To everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came, and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.' But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' "

- Matthew 25:14-30

Throughout the past several readings, Jesus has been teaching his disciples about the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem, the siege that is to come in their lifetimes, and about the end of the age and the return of the Son of Man, or the Second Coming. Please read Do you not see all these things?, The End of the Age, Heaven and earth will pass away, and The Wise and Foolish for the earlier part of this discourse. Today, Jesus continues with the theme of preparedness during the time of awaiting his return, and what we are to do in this time period.

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey." In some way, this parable clearly follows the story of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, because the talents are akin to the understanding that we are to do something with our spiritual gifts - just as those bridesmaids who awaited the Bridegroom were to keep their lamps full for the light they were to shine. Here we have a slightly different angle, a different aspect, of how we are to await the Bridegroom, in the form of the talents left by the landowner, the lord. My study bible notes: "This parable illustrates the use of gifts given by God. Even one talent was a great sum of money; here it represents the goodness God has bestowed on each person. The amount each receives is based on that person's abilities (Romans 12:4-7)." So, we are all graced with gifts, as talents, and we are entrusted to do something with these gifts of grace.

"Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came, and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' " My study bible notes, "God does not show partiality in the ultimate reward, for all are invited to share in the same joy (vv. 21, 23)." Another commentary says, "The Lord came after a long time (v. 19) but exacted full accountability." What do we do with the talents that we are given by grace? What do we do with the gifts that are entrusted to us? How do we make the best of them? Clearly, we are entrusted to do as the master does - to make the best of them and to make them grow. They will yield greater than that which we start with if we follow the master's will and do as he would do.

"Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.' But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' " My study bible says in a note: "The wicked and lazy servant (v. 26) could not evade responsibility for ignoring his talent, for idleness is as much a rejection of God as outright wickedness. Burying the talent in the ground (v. 18) is an illustration of using one's God-given gifts for earthly pursuits. The bankers (v. 27) represent other faithful people to whom the man could have turned to help him use his talents wisely. Since help was available to him in the Church, the man has no excuse." Another commentary notes: "Since people are managers, or stewards, of God's gifts, each of us will give account of how we used the abundance (v. 29) of gifts given to us."

Jesus makes a similar comment in Matthew 13:12, when he teaches his apostles about the use of parables, and says, "For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him." In Mark 4:24-25, Jesus teaches (notably, after speaking about not hiding one's lamp or light as in yesterday's reading), "With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him." It is interesting to note that in each of these examples (from Matthew 13 and Mark 4), Jesus was speaking about how we hear the parables - what we are able to comprehend spiritually through our hearts which are open to hearing. So, talents and spiritual gifts also must be understood as being the God-given grace to grow spiritually and to grow in spiritual understanding. We are not here simply to use our capacities for ourselves, or "earthly pursuits" as my study bible puts it. In other words, the money buried in the ground seems to me to be indicative not only of the failure to increase spiritual understanding and to use it in the world, but of selfishness, self-centeredness. It is akin to hiding one's light or lamp under the bed. To increase our gifts - if we go by the understanding given by these teachings about spiritual hearing - is to grow in understanding and hence in the abundance of spiritual gifts that we share with the world. Grace and mercy are not merely used for good works for the sake of the works, they are works informed by spiritual growth and understanding. They spring out of relationship to God, the Lord in this story. They are works in the grace of the Spirit that leads us to act and to understand in a certain way. Moreover we are to grow them. In this sense, the "bankers" may very well be the Church - or whatever repository of teaching and understanding helps us to grow, to learn, to expand, and to share that mercy with others in the myriad forms that we can use in the world, any expression of love, whatever this may be. So, this illustration of how we are to await the lord's coming follows well the previous reading about the wise and foolish virgins and their lamps. To keep our gifts (talents) growing, we must be sure to understand this kingdom's spiritual nature - we seek that which grows the abundance of our hearts, which will then be shared with others, and expressed through the nature of that mercy in the world. We are to grow our gifts spiritually, and not neglect the cultivation and understanding of spiritual growth and the abundance of the heart with which we meet life and face the world. It is out of this abundance that the kingdom grows in the world - that our light shines, and our mercy can be expressed in whatever way we learn to do that. Let us not neglect this important understanding - and the kingdom of mercy and grace that calls upon us to open our hearts and grow!