Daily Catholic Mass Readings for August 27, 2022
First Reading: 1 Corinthians 1.26-31
26For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.27But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;28God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,29so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.30He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.31Therefore, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
Psalm 33
1Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.2Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!3Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.4For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.5He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.6By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.7He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses.8Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!9For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.10The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.11The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.12Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!13The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man;14from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth,15he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.16The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.17The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.18Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,19that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.20Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.21For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.22Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
Gospel: Matthew 25.14-30
14"For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.15To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.16He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more.17So also he who had the two talents made two talents more.18But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.19Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.20And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.'21His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'22And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.'23His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'24He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed,25so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.'26But his master answered him, 'You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed and gather where I scattered no seed?27Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.28So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.29For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.30And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
Sermon
In today’s readings, we are reminded of God’s profound wisdom and the call to live our lives with purpose and responsibility. The first reading from 1 Corinthians challenges us to recognize that our worth and identity come not from human standards of wisdom, power, or status, but from God. Paul emphasizes that God chooses the weak and the humble to confound the strong, a truth that upends the world’s expectations. This passage was written to a divided Corinthian community, where factions were forming based on human leaders and worldly wisdom. Paul calls them—and us—to humility, urging us to glory not in ourselves but in the Lord, who is our true wisdom, justice, and redemption.
The Gospel from Matthew expands on this theme through the parable of the talents. Here, Jesus teaches about stewardship and the responsibility that comes with the gifts God has entrusted to us. The master distributes talents according to each servant’s ability, and while two servants invest their talents and grow them, the third buries his out of fear. The master commends the first two for their faithfulness, while the third is rebuked for his laziness and fear. This parable, spoken during Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem, invites us to reflect on how we use the gifts, resources, and opportunities God has given us. It is not about how much we have, but about how faithfully we use what we have been given.
Together, these readings call us to live with gratitude, humility, and courage. They remind us that our lives are not our own but are entrusted to us by God. We are called to steward our talents, time, and resources in a way that reflects our faith and trust in God’s plan. Let us not be paralyzed by fear or complacency, but rather, let us step out in faith, using our gifts to build up the Kingdom of God. As we do so, we will find that even the smallest acts of faithfulness can bear great fruit, and we will hear those blessed words: “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.”