"Well done my good and faithful servant."
Prv 31: 10-13, 19-20, 30-31
1 Thes 5: 1-6
Mt 25: 14- 30
1 Thes 5: 1-6
Mt 25: 14- 30
"The
more you give the more you receive."
So it seems according to Jesus and a variety of parables. However, this Sunday's parable of the talents, may seem a bit opposite. If we gave away what we had, there's nothing left to invest. If we treated our financial resources in this way, we may be judged as reckless or foolish. In order to increase, you have to save and
invest. So, that motto may be: "The
more you save the more you receive."
Consider accumulated interest and the stock market for example. You would have to buy stocks, hold on to
them, invest and receive a dividend. "Don't spend the principle but rather
the interest benefits." Save,
invest, and save some more, then you can spend from the abundance you have.
That seems on the surface to be the illustration Jesus uses today as we learn
of the servants who invested their master’s money and brought back a sizable
profit.
So
is Jesus giving wise financial advice?
Does he comment on the better use of money in his day? Suffice it to say that this is a further
example of our Lord using real life examples from his culture to explain a
deeper meaning. So, can we understand
the use of “talents” as symbolizing our natural abilities – our talents as we
call them?
Our
parable this Sunday is actually based upon ancient business practices. The master gives his servants a number of talents,
a considerable amount of money. However,
due to the similar word, we often consider this is a reference to our natural
gifts and abilities. Maybe some of us
are gifted with a beautiful singing voice. (I clearly was not there when those
were passed out!). Maybe some are
natural athletes, or some possess good people skills, or a high intelligence,
or mathematical ability, or whatever.
While
all that adds to the quality of our lives, Jesus parable on the "talents"
is a reference to the spiritual treasure he has entrusted to us as we live out
our missionary discipleship. He addresses this parable to his disciples and
thereby to us. He uses this example as an illustration of a deeper principle of
spiritual growth and our privilege to multiply the message of the Gospel beyond
ourselves. Case in point:
A
talent was an enormous amount of money, about $250,000. So, if one servant was
given five talents that would be over a million dollars! Another was given two - half a million
dollars. And one was given one - not a
small amount by any means. The master
wanted to see what they would now do with their windfall.
Two
of them invest and double the amount while the one did nothing with it but
rather, out of fear of his master's harsh treatment, did the safe but not wise
thing - he buried his treasure in what he thought would be good savings. In
essence, he did nothing with it other than keep it secure, like hiding it under
his mattress.
Well,
the best laid intentions went far astray. After a long period of time, like the
delayed groom in last week's Gospel (Mt 25: 1-13), this master finally returns
and evaluates what these servants did with their financial gift. Two of them invested wisely and doubled their
money but the one who did nothing with it, met a very angry master who
considered him a worthless servant. The exaggerated amount of money and the
harshness of the master may not be so much a “this is what God will do with you”
lesson but rather a typical embellishment to make his point. The master (God) has entrusted a treasure to
us, the Gospel, and as we wait for his return, what will we do with it?
As
Jesus thinks, we must give away what we've been given in order to receive an
increased amount. Not just money as
such, yet much good is done with others generosity, but the spiritual life we
live. Likewise, the mission of the
Church is an expectation for all the baptized.
That we share, as is our ability, in the force of that mission.
In
order to grow in love, for example, we must offer love to others. In order to increase our personal faith, I
must offer and live by that faith towards others. I must share it in some way
and not consider my Catholic faith as a private devotion. In order to receive
an abundance of mercy, and who doesn't need that, I must be merciful and
forgiving towards others. "The more you give, the more you receive."
Pope St. John Paul II referred to this as the "law of the gift” - Give
away in order to receive.
Like
the wise servants who risked their masters money and received back far more, so
too we are called to generosity, to selflessness, to other centered love, to
time in prayer with God, to participation in the sacramental life of the
Church, to do far more than just show up.
Otherwise, we are like the servant who did nothing with what he was
given. It's all pretty clear.
One application, might be as to how I view the Church in such things as pastoral care, liturgy, the life of a parish. Are they meant to be just preserved like items kept in a museum or can they be tended to grow in order to speak to a people of a specific time and place? Pope St. John XXIII once stated: "We are not on earth to guard a museum but to cultivate a flourishing garden of life."
Simply
doing nothing with our spiritual life is not at all pleasing to God. We must share what we have received and in
that way take a risk but to do this for God, to please him, and to grow more
abundantly in his grace and understanding.
The
life of the Spirit to which we are all called is a marked life of prayer,
charity towards others, participation in the life of the Sacraments and the
Church. Reflection on the Scriptures and
other ways in which we invite the grace of God to invest itself in us in order
that it may grow in us and we have far more of Christ in us, then our self in
us.
Pretty
basic with no room for laziness or selfishness. The servant who buried his
master’s treasure gave in to fear and greed.
He did the safe thing which was nothing.
What we have received is meant to be used to the glory of God and it is
upon this value that we will be judged.
Next
week’s Gospel, for the Feast of Christ the King (Mt 25: 31-46) is the final
chord struck in the lessons of this parable as it follows today’s story
directly in Matthew. We will hear the
words: “gave me . . . clothed me . . . cared for me . . . welcomed me . . .
visited me . . .”
What
have you done with the Master’s treasure?
Grant us, we pray, O Lord our God,
the constant gladness of being devoted to you,
for it is full and lasting happiness
to serve with constancy
the author of all that is good.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.
(Collect of Mass)
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