“It will be as when a man who was going on a journey* called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.
To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one—to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five.
Likewise, the one who received two made another two. But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money.
After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’
[Then] the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’
Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’
His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant!* So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten.
For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’
Today we hear Jesus telling us the parable of the talents. You’ve probably heard this story before. It gives us a warning and a blessing. It lets us know that if we invest the talents God has given us, we will enter into the joy of his kingdom. That’s what we’re after isn’t it, joy with God? But this teaching raises some questions. First what talents has God given me? How do I invest them and, how does this lead to a joyful existence with God in his kingdom?
The man in the parable gave his servants talents. So, what talents has God given to me? When we ponder that question, it’s sometimes easier to come up with a list of talents he didn’t give us. Other times though, when we think of talents, our minds might focus our natural abilities like playing music, singing, athletics, or we might think of what we do for our job, or the ability we have to manage our time and resources. While all of these are talents, I’d like to suggest other talents God has given each of us. Talents that we may or may not have discovered about ourselves. These talents have to do with the way we most naturally think, behave, and feel. There are different, practical tools we can use to determine or discover these talents, but one that seems to be a favorite right now and what I’ll use for an example is called Strength Finders.
Some people question or even disregard these types of assessments, but others consider them a very practical way to become aware of the way that God so wonderfully created us with the talents he’s given each of us. For example, I discovered a talent God has given me is one of a Developer. I am someone who naturally wants to give help and encouragement to enable others to learn, grow, and improve. Kind of like a coach. When I learned this, I felt excited and grateful that God would trust me with that talent.
The good and faithful servants in the parable invested their talents. Once we know the talents we have, how do we invest them? Investing is a two-part process.
First, we need to develop and practice this talent. So for my example, I couldn’t just run out and start coaching, I needed to learn more about it, so I participated in a several coaching and mentoring workshops which allowed me to learn and practice techniques and methods of coaching different people in different situations.
The second step completes our investment. Investment only truly happens when we use our talents in the service of and for the good of others, as is done here at Catholic Charities. To use it for our own benefit would be like the servant in the parable who buried the one talent he received. There is no return because there is no real investment. We only have what we were given. To put our talents at the service of others requires something more… grace.
The grace we receive through the Holy Spirit enables us to use our talents to serve others in a way that far exceeds our own natural abilities. Through the Holy Spirit, we receive the grace we need, when we need it and can then do what we could never do on our own. It is with this grace that I can fully invest my talent as a developer by helping and encouraging those I am with. In this case, their growth is the return on my investment. Their growth is what I give back to God.
Sometimes in life, we can feel like the lazy servant lost, in the darkness, outside. We can eventually lose even what we think we have, we can lose ourselves. We feel like we’re in a free fall, we’re afraid, we’re paralyzed, asking ourselves, what happened to the person I thought I was, where did that person go? Where am I? What do I do now? There is no gratitude for who we are because we no longer know who we are or how we are made. Life seems like a pointless, frustrating struggle. Even there though, we are not lost forever.
Because everything we are is from God, and he loves what he has made, it’s never too late for us to start again. We can cry out to him for help, to come find us, to stop the free fall, to remove the fear, to show us of who we are and how beautifully and wonderfully we’re made, with the talents we’ve been given. With this renewed awareness comes gratitude and love. We accept and love ourselves as we are, and are grateful to God for making us who we are, allowing him to move us in new ways, using the talents he’s given us to serve others. There is investment, there is return, our lives have purpose, and that purpose is to work with God to build his kingdom right here, right now, amongst us, there is the joy.
Blessings,
Deacon Ken