Talents

Homily
THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
13 NOVEMBER 2005

Matthew 25: 14-30

[Mat 25:14] "(The kingdom of heaven) will be as when a man who was going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.
[Mat 25:15] To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one--to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately
[Mat 25:16] the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five.
[Mat 25:17] Likewise, the one who received two made another two.
[Mat 25:18] But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master's money.
[Mat 25:19] After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them.
[Mat 25:20] 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.'
[Mat 25:21] 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.'
[Mat 25:22] (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.'
[Mat 25:23] 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.'
[Mat 25:24] 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;
[Mat 25:25] so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.'
[Mat 25:26] 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?
[Mat 25:27] Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?
[Mat 25:28] Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten.
[Mat 25:29] 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.
[Mat 25:30] And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'
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1. Introduction

In today's gospel, the original Greek has it that the man in Our Lord's parable entrusted his servants with five talents, two talents, and one talent, respectively. Some sources estimate the value of a talent at more than 16 years' wages in New Testament times. So the single talent given to the third servant still possessed a formidable value.

For us, the meaning of the word "talent" has broadened to include natural skills and spiritual gifts as well as treasure. Our Lord's parable is clear--each of us is to use the talents given to him--entrusted to him--by the Lord to have returned a profit by the time He returns to make an accounting. A profit in what? We have been given talents--each according to his ability--to build up the Kingdom.

2. Natural Talents

A characteristic of a talent used to build the Kingdom is that it is given to be of benefit to others. A concert violinist has a talent that I do not possess. I do, however, benefit from that talent when I attend a concert given by that person. A doctor's talents are exercised for the benefit of his patients; a lawyer's talents are exercised for the benefit of his clients. Such talents, along with a multitude of others, we refer to as "natural talents". How then do what we call "natural talents" build up the Kingdom?

2.1. We build up the Kingdom through the Christian witness we give through the exercise of the talent

Christ has said that whoever ministers to those in need, ministers to Him.

[Mat 25:37] Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
...
[Mat 25:40] And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'

2.2. Hence, to build up the Kingdom, we must see that the needy--those who are the beneficiaries of our talent--belong to Christ

[Mark 9:41] Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

2.3. We refer all our actions of a forthcoming day to the glory of God by making a suitable morning offering.

In short, we build up the Kingdom through the exercise of our natural talents by doing what Jesus would do. He expects us to be His voice, His hands, His feet, His very presence in this world.

3. Ministry Gifts

What has been said of "natural talents" applies with special force to those talents that are called "spiritual gifts". These are gifts of power distributed by the Spirit each of which is intrinsically ordered to build up the Kingdom. Also known as "ministry gifts" or "charismatic gifts", they show forth the glory of God present to mankind in a manifest way.

The so-called sanctifying gifts of the Holy Spirit are necessary for salvation--they are traditionally seven in number: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.

Like natural talents, but in a more manifest way, the ministry (or charismatic) gifts of the Spirit are gifts of power by which others are led to the reception or increase of sanctifying gifts. The ministry gifts are distributed in different ways among various persons, as we read in First Corinthians:

[1 Cor 12:7] To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.
[1 Cor 12:8] To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom; to another the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit;
[1 Cor 12:9] to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit;
[1 Cor 12:10] to another mighty deeds; to another prophecy; to another discernment of spirits; to another varieties of tongues; to another interpretation of tongues.
[1 Cor 12:11] But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes.

Whatever the number and kind of talents (whether they be natural talents or ministry gifts) that the Lord entrusts us with, He expects a return. He expects us to use our talents to build up the Kingdom. The work of having the Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven is one in which it is the Lord's will that we are each to collaborate with Him.

How in fact does the exercise of a natural talent or ministry gift build up the Kingdom? It does so by promoting, facilitating, or leading one or more persons to the receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit; the sanctifying grace He bestows which is nothing less than a share in the divine life itself. We thus have "rivers of living water flowing from us" as stated in John 7:

[John 7:38] Whoever believes in me, as scripture says: 'Rivers of living water will flow from within him.'"
[John 7:39] He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

4. The Servants Who Returned a Profit

In today's Gospel, each of the three servants received a number of talents which was proportioned to his ability to return a profit to his master. Each of the profitable servants doubled his master's investment, one gaining an additional five talents and the other an additional two.

[Luke 6:38] Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."

5. The Unprofitable Servant

The third servant dug a hole in the ground and buried the single talent which had been entrusted to him. Pope Gregory the Great states:

Hiding a talent in the earth means employing one's abilities in earthly affairs, failing to seek spiritual profit, never raising one's heart from earthly thoughts...The prophet (Jeremiah) says of them:

[Jer 4:22] ... They are wise in evil, but know not how to do good.

6. The Profitable Employment of Our Talents

How are we then to use the talents that God has given to each of us? Let us always remember:

Whatever God commands us to do, He gives us the power to do.

The Council of Trent quotes St Augustine as follows:

God does not ask the impossible. His commands exhort you to do what you can, and to pray for what is beyond your power.

Let us add (in the spirit of the serenity prayer) that He will give the wisdom to know the difference.

7. Some Examples

Let us look at some examples:

o Many of us receive a sizeable number of solicitations to worthy charitable causes: often too many to respond to. I suggest that we select a few charities to which we give regular donations, and then offer up prayers for the remainder, especially that each of them will receive ongoing patrons. How we do this varies from individual to individual, depending on the degree they have received material blessings. Here, as in the employment of other kinds of talents it is well to remember that to whom much is given, much is expected.

o Among those solicitations that we receive are those for missionary activity. God gives to some the zeal to participate personally in the missions, and to others the zeal to offer them material support. As the bishop of Fairbanks reiterates: "Some give by going to the missions. Some go by giving to the missions. Without both, there are no missions."

o The poor in our own society are growing in numbers as the middle class declines. We pray for all of them, and are open to giving direct aid to needy individuals that we have the power to help.

o We are open to performing works of charity, such as visiting the sick and those in jail, ministering to the bereaved, the marginalized, those who have left the church, and many others. Here we unite prayer and action by praying for the success of whatever ministerial action we are to perform.

We are to have confidence in the grace that God has given us in our baptism and confirmation, that what we do and what we pray for to build up the Kingdom here on earth will be pleasing to God, so that each of us can confidently look forward to the words Our Lord spoke to each of the profitable servants:

'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.'