A familiar story, in various versions goes such….

A lady came up to a shop which had the name “Everything your heart desires, is available here”

The curious lady went to the shopkeeper and asked: “I want peace of mind and love and happiness and wisdom and freedom from fear”

The shopkeeper, in return, smiled and said: “Madam, thank you for expressing your desire. But please do note: I sell only seeds, not fruits!”

Such is the logic in our Christian Life as well.

God has gifted the “seeds” of good things to all of us….

But…

… do we “sow these seeds” to produce good fruits?

… do we “invest these seeds” in order to derive its potential blessings?

The Gospel of the Day – Mt 25:14-30 – presents before us a simple-to-understand and practical-to-follow Parable of the Lord: the Parable of the Talents!

One of the beauty of this Parable is that it is simple, clear and easy to understand.

>> And its lessons are hard to miss!!

This parable tells what to do while we live in this world and the need to be responsible and dutiful.

The Parable introduces the fact that the servants were judged by the way, they managed the master’s resources.

We learn a very crucial truth from this: All that we have belongs to God!

We need to underline and highlight the word “ALL”

>> All…

>> Fully…

>> Totally…

>> Everything…

>> Completely…

… Belongs to GOD!

>> We own nothing…

>> We hold no space…

>> We possess no one…

… All belongs to GOD!

He made them…

… He gave them to us

>> And One Day… He will take them from us again.

Even our life itself is a gift from God!

If only our world and our generation were to grow more and more in this truth…!

>> How often we hold on to our possessions…

… and go bonkers in preserving and safeguarding them!

>> How often we seek twisted and distorted ways…

… to acquire more wealth and capture vital status and ranks!

>> How often we resort to disgraceful and shameful means…

… to win over positions and powers and authority!

>> How often we play dirty games and indulge in dreadful activities…

… to put down people and go up in dominance!

Another aspect that we find in the parable is the usage of the word “talents”.

Usually, when we hear the word “talents” in English, we tend to think of some natural abilities, like…

… playing the piano

… or being good at some sports

… or being skilled in painting or knowing how to handle computers etc….

In the time of Jesus, however…

… the ‘talent’ was referred to a huge amount of money.

One talent would represent approximately 16½ years of salary for a labourer.

>> To give a man two talents would equal around 33 years of salary….

>> To give a man five talents would be like giving him 80 years of salary to invest…

That’s indeed a huge amount, isn’t it?

>> Imagine, how rich would the Owner himself have been!

(This once again reminds us that the Owner – God – is the Source of ALL… everything in our life!)

But what was the criteria in giving different people a particular amount of money?

>> Each one according to one’s ability

And who made this determination to allocate the amount of money?

>> The Master himself, according to His wish!

Here’s another truth: God is not obligated to treat us, like he treats anyone else.

He can give us more or He can give us less than others.

>> Some have more money and talent and opportunity and strength and health and relationships than others.

>> Others have less money and talent and opportunity and strength and health and relationships!

It’s not about being unlucky.

>> It’s not about our ill-fate.

>> It’s not about being inauspicious!

The Master…has total sovereignty and freedom with what and how much HE wants to give to His people!

This leaves us with a choice:

1. We can either crib and complain, gripe and grumble about our situation and make excuses and just sit idle!

OR…

2. We can accept the given situation we are in and start from where we are, and do what we can… to the best!

Yes…

>> The Dynamics of Comparison is useless…

… the Tactic of Hard Work is amazing!

>> The Strategy of Complaining is ineffective…

… the Scheme of Determination is superb!

>> The Policy of Grumpiness is futile…

… the Approach of Gratefulness is incredible!

The Parable of the Talents is a very Practical Parable that the Lord has offered us!

Yesterday is past…

… tomorrow is the Future.

>> But Today is a GIFT…

… that’s why, it is called as The PRESENT!

Let’s make this PRESENT, a PLEASENT GIFT to the GREAT GIVER…

… by seeking His Grace and combining it with our hard works and determination!

On this day – the 19th of November, 2017- , let us give heed to the exhortation of our Holy Father Pope Francis, who has declared this day – the 33rd Sunday of the Liturgical Year – as the “World Day of the Poor”

Let us make some practical efforts to reach out the poor with the resources that God has blessed us with…

… Maybe with our finances

… Maybe with our gifts and potentialities

… Maybe with our time

… Maybe with our prayers

>> And thus may this “World Day of the Poor” be a platform for us to “reach out more and more to the poor and the needy” and thus “our love may not just be in words or

mere talk, but something active and genuine. (cf. 1 Jn 3: 18)”

Let us make the best use of the “seeds” of good things given to all of us and …

… sow these seeds” to produce good fruits!

… “invest these seeds” in order to derive its potential blessings!

God Bless! Live Jesus!