--- title: 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time description: Explore the meaning of Jesus' parable of the talents and its relevance today as we reflect on how to actively further the Reign of God in our daily lives. image: https://vickiklimaliturgy.org/hubfs/rsz_money_grows_on_trees.jpg --- [Go Back Up](https://vickiklimaliturgy.org/vicki-klima-liturgy-blog/33rd-sunday-in-ordinary-time#top) [Skip to Content](https://vickiklimaliturgy.org/vicki-klima-liturgy-blog/33rd-sunday-in-ordinary-time#body) [![vicki-klima-liturgy](https://vickiklimaliturgy.org/hubfs/vicki-klima-liturgy.svg "vicki-klima-liturgy")](https://vickiklimaliturgy.org/) Toggle Menu - [HOME](https://vickiklimaliturgy.org) - [BOOK](https://vickiklimaliturgy.org/participation-of-the-heart) - [BLOG](https://vickiklimaliturgy.org/vicki-klima-liturgy-blog) - [ABOUT](https://vickiklimaliturgy.org/about-vicki-klima) - [CONTACT](https://vickiklimaliturgy.org/contact-vicki-klima-connect-on-liturgy-worship) # 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time November 09, 2026 • Written by Vicki Klima ![](https://vickiklimaliturgy.org/hubfs/rsz_money_grows_on_trees.jpg) Share article [mailto:?subject=33rd%20Sunday%20in%20Ordinary%20Time&body=https%3A%2F%2Fvickiklimaliturgy.org%2Fvicki-klima-liturgy-blog%2F33rd-sunday-in-ordinary-time](mailto:?subject=33rd%20Sunday%20in%20Ordinary%20Time&body=https%3A%2F%2Fvickiklimaliturgy.org%2Fvicki-klima-liturgy-blog%2F33rd-sunday-in-ordinary-time) I have been reading a book called *The Forty Parables of Jesus* by Gerhard Lohfink. Lohfink was a New Testament professor and German Catholic priest. He often adds a new dimension of interpretation to Jesus' parables. In today’s Gospel, a wealthy man entrusts his money to three servants while he is away. When he returns from a journey, he praises the two servants who increased his riches while punishing the servant who kept his money safe but did not add to the man’s fortune. Before reading Lohfink, I would have thought that the master was God who gives “talents” to these servants. I have often thought that the word “talent” is a confusing word in today’s gospel. It could be easier to understand if some other *money word* were used such as drachma or even coins. However, I thought the money symbolizes what we do with the gifts (talents; abilities) that God gives us. Do we use our gifts in service to God, or do we let them remain idle? Lohfink says that the Master in the parable is not an ethical man. He does not represent God. He most likely accumulated that much wealth through shady business practices. Recently, I spent time looking up the word “talent” on the Internet. I read a complicated history of the development of money and coins in ancient times. In summary, I learned that one talent was a **very** large sum of money. (Was he a First Century billionaire?) The first two servants doubled their money. To double their money in so short a time means they were following the Master’s immoral ways. Lohfink suggests that the parable is about the **coming of the Reign of God.** This new world “will not succeed by cowardice, with people who are immoveable, who constantly want to make themselves secure, who would rather delay than act.” It will only succeed “with people who are ready to risk, who will wager everything on the turn of a card, who will go all out and who, with utter determination, will be ‘doers’.” *page 173* That interpretation clearly makes this a good reading as we approach the end of the Church year. **Reflection:** What can we do, what are we willing to do, to further the Reign of God in our neighborhoods, our families, our work-places, in our parishes? We may wonder how the first reading fits into today’s look at the end of the world. This “worthy wife” isn’t doing extraordinary things, but she is doing her ordinary chores with grace, goodness, and generosity. These are the characteristics we should cultivate. We do not know the day or the hour, so we have to be ready. We don’t have to think about remarkable deeds. We do the tasks we need to do each day: we do our jobs and household chores, we get ready for meetings, we listen to people who need to talk, we work on relationships with family and friends. We do it all with kindness, and our lives bear much fruit as it says in today’s Gospel Acclamation. **Reflection:** It is easy to get wrapped up in the next deadline, the upcoming project, the never-ending list of things to do. How do we help one another stop and take stock of our lives? We do not know the day or the hour. How do we make every day and hour grace-filled?     ### Subscribe to Vicki Klima's Liturgy Blog! ![](https://vickiklimaliturgy.org/hubfs/imgs/vickiklima.png) [mailto:](mailto:) ###### Vicki Klima Vicki, a retired liturgist and parish administrator, is passionate about enriching Catholic worship. She authored *Participation of the Heart* to help Catholics engage more deeply in the Mass. With a Master’s in Pastoral Liturgy, she has led workshops, written for liturgical publications, and continues to inspire through speaking, writing, and her love of music and theater. 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