The Currency of Courage

Voice over by Angeline Chue Chue

2Macc 7:1.20-31; Psalm: 16; Lk 19:11-28

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, the Word of God today presents us with two powerful images of faith in action—one written in blood, the other in gold. Both reveal the same truth: the gifts God gives us—our life, our faith, our talents—are not meant to be preserved in safety, but to be invested with courage for the coming of His Kingdom.

The dramatic account from Second Maccabees presents a mother and her seven sons who choose torture and death over violating God’s law. Their courage is breathtaking, rooted not in stubbornness but in a profound hope in the Creator. “It is from Heaven that I received these,” says one son, gesturing to his severed hands, confident that the God who gave him life will restore it. The mother, a tower of strength, urges her youngest son to fidelity, telling him to “accept death, so that in God’s mercy I may get you back again.” This is the ultimate investment: the total gift of one’s earthly life in exchange for eternal life. They understood that their very bodies were a trust from God, to be returned to Him with interest through faithful witness.

This radical stewardship finds a parallel in the Parable of the Ten Gold Coins. A nobleman entrusts his servants with coins, saying, “Engage in trade with these until I return.” The faithful servants invest the money and are rewarded with greater responsibility. But the fearful servant, who hid the coin in a handkerchief, represents a different kind of failure. He did not lose the coin; he simply failed to make it bear fruit. His sin was not malice, but apathy and a distorted view of his master as “demanding.” His inaction is condemned as wicked. The master’s principle is clear: “To everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Grace is a gift that must be put to work.

The Maccabean martyrs invested the gift of their lives to the last drop of blood. The faithful servants invested their material gifts. Both acted with the courage that flows from a trusting relationship with their master. As Pope Benedict XVI taught, “The world is offered to us not as a mere ‘space’ in which to exist, but as a ‘task’ to be accomplished with and for others.”

The comfort for us is that God does not demand success, but fidelity. He has given each of us a unique “coin”—our time, our abilities, our relationships, our very faith. The challenge is to reject the fear and apathy that would have us bury these gifts. We are called to be courageous investors, using our resources to build up the Kingdom, whether that means defending our faith in the public square like the martyrs, or simply using our skills to serve our parish and community.

Let us ask for the intercession of the holy martyrs. May their example stir us from complacency. Let us dig up whatever gift we have hidden away out of fear, and begin to trade with it today. For the Lord who has entrusted us with so much will return, and He desires to say to us, “Well done, good servant! Come, share your master’s joy.” Amen.

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.