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This is the last Sunday of the Church's season of Sundays after the Feast of Pentecost … 27 Sundays … over half a year. Today is also called Christ the King Sunday … the Reign of Christ. Next Sunday begins a new church year with the season of Advent. But before then, this last Sunday of the liturgical year confronts us with the Last Judgment at the end of time.
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This morning’s gospel reading is a very well known story about a master and three servants. The master is going on a journey so he entrust his wealth to the servants … his stewards. To one he gave five talents; to another he gave two talents, and to the third he gave one talent … in the words of the text … “each according to their ability.” After a time the master returned from his journey and asked for an accounting. The first steward had doubled his investment, from five to ten talents. The second had also doubled the investment, from two to four talents. However, the third steward claimed that he was fearful of taking a risk and so he buried the one talent that had been entrusted to him. He returned the one talent to his master, but his master was angry that the steward did not increase his wealth. The story in Matthew’s gospel ends with “For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have in abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”
Our gospel reading this morning is about a wedding with ten bridesmaids. Now that is a fairly large wedding … not one that little ol’ St. Cyprian’s could accommodate very easily. In my 40-plus years as a priest I have done lots of weddings, but not too many with ten bridesmaids. However, there was one that had nine bridesmaids, but that was not what made it memorable. Some of you have heard the story, but after the “Dearly beloved, we are gather here today …” I said, “If any of you can show just cause …” A man stood up on a pew in the back of the church, held up his fist, and yelled, “I object! I object to this marriage!”
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October 2024
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