The Gospel for this Sunday is from Matthew 25:14-30, the familiar Parable of the Talents. In the Greco-Roman world, a talent was a weight that became a money unit of enormous value. Thus, the parable is about a master entrusting great wealth to servants and expecting them to use the treasure wisely. Of course, the parable is not about silver talents; it is about attitudes and ways of living under God. It can be applied to the use of both financial gifts and natural abilities.
However, these two applications do not exhaust the meaning of the parable. Every aspect of human life- our abilities, our possessions, our time, our relationships, our work, our leisure, etc.- can be seen as treasures entrusted to us by God. He does not want us to be lazy, fearful, or greedy in using our treasures for Him. When such reactions do tempt or mislead us, we are to repent, accept God's grace, and move on as we seek His will.
Finally, the greatest gift that God entrusts to us is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We must not bury it or hide the Gospel. We must be willing to go out and invest it. In other words, we must share the good news of redemption in Christ and allow it to produce good results in the world. Even the shiest and simplest Christian, the one with the fewest "talents", can share the message in word and deed to produce good results for God.
No comments:
Post a Comment