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

 

 "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.  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 our recent readings, Jesus has been speaking of the end times to His disciples (beginning with this reading).  In yesterday's reading, He told another parable regarding our own conduct and disposition during this "time of the end" in which we await His return:  "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.  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.'"  My study Bible explains that this parable illustrates the use of gifts given by God.  Let us bear in mind that, contrary to the meaning of the word "talent" in modern English (which grew out of the hearing of this parable), a talent originally indicated a great deal of money.  In Christ's time, it was a particular weight for measuring precious metals, silver or gold.  It was the largest unit of weight.  In modern terms, one silver talent was equivalent to the wages earned by a common laborer over the course of twenty years.  So, even one talent was a great sum of money.  But here Jesus uses the term to represent the goodness which God has bestowed on each person.  My study Bible comments that the amount each receives is based on that person's abilities (Romans 12:4-7).  It says that God does not show partiality in the ultimate reward, for all are invited to share the same joy.  (That they share the same joy is in tandem with Christ's parable of the Workers in the Vineyard; Matthew 20:1-16.)  The wicked and lazy servant, however, could not evade responsibility for ignoring his talent, for idleness is as much  rejection of God as outright wickedness, according to my study Bible.  To bury his talent in the ground is an image of using one's God-given gifts for earthly pursuits.  The bankers, according to my study Bible, represent other faithful people to whom the man could have turned to help him use his talents wisely.  As help was available to him in the Church, the man is left with no excuse.

 

 The term talents, and talent, has come down to us with a particular meaning in modern English thanks to this very parable as told by Christ.  The great sum of money that a talent represented (in Greek τάλαντον/talanton; plural τάλαντα/talanta) should not be underestimated.  This was far more than the average person could hope to have, and was a sum only kings or other very wealthy people could deal in for great projects.  So, when Jesus uses this word, we cannot overestimate the kind of wealth such gift or endowment represented.  It frames for us the significant weight or substance (literally and figuratively) Jesus gives to the gifts that God endows us with, and so, we should never underestimate the weight or value of our own God-given gifts we're born with.  For this is Christ's perspective.  If you will, it is clearly God's perspective on us as human beings.  Sometimes, it seems to me, we simply don't realize what talents we actually have.  A talent doesn't have to be something that is easily visible to others like a talent for performance such as dance or voice.  Neither does it have to be something that makes a marker of achievement like an intellectual capacity for particular subjects, or a skill set such as carpentry.  If we look at the history of the saints in the Church, there are those notable saints who had talents or gifts for all kinds of things valuable and essential to the Church.  A very famous saint, one completely instrumental and essential to the very early Church and its foundation is St. Barnabas.  Barnabas had a particular gift for consolation.  His name is translated as Son of Encouragement a quality so important to others in the Church at the time that it is recorded for us in the Book of Acts (see Acts 4:36).  Such a gift was so valued that the name that we know him by was given to him with that meaning.  We might think about talents as those things that can be translated into high visible achievement and the garnering of wealth as a result, but this is not the way that talent -- nor profit, for that matter -- is to be understood in the parable.  For how do we measure the profits gained by the Church from St. Barnabas' talent for encouragement of others, for consolation?  A talent, therefore, is not necessarily something tangible or material, but rather denotes something we can use and contribute in the Church as a whole.  Do we have a talent for listening to others?  This is often effective consolation in and of itself.  Do we have a skill for working in a kitchen?  How often can Churches use that kind of help?  Are we capable of a smile when others need it, or words of encouragement?  Sometimes a helpful word in the right ear directs help to a person who might not even be aware of just who made a person their beneficiary.  Clearly, even anonymous help is still the use of our talents to benefit the Church as a whole, by helping even one person in an indirect way.  Most of the time we don't need a perfect voice to sing in a Church choir, nor to enthusiastically join in participation during a service.  And so often, simply being willing to ask the question, "How can I help?" is in itself a gift to someone feeling alone with their suffering.  Although a talent was an undreamed of sum of wealth for the average person in Christ's time, Jesus is telling us that our gifts -- the things God has given us, which we might take for granted, or even of which we may be entire unaware -- are worth great sums in value and substance in His Church.  And since we can recognize this from His parable, it behooves us to consider what we might have that, even if often unvalued in a worldly sense or overlooked by others, actually function as great talents which create profit in the Church, by which we become benefactors to the kingdom of heaven.  When Jesus is telling the apostles about the end times, He describes a time when "because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold" (Matthew 24:12).  There are many who lament, in our modern Western societies, the loss of what is called common courtesy, in the ways in which not so long ago society more or less functioned with basic rules of politeness even between strangers.  Those of us old enough to remember a particular saying will recall being told, "Good manners cost nothing."  But a particular small word of politeness can almost move mountains in today's world when wrath or rudeness has become common; perhaps it will save a person's bad day to be treated with just that much respect.  When it comes to financial donation, even a small sum can help an institution that's struggling, or a person who needs help.  Having worked in a food pantry for those who needed some groceries, I can testify to the value of even one good word of encouragement for people who are struggling with poverty and need hope to keep trying.  We can't always be certain of outcomes, but God wants our participation.  We're to be engaged in this Kingdom, to do what we can with the things we might not even know we have.  In a very materially oriented world, there are so many ways in which we can overlook the great gifts God has given us, and count ourselves impoverished in some sense of that word.  But God knows what we have; let us not let it rest "in the ground," but meet the challenges of life with our active work and engagement, not undervaluing the Lord who gives us good gifts, nor ourselves to whom God has given them.  For this, too, is part of the struggle of faith and grace. In a time of personal suffering, even our woundedness can be given over to God in the mysterious ways that this combats the evil in our world, even as our Lord suffered on the Cross.  St. Paul writes that in a time of struggle in prayer with an unrelenting illness, he was told by the Lord, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."  St. Paul writes, "Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9).  Sometimes we just don't know what the Lord can magnify, even when we start with but a little (Matthew 14:17; 15:33).  Let us not forget the valuable gifts we might overlook.