Readings: Proverbs 31:10-31; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6; Matthew 25:14-30
Good Stewards, Greater Responsibilities!
1. Before his ascension, Christ gave us the gift of himself (talent), and He expects us to be accountable to Him on his return. What is this talent? Talent is a natural aptitude or skill that we receive from God. It is also a weight and unit of currency, used mainly by the ancient Romans and Greeks. Hence, talent was the Roman denomination of the highest amount possible. Two drachmas were a day’s wage for a laborer, and a talent was worth 6,000 drachmas, or eight years’ pay for a worker. You can imagine the enormous amount of money given to these men to trade with while waiting for the master’s return.
2. The master did not just give his servants money; he gave them his property: “It will be as when a man who was going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.” The master gave away all his property; he gave them everything. On his return, he had nothing left; therefore, he depended on his servants and what they had done with his property. If the servants were accountable and responsible and invested their money prudently, the master would reap a bountiful harvest on his return.
3. This parable is about the generosity of God and how extravagant God is with us. God gives us everything freely and generously; he holds nothing back from us but gives each one of us according to our ability. God doesn’t expect us to provide him with what we do not have, but only what we have. God gave us his very self by dying on the cross, and he expects us to reciprocate his love and give ourselves to others. What we have is God’s gift to us, but what we do with it is our gift to God.
4. Do we continuously invest our gifts, no matter what they may be, for the glory of God? We often behave like the third servant, who buried his master’s money in the ground, refusing to use it to enrich others. St. Paul reminds us, “Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them: if prophecy, in proportion to the faith; if ministry, in ministering; if one is a teacher, in teaching; if one exhorts, in exhortation; if one contributes, in generosity; if one is over others, with diligence; if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.” (Romans 12:6-8). In exercising our gifts, we build up the body of Christ, the Church.
5. We are invited to participate in ministries in the church. When we sing, we praise God and minister to his people. When we proclaim the Word as lectors or participate in various other ministries, we are accountable to God for his gifts. Suppose we don’t do anything in church. In that case, we are indirectly burying our gifts and refusing to minister to the people of God. The third servant was punished for refusing to try; he did not lose his talent; he did nothing with it. It is wrong to think my talent or gift is so tiny that I can do nothing about it. There is always something I can do with my talent. My talent must benefit me and others equally.
6. Finally, we should not be afraid that when we do our work well, we will be rewarded with more work. If we use our talents according to our ability, we will perfect them and gain more experience in using them. If we have proficiency at a game or art, if we have some gift for doing something, the more we exercise that proficiency and that gift, the more complex the work and the bigger the task we will be able to tackle. Whereas if we fail to use it, we lose it. That is true about playing golf, piano, singing, writing, carving, or thinking out ideas; the lesson of life is that the only way to keep a gift is to use it in the service of God and others.
7. By using our gifts to build up the kingdom of God, we will hear those beautiful words from the mouth of our master: “Well done, my good and faithful servant. I will give you great responsibilities since you were faithful in small matters. Come, share your master’s joy.” Be blessed! Amen.
Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP
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