The One Talent

Sat. 21st Week Year I

Gospel (Mt. 25,14-30)

Jesus tells us another parable about the kingdom of God.  A man gives money to his servants to invest while he goes on a journey.  Two of the servants double their investment while the third buries his money in the ground and just gives it back to his master unchanged.  The first two are rightly commended and the last is justly chastised.  I am reminded of another saying of Jesus: “ He who saves his life will lose it and he who gives his life for my sake will find it”.  We may feel like we have very little to give to the Lord by way of great talents or gifts.  But no matter how poor or limited we are, each of us does have one gift, the only thing He really wants from any of us.  All of our so called “talents” or “gifts” are simply means of giving that one thing.  In fact, St. Paul says that if we give everything we have except that one thing then it means nothing to God.  What is that one thing?  It is our own self, our own heart, our very life.  It seems that the faithless servant in the Gospel did not trust himself, nor did he trust the bankers who could have helped him, and certainly he did not trust the master.  And so he just kept what he had been given, did nothing with it, and finally lost it.  If we refuse to give ourselves away, then we will lose the ability to do so.  We condemn ourselves to an eternal frustration of our very being that is made in the image and likeness of God who is self-giving love.  Another name for this self imposed exile is hell.  In this life, the misery of this condition is actually a mercy for it will sometimes impel the sufferer to repentance.  But once we cross to the other side, God will ratify our decision to be with Him or apart from Him.  May we all choose to “enter into the joy” of our Lord by living now for Him.