Today’s Gospel passage is known as “the Parable of the Talents” (see Matthew 25:14-30). Jesus spoke of a Master who had entrusted three of his employees with his wealth while he traveled to a foreign land; he hoped each would produce a profit, but he entrusted each with different amounts, each according to their perceived abilities. Two of them wisely invested what they received and were able double their returns. The Master therefore commended them as “good and faithful servants,” and they were then “given greater responsibilities” and also invited to “share the Master’s joy.” The third foolishly buried his share and consequently made no profit whatsoever. The Master therefore called him a “wicked, lazy servant,” and he was then “thrown into the darkness outside.”
This Gospel Parable reminds me of a passage found in Saint Paul’s Letter to the Galatians which reads: “Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest if we do not give up” (see Galatians 6:9). And these words remind me of a favorite quotation from St. Francis of Assisi in which he said: “While we have time, let us do good” (from the Exhortation of our Blessed Father Francis to the Friars).
Being “good and faithful servants,” doing our best, and reaping a harvest as a response to God’s will, is our common calling. From an eternal perspective, each and every person’s role in that is important and valuable. Even the most humble and simple people among us have an important role to play in God’s plan.
I think one of the best illustrations of this is the example given to us by our Blessed Mother Mary. She was a poor and seemingly insignificant young woman from an out of the way, and supposedly unimportant, town called Nazareth. Even though she was poor, humble and lowly, Mary responded greatly to God's call, and therefore she became the mother of Jesus, the Savior of all of humanity. We all may know people who, because they are humble and/or not perfect, believe they “count for nothing” and are unable to make a positive contribution to the world in which they live. That person may just be our very selves. But really, like the poor, humble and lowly Mary, we too are capable of great things if we but just believe so!
In today’s Gospel, Jesus challenges each one of us to use our God given talents, to whatever degree we have them, for some kind of greater good. He clearly teaches us that we must never minimize our ability to make the best of these. Let’s not underestimate ourselves and the good that we can do for others. We have been given the great gift of faith, and we believe in the power of the Lord Jesus over our lives. And so, may our faith inspire us to greatness, and may we never be overcome by fear because we are not perfect and/or because we are sinners. I believe it is in just such people, the humble and weak, that our God places his greatest hope! We are “good and faithful servants” of our Lord and Master, and so “while we have time, let us do good!”
Praise God! Friar Timothy
**I published an earlier version of this reflection on November 16, 2014 (May We Never Underestimate Ourselves, the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time--Year A)
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