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

 "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

In our current readings, Jesus is in Jerusalem.  He is now with His disciples, having told them of the coming destruction of the temple, and of end times, His return, and judgment at the end of the age.  In yesterday's reading, He told 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 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."    One talent was a great sum of money.  In the Greek, a talent (talanton) was a measurement of weight, and its value was the weight equivalence of precious metals.   In New Testament times, the heavy common talent was equivalent to 130 pounds (nearly 60 kg).  Just one Attic talent of silver was worth nine man-years of skilled labor.   In this parable, a talent represents the good gifts God has bestowed on each person.  Considering the huge sums discussed, it's clear that it represents a lifetime's gifts and effort.  It's safe to say that our current use of the word "talent" comes from this parable.  The amount received by each person is based on that person's capacities, each according to his own ability, as Jesus says above (see Romans 12:4-7).  There is no partiality shown by God in terms of the ultimate reward, for all are invited to share in the same joy.  The wicked and lazy servant could not evade responsibility for ignoring his talent, says my study bible.  Idleness, as told by this parable, is as much a rejection of God as outright wickedness.  Burying the talent in the ground may be interpreted as an illustration of using one's God-given gifts for earthly pursuits alone.  The bankers represent other faithful people to whom the man could have turned to help him use his talents wisely, to advise.  This help is available in the Church; so this man has no excuse.

God gives us all capacities and talents that may be hidden and awaiting our development.  As my study bible points out, this isn't about a kind of worship of success or worldly recognition of such talent.  It is about capacities in which we may, essentially, glorify God.  That's not to say that developing any skill or capacity we may have isn't a part of this good life to live.  A person with artistic talent of any kind may develop and share its beauty with a devotion to God in the heart, deeply grateful and glorying in the beauty of God's creation and our capacity to express that in our own lives and with the talents given to us.  Another person may have great skill at organization, helping in all kinds of opportunities for services to work better for people, life to be made richer and more blessed in any setting, from a home to a great institution.  There is simply no calculation that can limit what talent can do, or what kinds of talents and good gifts may be given to individuals.  And this parable does not glorify those who are more skilled than others, or may be paragons of human perfection and achievement.  On the contrary, our capacities for good exist even as we have weakness and imperfection.  It would be wrong to view the parable as in any way glorifying "worldly" scales of achievement.   The capacity for love is an extraordinary value indeed, or for prayer that may touch an uncountable number of lives and circumstances.  The ability to encourage others is another great talent.  In Romans 12, St. Paul lists a number of spiritual capacities and gifts in the Church.   The most abject person of all in this parable is the one who leaves spiritual gifts dormant, lying in the ground without fruit nor growth.  That is, those who do not value spiritual life at all, nor value the gifts given by God, particularly those of the Spirit.  To live a full life of true splendor, one must have a sense of the fullness of what it means to be a person -- that is, an understanding of the relationship of creature to Creator.  It is in this synergy that we begin to understand what gifts are and what we can do with them, that we see opportunity for the use of the spiritual good we're given, the blessings that can endow the world with spiritual fruit.  In yesterday's reading, we discussed the meaning of "oil" and its correlation with mercy and our practice of such goodness in our lives, shining a light to glorify God.  Today's parable gives us another facet of the same concept in Jesus' teaching:  that what we do nothing with will lie dormant and unproductive.  We need to value what we are given in the first place in order to understand what it means to be truly full, to have the wealth of God, the treasure of heaven.  If we don't understand what to do with the capacities we've been given, there is help available:  those in the Church past and present who have given us treasure and direction, the saints whose lives shine before us, even the great cloud of witnesses with whom we may pray for help and assistance.  Life is full of opportunities for service to God, for investing the talents we have in kindness, mercy, love, truth, and beauty.  What are you doing with your life?  This isn't about worldly reward and recognition and career, but it is all about the Lord we serve, the true manner of spirit we are of (Luke 9:55, 56).  There will always be those who fail to value such talents, or who are asleep to them.  Let us not be one of them.  God has invested and entrusted something to you; how will you respond?