HUMAN EQUALITY.

THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME. YEAR A.
November 16, 2008.
(First reading: Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31) (Psalm 128:1-5)
(Second reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6) (Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30)


HUMAN EQUALITY.

All human beings are equal in that all are called to benefit humanity, to bring to perfection their humanness. That call is the essence of human nature.

The gospel reaffirms human equality when it stresses the fact that it is not what a man has that counts, but rather his ability to use all that he has for the benefit of humanity.

The gospel says that the Master gave talents to all the servants: five, two and one talents (Matthew 25:15). The fact that they received different quantities reflects a clear inequality; but the quantity does not make them unequal; what makes them unequal is the way in which they use the quantities.

Let us explain this and then take a look at who destroys equality.
Those who maintain equality are the ones who multiplied their talents.
The gospel says: "The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, 'Master you gave five talents. See I have made five more'... Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, 'Master, you gave two talents. See, I have made two more'" (Matthew 25:20-22).

In the eyes of the Master both servants remain equal and both of them received the same response: "Well done, my good and faithful servant... Come share your Master's joy" (Matthew 25:21-22)

Equality among human beings is therefore the product of having contributed with all of one's potential (with all the person has) to the benefit of mankind (each one contributed one hundred percent).

The one who broke human equality is he who fails to contribute to the well-being of humanity, the one who fails to produce what is needed for the well-being of his fellow human beings, the one who is interested only in himself and refuses to work for the benefit of others.

The one who destroys human equality is the one who "buried the talent" (Matthew 25:18), the one who removes himself from humanity by refusing to seek the well-beings of his fellow human beings, the one who, as the gospel says, will be thrown out as a "useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth" (Matthew 25:30).

Any person (or nation) who destroys human equality will eventually end up destroying himself.
Let us explain: A society build on inequality can only sustain itself through a false "order", through a false sense of "Peace and security" only to see that "sudden disaster comes upon them... and they will not escape" (1 Thes 5:3).

Human equality is God's design.
It is God's design that human beings be responsible for the production of goods to be used for the benefit of human life and dignity. Any other use is against God's design.

Those who take on the responsibility of maintain and promoting human equality through the use of their earthly possessions (the use of "small matters") will share in "great responsibilities": The "Master's joy", a world of human equality.