You will not be expecting us to write anything to you, brothers, about ‘times and seasons’, since you know very well that the Day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night. It is when people are saying, ‘How quiet and peaceful it is’ that the worst suddenly happens, as suddenly as labour pains come on a pregnant woman; and there will be no way for anybody to evade it.
But it is not as if you live in the dark, my brothers, for that Day to overtake you like a thief. No, you are all sons of light and sons of the day: we do not belong to the night or to darkness, so we should not go on sleeping, as everyone else does, but stay wide awake and sober.
Gospel Matthew 25:14-30
Jesus spoke this parable to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of Heaven is like a man on his way abroad who summoned his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to a third one; each in proportion to his ability. Then he set out.
‘The man who had received the five talents promptly went and traded with them and made five more. The man who had received two made two more in the same way. But the man who had received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
‘Now a long time after, the master of those servants came back and went through his accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents came forward bringing five more. “Sir,” he said “you entrusted me with five talents; here are five more that I have made.”
‘His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have shown you can be faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater; come and join in your master’s happiness.”
‘Next the man with the two talents came forward. “Sir,” he said “you entrusted me with two talents; here are two more that I have made.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have shown you can be faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater; come and join in your master’s happiness.”
‘Last came forward the man who had the one talent. “Sir,” said he “I had heard you were a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered; so I was afraid, and I went off and hid your talent in the ground. Here it is; it was yours, you have it back.” But his master answered him, “You wicked and lazy servant! So you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered? Well then, you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have recovered my capital with interest. So now, take the talent from him and give it to the man who has the five talents. For to everyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away. As for this good-for-nothing servant, throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.”’
‘The man who had received the five talents promptly went and traded with them and made five more. The man who had received two made two more in the same way. But the man who had received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
‘Now a long time after, the master of those servants came back and went through his accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents came forward bringing five more. “Sir,” he said “you entrusted me with five talents; here are five more that I have made.”
‘His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have shown you can be faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater; come and join in your master’s happiness.”
‘Next the man with the two talents came forward. “Sir,” he said “you entrusted me with two talents; here are two more that I have made.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have shown you can be faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater; come and join in your master’s happiness.”
‘Last came forward the man who had the one talent. “Sir,” said he “I had heard you were a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered; so I was afraid, and I went off and hid your talent in the ground. Here it is; it was yours, you have it back.” But his master answered him, “You wicked and lazy servant! So you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered? Well then, you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have recovered my capital with interest. So now, take the talent from him and give it to the man who has the five talents. For to everyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away. As for this good-for-nothing servant, throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.”’
Reflection
By Gary T.
Earlier this year, being the former
Creative and Multi-Media Ministry Head of our Light of Jesus community in
Pampanga, I was asked to promote the Ministry through a presentation before a
group of aspiring youth leaders. The
usual things were discussed, such as the group’s mission and vision,
objectives, responsibilities, qualifications, challenges and help needed. On
the last part of my presentation, I showed the audience a one-minute dynamic
graphic using nothing but PowerPoint.
Most of them were amazed, although I could easily read others’ faces as
if saying, “Oh that’s very easy. I could do better than that.” And so to end my
presentation I told them that anybody who can duplicate what I just showed them
are qualified to join the team. But I also mentioned that anybody whose skills
are not enough to match my visuals are also welcome and we are willing to train
them. And of course, those who could do much better were also very much
welcome. We are willing to learn from them.
God has given each one of us different and
several talents. Some received a small portion, some a large portion. But how
do we use these talents? Do we use them for the good of all creations? Do we
use them for God’s works? Do we use them for evil deeds? Or do we use them at
all?
I know a person who, because of a medical
condition, the only talent he knows is to smile. Let’s call him Bro. Sunny (not
his real name).Bro. Sunny puts what seems to be a small
talent into big use, that is, welcoming current and soon to be disciples of
Jesus at his weekly prayer meeting. He sets the mood of their attendees and
makes them feel welcome every time. These attendees could feel the love of
Jesus the moment they were greeted by Bro Sunny.
What about us who were given so much more
than Bro. Sunny, how are we making use of our God-given talents? When will we
use that very good singing voice to lead a congregation to worship God? When
will we use those muscles to lift heavy equipment used in a prayer meeting?
When will we use those modulated voices to proclaim the Word of God at Mass?
When will we use those smiles to bring people closer to God, one person at a
time?
Prayer
Father
God, Thank you for all our talents. May we be able to use them in making
disciples and bring people closer to You, Amen.
Amen.
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