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"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 out 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 his 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 chapter 24, and now in chapter 25 of Matthew's Gospel, Jesus has been teaching the disciples both about the destruction to come in Jerusalem and about the end of the age when He will return (see readings from Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday). In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins: "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight, a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming."
"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 out 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 his 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.'" Immediately after giving the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, Jesus gives us the parable of the Talents. We recall that in yesterday's reading, the "wise" could not give or share their oil with the "foolish." Today's parable illustrates the principle of using what we're given in order to create more. Each of us has some gift or gifts given by God. The capacity to love, for example, is a gift of God. My study bible tells us that even one talent was a great sum of money in the ancient world. Here it is representative of the goodness bestowed by God upon every person. The amount each received, it tells us, is based on that person's abilities (see Romans 12:4-8). In the ultimate reward, there is no partiality shown by God -- each is invited to share in the same joy. My study bible also adds that the wicked and lazy servant could not evade responsibility for ignoring his talent. Idleness is as much a rejection of God as outright wickedness; that is, ignoring the capacities we have for serving this Kingdom. To bury the talent in the ground is to hide what one is given -- or even, in analogy, using what one is given for only "earthly" pursuits. Taking the analogy further, planting a seed is what one does in the ground, but for this talent a different use is appropriate in order to make it grow. Therefore, we need to find the right use of each gift! The bankers, says my study bible, represent other faithful people -- experts -- to whom the man could have turned for advice for wise use of the talents. Since help is available in the Church, this man hasn't an excuse.
In yesterday's reading, we made note of the fact that the oil could not be shared between those who had made provisions early and those who were late. Today's parable gives us a closer expression about why we must profit from our own "talents." Jesus' summation, that "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" expresses the idea that each of us is expected to be a good servant: to do what we can with what we have in service to the Master. The key here is that by making an effort, presumably through prayer and love of God, through seeking good discernment, we find ways to use whatever abilities with which we've been endowed to serve the Kingdom. In so doing, we add oil to our lamps, so to speak, we grow in that capacity, receive "more" to the talent we might use, expand whatever contribution we make to this Kingdom. It seems to go hand in hand that the oil in the lamps of the virgins in yesterday's parable, which is mercy, is also the grace of the talents. Somehow our cooperative efforts in service are magnified through grace. That's why our own choices and the spirit in which they are made are so important and essential to the process. We've noted in the past in commentary on this parable that the third servant, who buried his talent in the ground, was motivated by fear of the master as a hard man, a harsh judge. The others were motivated by a desire to please the Master. How we think about God -- how we know God -- is essential to our service. God's loving kindness is essential to our understanding of what we are about; in yet another way, love becomes the centerpiece of all relatedness in this Kingdom, its heartbeat and energy. And let's note another "opposite" to fear: courage. It takes courage to use talent this way. Hiding is another response to fear. To live in the light of truth, and to declare that truth in testimony by working for this Kingdom takes courage; it may make us out of step with a world focused on other goals, and not on the love of God. It reminds us of St. Paul's teachings in Letter to the Romans, about which kingdom we serve: that of sin or grace, death or life. Above, we cited Romans 12:4-8, in which St. Paul speaks of the various members of the Church as each having specific gifts to offer within the whole. But it's significant that we see that throughout the Letter to the Romans, the ways in which we play our part are emphasized by Paul in terms of advancing this Kingdom. In Romans 6:13, St. Paul teaches that we must not use "our members" -- that is, parts of ourselves -- as instruments to sin. The word translated as instruments actually means "weapons" in the Greek. Moreover, "members" was an archaic word for weapons, just as in English we use "arms" to also mean weapons. Therefore, when St. Paul tells us that we are to "put on the whole armor of God" (in Ephesians 6), he is speaking the consistent language of what it is to enlarge and expand this Kingdom; that is "instruments of righteousness." Everything we choose becomes important in this context, because each act of righteousness, or of God's justice and the practice of mercy, becomes a way in which we serve and also expand this Kingdom. Let us consider Jesus' emphasis in today's parable on our own voluntary capacity for service, and how essential it is to the understanding of how grace works in us and grows.
