The Parable of the Talents, our Gospel reading last Sunday, gave us a lesson to consider in our daily lives. We are familiar with that story, even when we were still young, but I want to focus my mind to only two main ideas. First, our God is a fair and just God and we know that we were all given a place in his heart, and we are all treated fairly. Second, God is not asking us to win every battle of challenges in our lives. He is only asking us to try and benefit from the opportunities that he is giving us every day.
In the Parable, the man who was given five talents was able to double them, so he ended up as the richest among the three. The man who had two, ended up with four. The Master told them both: “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come share your master’s joy.” However, the last servant did nothing to enhance his wealth. Instead, he buried the talent that was entrusted to him.
However, we must always bear in mind that Jesus is not telling us to make more money and double our earnings every year. This idea is contrary to the message of Jesus and his message can never be applied to material and worldly riches. The talents that came from God were the spiritual gifts that were given to all. Now, the success or failure will be determined by how we appreciate and by how we oversee those gifts from God.
God gave each and everyone of us a multitude and various kinds of talents. He is not asking us to double those gifts but merely to use those gifts responsibly and properly. Doing so is simply giving him glory. Using those gifts is nothing else but our efforts to increase our love for him, to obey his commandments, and to worship him by imitating the life he lived.
Whether we are rich or poor, powerful or weak, all these things are immaterial to God. We have our choices every day, notwithstanding our societal status, and those choices will determine our worth as servants of one Master. We need not become super rich to help others who are in need. The only power that we need, to be worthy servants, is the power to love just like the way that Christ loved us all.
Jesus gave the three men different initial gifts but did not expect them to all finish with the same amount of money. He expected them to use what they had been given and make that gift grow.
We were all given the ability to love our family, our neighbor, those people who need love and attention, obey the commandments, to pray in thanksgiving for what we have, to be sorry for our failures big or small. This list could go on and on and we are all given the same opportunity, not the same initial resources, but we all have the same opportunity.
And so, what do we do with this opportunity? Remember that Jesus gave the talents to each “according to his ability.” That is the key! We have all been given talents according to our ability, but we will all be asked someday. What did you do with what the Lord, gave you?”
All of us have received at least one talent. We have received the gift of faith. Our responsibility as men and women of faith is not just to preserve and “keep” the faith. We need to trade with it. We need to sell it to the men and women of our times. We need to promote and add value to our faith. This is a venture that brings with it much risk and inconvenience. But, unless we do this, we stand in danger of losing the faith just as the third servant who lost his talent. The way to preserve the faith, or any other talent that God has given us, is to put it to work and make it bear fruit.