“Making the best use of the ‘seeds’ of good things given to all of us and ‘investing these seeds’ in order to derive its potential blessings!”
(Based on Prov 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31, 1 Thess 5:1-6 and Mt 25:14-30 – 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time)
A familiar story, in various versions goes thus….
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!)
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.
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:
- We can either crib and complain, gripe and grumble about our situation and make excuses and just sit idle!
OR… - We can accept the given situation we are in – with gratitude – and start from where we are, and do what we can… to the best!
God invites us to be faithful and responsible servants…
The book of Proverbs also gives us a beautiful illustration of the need to sturdy and focussed: “A good wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.” (Prov 31:10-12)
St Paul reminds us of the greatness of this responsibility that is entrusted to us: “For you are all sons of light and sons of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober!” (1 Thess 5: 5-6)
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!
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!
Quotable-quote-a-day-with-St Francis de Sales (SFS) – “I would not even wish that we desire better talent and better judgment because these desires are silly.
They take the place of that desire which we should have to improve our own talent such as it is.
We are not to desire the means of serving God which we do not have.
Reflection Capsules 