A homily on Matthew 25:14–30 :After a Long Time (30-8-25)

 A touching homily on Matthew 25:14–30 using the story of a swan’s long hatching, reminding us that God’s delay is not cruelty but mercy, giving us time to grow and use our gifts. ( 30-8-25)

Praise be to Jesus Christ 

One day, by a river, a swan laid her eggs. Nearby, a hen also laid eggs. The hen sat for twenty-one days, and soon her chicks came out, running here and there. The swan also sat on her eggs. Day after day passed, but after twenty-five days nothing happened. She grew restless and thought in her heart, “Maybe God is cruel to me. The hen already has her chicks, but I see nothing.” Out of impatience she left the nest and even broke the eggs. She did not know that her eggs needed almost forty days to hatch. By giving up too soon she destroyed the life that was already growing inside.

This is very close to the Gospel we hear today. Jesus tells us, “After a long time the master came back and settled accounts with them.” That little phrase “after a long time” is very important. The master did not return quickly. He gave his servants enough time to work, to learn, and even to correct themselves. The first two servants used the time well. They multiplied what they were given and received praise. The third servant acted like the swan who gave up. He thought wrongly about his master, saying in his heart, “He is harsh. Nothing good will come from this one talent.” So he buried it in the ground. When the master returned, he had nothing to show.

How often this happens in our daily life. In our families, sometimes we pray for peace or for the conversion of a loved one. Days and years may pass, and it seems as if nothing happens. In our religious life too, we may serve faithfully yet see little fruit. Then the temptation comes: “God is cruel. Why should I continue? Better to stop.” This is the dangerous thought of the third servant and of the swan that destroyed her eggs.

But the truth is very different. God is never cruel. His long silence is not absence. His patience is our chance. The Israelites wandered forty years in the desert before entering the promised land. To them it felt like a long delay, yet it was God’s way of shaping their hearts. Joseph in the Old Testament waited long years in slavery and prison before becoming a ruler in Egypt. If he had given up midway, he would never have seen the greatness God had prepared.

The saints also remind us of this truth. Saint Teresa of Avila spent many years struggling with failure and opposition in her mission to reform the convents. If she had thought “God is cruel” and stopped her work, nothing would have changed. But she trusted in God’s time, and after a long struggle her work bore fruit for the whole Church. Saint Augustine once said, “God is patient because He is eternal.” His time is not like our time. What seems long for us is only mercy in His eyes.

So what must we do during this long time? First, we must not bury our gifts. Even if we feel we have only one small talent, it is still precious in God’s sight. A kind word to a child, a prayer for the sick, patience with a difficult member of the family, faithfulness to our duties in religious life—these are the ways we invest the talent. Second, we must learn from others. If we see someone using their gift well, we should be inspired, not jealous. The third servant saw the other two but failed to learn from them. That was his mistake.

“After a long time” is not meant to frighten us. It is a promise that God will surely come. The question is, will He find us waiting in trust or giving up in despair? Let us not waste His patience. Let us use our time, however long it may be, with hope and faith, so that when the Master returns He will call us good and faithful servants.

Lord, teach us to wait with patience and to trust that Your time is always merciful. Amen.

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