For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him

 

 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.  Therefore He said:  "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.  So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business until I come.'  But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.'  And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.  Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.'  And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.'  And the second came, saying, "Master, your mina has earned five minas.'  Likewise he said to him, 'You also be over five cities.'  Then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief.  For I feared you, because you are an austere man.  You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.'  And he said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant.  You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.  Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?'  And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.'  (But they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas.')  For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.'"

 

- Luke 19:11-27 

 

Yesterday we read that, going on the road toward Jerusalem, Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.  Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.  And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature.  So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.  And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house."  So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.  But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner."  Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold."  And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

 

 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.  Therefore He said:  "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.  So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business until I come.'  But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.'  And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.  Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.'  And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.'  And the second came, saying, "Master, your mina has earned five minas.'  Likewise he said to him, 'You also be over five cities.'  Then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief.  For I feared you, because you are an austere man.  You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.'  And he said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant.  You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.  Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?'  And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.'  (But they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas.')  For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.'"  In St. Matthew's Gospel, Jesus tells a similar parable, but using talents (a much larger currency) rather than minas.  Both talents and minas were weight measures for silver or gold, and this is the way that currency was calculated in the ancient world.  A talent in Christ's time was worth twenty years' work by a laborer.  A mina was worth less than a talent, but it was still a considerable sum.  According to one estimate, one mina at Christ's time was worth approximately one fourth of a year's wages for an agricultural worker.  My study Bible comments that the parable illustrates the use of gifts given by God.  Each single sum of money represents the goodness bestowed by God on each person.  The amount each receives is based on that person's abilities, my study Bible says (Romans 12:4-7).  The wicked servant could not evade responsibility for ignoring his talent; my study Bible says that idleness is as much a rejection of God as outright wickedness.  To put the money in a handkerchief is symbolic of burial in the ground (a 'handkerchief' being suggestive of a burial shroud) is symbolic of using one's God-given gifts for earthly pursuits, without spiritual value.  The bank is the Church, where there are other faithful people to whom this man could have turned to help him invest his capabilities wisely.  Since help was available to him there, he has no excuse.  

 

As Jesus and the disciples travel toward Jerusalem, Jesus prepares them with this parable.  It's important to note that what the text tells us here is that they all expected the kingdom of God to appear immediately.   One thing is clear that Jesus teaches in this parable is that something is being invested in them, in preparation for the future which they will have a stake in.  The rewards of the future -- those things the king will give as rewards -- will depend upon the work that is done while the king is away.  That is, the question becomes, what will be produced as profit by those to whom the nobleman has entrusted his money?  Jesus Himself, after His Passion and Resurrection, will be going to a far country in order to receive a kingdom, and return.  Not only that, but there will be a judgment, a reckoning that happens when the nobleman returns.  Even those who are his good servants will receive a reward commensurate with what they have earned for him while he is gone away, and has left his gifts in their charge.  For the one who spends his life only in fear of the nobleman, assuming the worst, there will be a reward commensurate with his negative expectations.  Jesus explains the rationale to the reward:  "For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me."  The ones who have rejected Him are outright excluded from this Kingdom, and will not inherit the eternal life of its promise.  Today's parable invites us to think about what talents and resources we're given, and what we plan or seek to do with them during the times of our lives -- before Christ's kingdom, and judgment, arrives.  It's interesting to look at the language in the parable.  In the Greek of the text, the man who makes ten minas is said to have "begotten" them in some sense, while the one with five "made" them.  The man with ten is given authority, but the Greek word translated as such also contains the meanings of worth and value.  The man with five minas is put "over" five cities.  All told, there are several layers to this parable, layers of meaning in terms of how faithful each was, what they created and did not create, and then again, those who rejected the nobleman as king.  It tells us a story about merit, faith, a depth of effort and commitment, those who care, and those who don't.  The man who, out of fear, simply hid his mina, wound up with less than that, with nothing.  But even the man with ten minas is said by the master to have been faithful "in a very little" -- but in the Greek this word corresponds to the "least" he could do.  All in all, results are exacting, and not at all concerned with equality of outcomes, but rather each person's use of their faith and their efforts in serving the master.  And, as Jesus tells us, "For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."  As for those who reject his rule even before He journeys away for a time, John's Gospel tells us they have already rejected life in that Kingdom (John 3:18).

  

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.