste of time, and just coasts his or her way through to the end.

Then for those in the adult-years of their working lives, there needs to be an everyday, and every-morning re-commitment to the tasks at hand, using all the training, the skills, and the energies needed to do the best job possible, just for that day, and always with a clear sense of doing it for the others in one’s life, much more so than for oneself.

And along that way, there might even be the need or opportunity for some continuing education.

Adult-learning centers have become a very well-established piece of the “life-long learning” aspect of our present day culture.

Then we get to the senior years when people can retire. For as promising as that sounds, it’s so important for a retiree not to just curl up in a corner and feel like life has no purpose any longer. No.

All the pre-retirement planning literature counsels a person to have some plans on how he or she will stay active in the community and thus still have a reason to get up each day.

People who are really good at this are the ones who confess: “I’m way busier in retirement than I was when I had a job; I don’t know how I ever had time to go to work.”

Sure, it’s true: the stresses and pressures are different. Retirement activity is something one doesn’t have to do, but wants to do. That makes a big difference.

It’s also true: the energies we had when we were younger are no longer as “peppy” as they once were.

But still, it is so important for every person to be able to wake up each day with a reason to live.

A young boy once offered Jesus his bag lunch. He certainly didn’t think his few pieces of bread and two fish could make a big difference. But Jesus used it to feed a multitude of people.

So, God can do a lot with a little.

He has given each of us talents to further His Kingdom on earth, and He wants to work through us.

Don’t let yours lie dormant, collecting dust.

Be generous, be adventurous, and surrender them to Him.

Miracles just may follow!

       Thank you.