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

 "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 his 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.  Therefore 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 yesterday's reading, Jesus 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 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 his 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.  Therefore 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.'"   When we think about this parable, it's important to understand that even one talent (which was a measurement of weight of silver or gold) was a considerable sum of money.  In the parable, it represents the goodness that God has bestowed on each person.  It is through this parable that the word "talent" has come to mean what it means to us today:  a gift or ability.  My study bible says that the amount each receives is based on that person's abilities (Romans 12:4-7).  There is no partiality shown in the ultimate reward, as all are invited to share in the same joy of the lord.   My study bible adds that the wicked and lazy servant could not evade responsibility for ignoring his talent, as idleness (or a sin of omission) is as much a rejection of God as outright wickedness.  To bury the talent in the ground, according to commentary by Pope St. Gregory the Great, is to use one's gifts for purely earthly pursuits, and to omit the spiritual.  The bankers are other faithful people to whom one can turn to entrust the use of talents wisely, and to give help and advice.  Since help was available to this man in the Church, there is no excuse.

So what does it mean to use a talent, or a skill, or any of the blessings we have in life?  We assume that all that belongs to us, in any sense, is ultimately a gift from God.  From there, in a sacramental type of life, we return those gifts to God by consecrating them for God's use.  That can happen in prayer when we ask for guidance and direction for our lives.  What should we do?  How do we need to apply ourselves, or use our assets in life?  There are often hidden things we don't expect awaiting our desire to put into use some of the things that we have.  Sometimes a small gesture, like gracing a lovely garden with our care and possibly placing a small statue of Mary, the Mother of God in one corner, can be enough to signal to others a love of God's beauty and grace, and to then feed and inspire others through this gesture of beauty.  We might take any possession, such as a room in our homes, and decorate a simple corner with a few icons of Christ or of saints who are meaningful to us.  These gestures remind us that we can "repurpose" anything in our lives to reflect our faith, to remind us of our spiritual connection to God, and how that is at work through our worldly lives in our devotion.  Of course all kinds of talents can be used in all kinds of ways, whether we might have financial expertise and help our Church with wise expenditures or investments, or we have construction or painting abilities and help to build or repair, or possibly we contribute a singing voice to a choir.  There is no gift from God that cannot be used in service, to make the profit on the talent that the Master our Lord is looking for.  It's important to note that this Master relies on us to do His work in the world, to create the profits and fruitfulness He hopes for.  In that we become more consciously aware that Christ truly works through us -- we don't wait for the God somewhere "out there" to do something; through prayer we connect with our Lord and seek guidance for how to live our lives, and this can also happen through the "bankers" in the parable, those in the Church, be it through prayer with the saints or our fathers, mothers, sisters, and brothers in the Church.  As such this Kingdom truly works in us and among us, for as we know and have been promised, God is within us and so works through us.  There is no limit to what a talent may do or be; from the time of the earliest monastics in the deserts, prayer itself has been understood as something which creates enormous good in the world.  Simply by committing to a daily prayer practice, one creates spiritual wealth that we can't necessarily know or see at work -- but we should be assured of the good that it does, even for those whom we don't know who benefit spiritually through our prayer that we add to the world.  Let us remember, also, that this parable is given within the context of Jesus' teachings about the end times and His Second Coming, and also in the context of the judgment that accompanies His return.  We are to think about the end product of our lives as that which we can look back upon and consider how we contribute spiritually to the world -- how whatever gifts we have might be something that adds to the spiritual treasure which Christ invested in all of us -- and in the world -- through His Incarnation and life in the world.  Any spiritual investment that we make, then, becomes a part of the gospel going out to all the world, and we enter into the work begun by others.  We all enter into others' labors (John 4:38), and continue this great work begun long before we were conceived.  St. Paul writes, "For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?" (Romans 8:22-24).  We enter into a new creation, with a hope that still burns for a future we don't and cannot see.  And yet, looking to the return of the Master, we invest in His name, we work in His name, we hope for more fruitfulness in His name, and we trust to God's indwelling in us and among our communities.  He entrusts us with this great work in how we use His gifts, so that even the whole of the creation is part of this great work, even a liturgy of creation praising Creator.  Our worst experiences, in this context, become even occasions for fruitfulness, as we repurpose and rededicate whatever we have in life to the service of God.  In this way the world is transformed and is sacrament.  It all depends on how we use the gifts and "talents" we're given, and to what purpose we dedicate our lives for the Master.  All of it is precious in His sight.