Two-Minute Homily by Fr Isaac Falzon for the Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time 2023. “Our life is a path of learning to wake up and be present to the now.”
- Two-Minute Homily Transcript
Two-Minute Homily Transcript
Author: Archdiocese of Brisbane
The movie ‘Back to the Future’ is an all-time classic. Marty McFly with his cool shoes and hover board, along with the help of Doc and the Delorean spend their days working out how to time travel, to the past and the future. I think we are more like Marty McFly and Doc then it may seem. This cinematic masterpiece leaves me questioning if the dynamic duo are actually living in the present. Interestingly enough this question also relates to our times, to you and me. We tend to spend a lot of time, time travelling as well thinking, planning, reminiscing, and worrying about what has been and what will be. But unlike Mr McFly and Doc we’re not here to change the past or explore the future; we’re here to navigate the present and that’s what our Gospel reading teaches us this weekend.In the Parable of the Talents, a wealthy man, before embarking on a journey, entrusts some of his property to three slaves. The first two slaves immediately get to work. They were present in the moment, they would have had to be. Engaging in their small and large daily responsibilities using their talents wisely while the master was away. This attention and respect that they paid to the present moment and responsibilities resulted in them doubling their talents. On the other hand, the third slave was so consumed by fear and anxiety about what the future may hold that he buried his one and only talent in the ground. His actions highlights for us how inappropriate focus on the future, or the past, can lead to fear, anxiety, inaction, and missed opportunities for the present moment.
You see, my friends, we can at times be time travellers just like Marty and Doc. Every moment is enormous, and it is all we have. Our future life is a path of learning to wake up and be present to the now.