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 till 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 Jesus entered and passed through Jericho, on His way toward Jerusalem with His disciples.  Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.  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 of 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 till I come.' "  My study bible has a long note on this parable, which is similar to one found in Matthew 25:14-30.  In Matthew's version, Jesus uses "talents" to illustrate the parable, which were a Greek currency.  Here, Jesus uses the "mina" which was a Hebrew unit of currency.  Both the "talent" and the "mina" were equivalent to a certain weight of precious metal, gold or silver.  In the ancient world, by Christ's time, both were used to measure the value of something for exchange.  It is from the "talent" used in the parable as reported by Matthew that we get our modern understanding of the word talent as a gift or innate ability given by Creator.  Here in Luke's version we note that each begins with the same sum; illustrating that God does not show partiality.

"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.'"   This wicked servant bears responsibility for ignoring his talent.  My study bible says that idleness is as much a rejection of God as is outright wickedness.  To put away the talent in a handkerchief is to waste it:  a handkerchief is used for "waste products" of the body such as sweat, blood, spittle, or food when eating.   There is another meaning to this also.  In the parable of the Talents, the wicked and lazy servant buried his talent in the ground.  The word used for "handkerchief" here can also the head cloth, in which the dead were wrapped for burial.  So there is an association here with using God-given gifts for "earthly" pursuits.  The bankers, my study bible says, represent other faithful people to whom the servant could have turned to help to use his gifts wisely.  This help is also available in the treasury of the Church, its saints, its teachings, the Scriptures old and new.  That the citizens hated this ruler, and sought to overthrow him, symbolizing Christ who is about to enter Jerusalem at the beginning of what we know as Holy Week, and will be rejected by the nation.

So, the question is here, what do we do with the gifts we're given by God?  Each one of us, the parable seems to say, is gifted -- or rather, invested -- with something by God.  God invests in us God's wealth of gifts to give:  intelligence, or talent, athletic ability, strength, physical health, our looks, a capacity to hear and appreciate beautiful music, or poetry, or even a gift to sit in a church and appreciate the beauty that is there in the sermons, carols, hymns, liturgy, icons, worship services, or even in the silence where we may find our own prayers to God.  All of these things are capacities which we do not create ourselves, but with which God gifts us.  If we look at the parable in the way that it is given, we may come to conclude that, in fact, God invests these things in us.  Each of us has something that we bring to the table, so to speak, precisely because God has invested these things in us.  There are times when our capacity for love of a spiritual life enables us also to make the best of what we might nominally call a "bad" thing, but which in the hands of the capacity for revering and finding God and the Spirit's work in our lives, become a good thing.  It is up to us also to find these hidden gifts in all circumstances, for they are also gifts of God.  A child with Down's syndrome comes to be revealed as an extraordinarily loving member of a family, tying others together in the beauty of that love, for example.  An elderly parent or grandparent becomes a focal point of care, encouraging through the lens of our faith not only a shared responsibility but an expression of love and revelation of the capacity for meeting a challenge with sacrifice and ingenuity, a cause of joy in the fulfillment of giving a gift of life and peace through infirmity.  We do not know where all of these gifts lie hidden in the fields of life, for they are ours to discover through the use of the gifts with which God graces us, and most especially that is true of the gift of faith.  Faith may reveal all kinds of hidden treasures and profits we may make through any and all things, so we perhaps might call faith the greatest gift of all.  When times becomes difficult, it might present us with a scenario in which it is especially hard to be appreciative of blessings.  At this time, as possibly at no other, it is the great gift of faith for which we are truly grateful, and from which we seek -- for His sake -- to multiply profit for the kingdom of God.  Faith is indeed a gift, a talent, we need to use in order to multiply, and not to bury or squander our capacity for things not worthy of such a great price.

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.  "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 till 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 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 of 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.  The text explains to us the attitude and expectations of those with Jesus.  They believe in the contemporary understanding of what the Messiah would do, and surely Jerusalem was the place for the Messiah to enter as king.  So, their expectations of are an immediate manifestation of the kingdom of God, and the worldly reign of the Christ over Israel.

"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 till 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.'"  Jesus, of course, tells this parable about Himself as the nobleman, who went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and was initially rejected by those over whom He would rule.  This is a parable about the time when He will be away, before He returns to the fullness of His kingdom at the Second Coming.  In Matthew's Gospel, this parable is told using a unit of money called a talent.  Both the talent and the mina were measures of weight, to which value was attached as weight of gold or silver, and later coins.   Our modern English understanding of the word "talent" comes from the interpretation of this parable.  Although a talent was worth far more than a mina, the understanding is the same.  The minas represent talents or gifts given by God.  They represent the goodness which God has bestowed on each person.  That would include the qualities we may possess from character, skill, intelligence, capability -- and more specifically, our capacity for spiritual gifts.   My study bible says that the amount each receives is based on that person's abilities (Romans 12:4-7).  It adds that God does not show partiality in the ultimate reward, for all are invited to share the same joy.   It is interesting that the master who returns tells those who have traded, "Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over . . ." because this parallels Jesus' saying when He spoke of choosing between God and mammon.  After telling the parable of the Unjust Steward, Jesus told the Pharisees, "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.  Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?" (see this reading).  If we think of talents, gifts, and capabilities as wealth, then we understand what it is to be faithful in little; that is, how we choose to live our lives in accordance with the Lord's teachings, regardless of what area of life we're talking about or what we are doing.  In this case, what was given to each was put to use, traded, even invested in something.  

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.'"  This wicked servant, my study bible says, could not evade responsibility for ignoring his talent (or mina) as idleness is as much a rejection of God as outright wickedness.  The bank represents the body of the Church, where others can help to bring out and make the most of whatever it is we may contribute.   As there is help available at this bank, there is no excuse.  To keep the money put away in a handkerchief seems to indicate a careless way to keep the money, and one heedless of its value.  The handkerchief is of course for personal use for wiping perspiration away or cleaning one's nose.  But another use for this particular piece of cloth is as a head binding for a corpse (John 11:44, 20:7).  Either way seems to indicate an ignorance of the things of God, and a devaluing of them.  Moreover, this suggests the burial of the talents as told in this story in Matthew's Gospel; a pursuit of the purely earthly.

How do we use what we have for the purposes of the Kingdom?  How do we glorify God by the lives we lead?  What do we consider wealth?  We first of all should consider what it is to be faithful, and remind ourselves of this saying of Jesus, asking what it means to be "faithful in a very little."  Jesus is perhaps contrasting the things of this world (those which are very little) with the greater things of heaven.  We must consider that whatever we have -- our bodies, our gifts and skills and talents, our intelligence, all that we have -- are gifts of God, including spiritual gifts.  To be faithful in this word in the Gospel is to be trustworthy, reliable, loyal, a kind of fullness of faith.  Its root is the Greek word for trust.  So, it seems to me, to invest our lives in the faith of Christ is to entrust whatever skills and talents we have to the Lord's direction.  The man who put away his money in a handkerchief, or a face-covering for a corpse, invested or entrusted his gifts to that which is dead and has no life, something used for that which is cast off or cast away.  But when we give ourselves and our lives to faith, we are entrusting ourselves in what is, in fact, eternal and timeless.  To be faithful in a little, then, is to invest ourselves in something that pays off in the long run, that rewards us with timeless gifts.  In guiding the ruler who came to Him to ask about eternal life, Jesus teaches him, "You still lack one thing.  Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me"  (see this reading).  The point is that whatever it is we truly invest ourselves in will determine what we reap, the "treasure in heaven" we possess or not.  In that sense, if the rich ruler had considered giving his money to the poor, this would have been an investment that gained him treasure in heaven.   There are all kinds of things in which we can invest ourselves in life and in this world.  There are a million ways to follow fashion, to entrust ourselves to one ideology or abstract philosophy or another.  There is the pursuit of worldly wealth -- of any sort -- as our number one goal or achievement.  But whatever it is we gain, we should consider this image of the handkerchief which is also used as a shroud for the head of a corpse.  In what do we invest that is of immeasurable value?  How do we live our lives as an investment in the faith of Christ?   Our choices become guided by whatever it is that we put our heart and soul into.  As Jesus puts it in naming the first and greatest commandment, it's what we choose to love with all our heart and soul and mind (see Matthew 22:35-40).  This then guides our relationships to everything else:  what we choose to do in life, how we choose to treat or love others, what we do with all that is available to us, personal wealth or talent or skill or character capacity.  So think about where you invest what you have.  What do you really put your trust in? What is it that is worthy of this precious thing that is your life, or your soul?  What direction do you want to guide you through all things and choices?  Where do you invest yourself?  Moreover and beyond, who exactly is most worthy of that trust?

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 till 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

In yesterday's reading, Jesus was walking through Jericho, after having healed the blind man outside the city.  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 of 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.   Jesus has passed through Jericho, and is now outside Jerusalem.  The Apostles expect this arrival into Jerusalem to herald the immediate coming of the Kingdom, as Jesus the King receiving His kingdom.  All the way here, on this journey to Jerusalem through Luke's gospel, Jesus has been seeking to prepare them for the time to come, for His Passion, death and Resurrection, and the time to come in which we now await His return.  But they simply could not take it in (again, see the first verses in Tuesday's reading).

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 till I come.'  But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.'"  My study bible says that a mina is a measure of money equivalent to about three months' wages.  Ten servants are given money and told to do business, to be profitable while the nobleman is gone.

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.'"  Out of ten servants, only three given an accounting when the nobleman returns, having received the kingdom.  What have they done in his absence?  Jesus has taught earlier in Luke's gospel:  "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much."    So the idea of trust is also essential here, important to understand as those entrusted to be stewards of what He has given until His return.  This is giving the idea of servant-leadership, the gift entrusted to His Church for His flock until His return, and how His stewards are expected to spend this time awaiting it. 

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.' "   My study bible says, "Rather than waiting for the Kingdom in lazy occupation, we are to anticipate and plan for the Kingdom to come through wise use of the King's resources."  Here, Jesus conveys to us the idea of Judgment, and what is to happen at His return.  He has left us with much treasure, with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, with His words and teachings, and countless ways in which He dwells with us (as with Zacchaeus in yesterday's reading).  Let us consider His investment and also how we live our lives and make good with it, increase the gift through our own lives.  In this sense, "to everyone who has will be given; and from him who doe snot have, even what he has will be taken away from him."

I get very frustrated when I meet people who approach faith with the idea that it is a kind of treasure locked up in a safe, and that somehow it must be kept inside that safe, like something stored away.  But Jesus gives freely.  He invests Himself and His teachings in all of us.  He sends down His Spirit to each of us.  Where two or three of us are gathered in His name, He is there with us.  Countless saints, known and unknown, are among His faithful, and with us in the communion of saints.  We have Scripture and endless possibilities for making some sort of profit from all of this investment in our lives.  When we pray, we are building His Church.  When we think about Scripture and put our lives in His hands, we are building the Church.  When we seek a way forward in His name, so we are doing the same.  When we reach out to others, even with a cup of water, so we are doing the same.  And this becomes a lifelong journey.  At the end of John's gospel, He will tell St. Peter, "Feed my sheep."  In the image of the feeding of five thousand in the wilderness, we have Jesus' teaching to the disciples what they are to do in His absence, how it is that we are to be profitable servants.  And finally, in recent readings, He has taught that "the things which are impossible with men are possible with God."  With His help, with His investment, we grow the Church, the Body of Christ, and this is the way He expects us to await His return and the fullness of His Kingdom.  What has been invested in you and in your life?  What do you do with it?  Do we wait or do we act, live, and work for that Kingdom while He is away?  We remember its power, like the mustard seed that grows into a great tree, all through the power of faith.