One of my old-time friends once said to me, “Guy, look for a good lady for me in your church, I want to settle down in marriage.” In response I asked him, “What about the ladies you have been hanging out with?” and he said, “Guy, you won’t understand, they are street girls who are after money, they are meant for flirting and not marriage.” With this conversation, I brought to his consciousness how much we long for virtuous partners when we ourselves have not been virtuous. It is on this note that the readings speak of a good wife and accountability of all entrusted to us at the end of time. The first reading from the book of Proverbs has a continuous theme on women.
The reading happily echoes last Sunday’s first reading, where wisdom was personified as “Radiant and unfading woman” (Wis 6:12). In a similar vein, today’s first reading dwells on the character and virtues of a good wife, which some other translation presents as ‘virtuous woman.’ Proverbs earlier tells us, “He who finds a wife, finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord” (18:22). In today’s pericope, it questions “Who can find a good wife?” (Prov 31:10). Is it that no man can find a good or virtuous wife as portrayed in this reading? This passage is traditionally understood as being addressed to women but is more accurately spoken by a woman to a man so he could know the character and potential character of a good wife before marriage.
That is, king Lemuel’s mother spoke to him about the qualities of a virtuous wife. The good or virtuous wife “Is far more precious than jewels and the heart of the husband trusts in her. The virtuous woman seeks good and not harm, she is ready to work with willing hands, opens her hand to the poor and needy and above all, a virtuous woman fears the Lord” (Prov 31:10- 13). Jewel might be part of the bride price a man will pay for a good wife, but the man who truly gains a good wife as qualified in this reading will find that he has struck a good bargain. Jewels cannot keep a man warm. Jewels cannot take care of a family. Jewels have no hand to do hard work. Jewels may buy many things but seldom buys happiness. If the man succeeds in exchanging jewels for a good wife, then his jewels bring him great blessings. A good wife is worth more than jewels or gold.
The good or virtuous wife is a woman with power and strength, and her greatest strength is her wisdom, rooted in the fear of the Lord, not the fear of men. Her character is trustworthy, filled with integrity and productive by nature. She is a woman who is devoted to her husband and children. She is highly capable, but not some sort of superpower. This Proverbs does not limit the good wife to the usual domestic duties but sees her as a competent person outside the home as well. It has a high view or a good taste of women. The reading also describes the kind of wife the Christian man should pray for and seek after. Invariably, it does not exclude men from these virtues, it reminds us that we must work in the fear of the Lord so that we will be worthy of and compatible with such virtuous woman. Put differently, for a man to find a virtuous woman, he ought to be virtuous himself, for a man should embody what he looks forward to attract.
Again, the virtuous woman is a symbol of the Holy Mother Church, who prepares us to meet Christ our Lord. Christ in the Gospel presents to us the parable of the talents in order to remind us of accountability to him. In this parable, talent from the Greek word “talenton” is a significant amount of money, not actually an ability to do something. However, it is appropriate to see these talents as life resources, they could be our time, money, ability and authority, of which the master expected his servants to take good care of, not squandering or sitting on them. It is worthy of note as a man can entrust his affairs to a good wife or a virtuous woman, similarly we see in the gospel, a man going on a journey, called his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.
After a long time, the master came to settle account with his servants, he judged them individually. To the first two servants who multiplied their talents, he said to them, “Well done good and faithful servant” (Mt 25:21.23). The long delay would have tempted them to think that there will be no accountability of what has been entrusted to them. However, they remained good and faithful despite the delay of the master. Their success was surrounded by two qualities: “Goodness and Faithfulness.” These two qualities are enough to evaluate our lives: are we good and faithful to all that has been entrusted to us? It is better to be good and faithful in the little we have than to be unfaithful in riches. When we emulate the qualities of the good wife, wrapped with faithfulness, we will inherit the kingdom of heaven.
This is the promise of the Lord when he said, “Enter into the joy of your master” (Mt 25:21.23). It has the echo of heaven and there is a sense of it for those who are good and faithful. For the third servant who buried the talent given to him tries to excuse himself because of the master’s great power. In his pride he said to the master, “There you have what is yours” (v.25). It is worthy of note, this servant realized the fact that what was given to him does not belong to him. Everything we have has been given to us by God and we must account for them. This accountability is evident in the second reading as Paul describe an expectation of the day of the Lord. It is about the end of time and the second coming of Christ, of which no one knows the day nor the season.
It will be like the coming of a thief at night, sudden and disastrous for the unprepared, and they will not escape it. Those who are prepared and vigilant will not be caught by surprise. So, we have to be prepared like soldiers on active service (2 Tim 2:4), ready to render accounts like the good and faithful servants, and be like the good wife described in the first reading, ready to please God through her husband and children. In a nutshell, the talents we have been given are embedded in the virtues of the good wife to promote life and not to shorten the life span of your spouse or others through vices. Are we using these talents judiciously as good and faithful servants? Are we known flirting or virtue? We must account for our deeds. Happy Sunday!
