Parable of the Talents
Becoming a Maximum Christian
All Gods gifts, indeed all goodness and love we receive, are for us to develop to the maximum and so provide for increase in God’s Kingdom. That’s the message I would leave with you today. Become a “maximalist,” not a minimalist to prepare for the final judgment while seeking fulfillment here on earth. Be totally obedient to Christ, who is the way, the Truth and the Life. Not just to the teachings we agree with, but all Christ’s teachings including to the authority of the church, the believers, the people of God. We ourselves are not the measure of truth, Jesus is. So to be a maximalist, we must be totally committed to the truth that resides in the person of Christ.
Maybe we can resolve to be good, kind and considerate to our families and our friends, but to our enemies? Yes, we must be concerned for all of God’s creation and the fact that Jesus came to heal sinners. Our example is to be the witness of Christ on earth. We must seek justice, not revenge.
Two servants in the Parable of the Talents made the most of their God-given gifts according to their abilities, and their master joyfully rewarded them. The servants appeared to be pleased with their efforts, saying to the master in effect Look!,... I have doubled your money!
These servants overcame any fear they may have had of losing the money entrusted to them, working zealously to bring about a good return to the Master, who promotes them, and shares his joy with them for having doubled the investment in them.
A third servant didn’t even try to make the most of the gift for him to manage according to his ability while the master was away, a substantial sum of money known as a talent that was equal to a laborer’s wage for about 20 years, almost the work of a modern lifetime. The servant buried it instead so it could be returned just as he received it from his master. Then there could be no criticism of any risks he might have taken so that the talent was lost. He was doing the least he could and presuming that minimum effort would be acceptable.
Perhaps the third servant really believed he was doing enough for his master. In Jesus’ time, servants entrusted with a master’s goods were expected to make them increase, however. The parable of the Unprofitable Servants makes that point clearly. It is not enough to do only what one is required to do in order to be a useful or profitable servant (Luke 17: 7-10.)
Many of those who say they are disciples of Christ also look for the minimum they must do to live self-indulgently on earth and still reach heaven, wanting to go the easy way, rather than through the narrow gate of fully committed discipleship, observing all of Jesus’ teachings. I would encourage you today to seek the narrow gate instead of becoming a minimalist. Do the most you can as a servant of God rather the least. Consider what you have not done yet for Christ that you could still do, thus doing all you can for a fulfilling, purposeful and meaningful earthly life and moreover for eternal life free in heaven from the pain and suffering of our mortal body to be replaced by joy in God’s presence.
People in all vocations of life can increase the gifts they have, applying them to their studies,their work, their church, family and friends- anyone in need. They can uplift all they come in contact with, giving them good advice and encouraging them to persevere against obstacles. College students, for example, are tempted to buy term papers instead of doing original work, yet they learn more by studying honestly. Fellow students can convince potential cheaters they will benefit more from doing their own work, in virtue as well as in secular knowledge. But everyone can volunteer more extensively for work in the Church. From the positive results of the volunteering, people will be able to discern the gifts God has given them. That discernment itself is one of God’s important gifts to us.
.
This Parable of the Talents is not just about earthly investments, it is about the divine as well as natural gifts we all receive as investments from the Holy Spirit. Chief among them is charitable love- the oil in the lamps of the wise and foolish virgins mentioned in the preceding parable, and the works of mercy. St. Augustine says that it is ‘a love that one receives as a gift..., preserves within oneself, and uses in works.’ (Cf. Discourses, 93, 4 ) http://www.zenit.org/article-33778?l=english
The fact that the unprofitable servant admits to being very afraid of his master prevented him from producing a return on the investment amount given him. Even if he was not as “talented” as the other two servants who doubled their master’s investment money, he could have given the money to bankers who would have returned it with interest. Not much better than minimalism, but a start toward maximalism.
How many of those who profess to be Christian disciples are seeking to do the minimum for him and still be rewarded in heaven, or think that their life on earth will be miserable if they follow Jesus too closely? How many scoff at hell, even thinking it might not be such a bad place?
The story of Lazarus and the Rich Man would set them straight. The Rich Man (Dives)
suffers greatly the loss of God’s presence and the prospect of other family members ending up in hell with him is a great torment. How much he thirsts to leave hell and join Lazarus, but he can’t. Nor can his brothers if they follow his example.Luke 16:19-31 Even worse than going to hell is taking your loved ones with you, as one of my fellow sermon writers observed. (Something Worse than Going to Hell, by Maurice McCarthy.)
Those who reject Jesus open themselves up to the prospect of not only nothingness, but torment after death. Maybe nothingness is acceptable, but eternal suffering would be horrific. Unbelievers hope for nothingness after death. Even so, life would lack substantive purpose if it ended in nothingness. The prospect of enjoying oneself and “having fun” as much as possible on earth would lead to hedonism that will end with death, and hedonism risks the eventuality that the pain of hell, as it was for the tormented Rich Man, will be eternal. Those who follow Jesus zealously have nothing to lose at death, and everything to gain.
We need to be concerned about the minimalists and those who scoff at the notion of hell. We need to not only warn but also to encourage them in good works. Whatever “talent” anyone shows to us needs to be complimented. Negativism should be countered. There’s a saying that goes something like: “Somebody said it couldn’t be done, but they with a chuckle replied, that maybe it couldn’t but they would be ones, who wouldn’t say so till they tried.”
The unprofitable servant needed advice and encouragement to upgrade his goals, and his confidence. He needed to love his master and not just fear him in the sense of being afraid of him, or criticizing him for earning profit from other people’s labor. As a servant, he had an obligation to do the best he could for his master despite any obstacles. He needed to question whether just returning the master’s principal was enough.
Maybe we think we are doing enough for Jesus, even when we always let others volunteer for teaching religious education classes or Bible study, or serving on committees. We could take a Bible study course ourselves or sit in on a religious ed class to learn how to teach it. The example we would give by doing more volunteer work would encourage others to volunteer, too. Often a very small number in a congregation volunteer for church-related work or tasks. Even with a busy schedule people can make a contribution, however. They could listen to a Christian (including Catholic) radio station and spread the good news they hear from that source. They might be gentler and more considerate in dealing with others, including insistent phone salespeople. They might start getting involved with church work by helping out other volunteers, asking to work with them.
Finally, those who have retired have additional time for volunteering. We never really retire from working as a modern-day disciple of Jesus. In fact, it is our most important job throughout life because it determines our eternal destiny as well as our earthly happiness in doing what we were created to do. “Ask not, then, what your church can do for you, but rather what you can do for your church,” to paraphrase former President Kennedy. Be a doer as well as a receiver. Be like the first two servants in the Parable of the Talents, the ones who doubled their master’s investment in them. See if you can double Jesus’ investment in you by making every effort, large and small, to spread God’s loving concern for all his people. “Whatever you do for the least of my people,” Jesus says, “you do for me”. Then you will be a profitable servant.
The useless servant did nothing more than he had to out of fear, but fear is useless. (Matthew 5:36.) What is needed is trust. The unprofitable servant in the Parable of the Talents does not trust his master, nor does he trust anyone who might help him produce a profit.
A final illustration of doing too little morally would be seen, if reports about the incident are true, in the case of a football coach who says he did all he was supposed to do by just reporting in-house, not notiying the town police or seeing to it that his superiors did so and not following up thoroughly on an incident his quarterback reported to him as a boy being touched inappropriately in the shower room by one of the assistant coaches. A grand jury later specified the case as one of child rape.
Doing a lot of little things is not the same as doing too little. St. Therese used to write to missionaries to encourage them. It might seem a small exercise in thoughtfulness and compassion, but it gave a big boost in morale. Even small gestures like offering a glass of water, Jesus tells us, are needed for developing compassion.
The pro-life movement is another worthy apostolate, one seeking the gift of continuing life for a child developing in a woman’s womb. Those on a tight schedule could do something simple yet powerful for the Culture of Life rather than the Culture of Death symbolized by abortion. The next time you hear people telling you they are pro-choice, say something like: “Oh, you mean pro-legalized abortion.” If something is legal, it means the choice to do it is without legal punishment, right?” Pro-choice people are in favor of the current legalization of abortion, of a right to legally take away the developing human life inside the mother during the first trimester, and later on with some restrictions. What about the rights of that developing human life, the fetus? This approach would change the issue from being exclusively about women’s reproductive rights.
Rather than focusing only on traditional gifts like prophecy or teaching or administrative skill and so limiting God’s gifts to a list, it is better to see a spiritual gift as the grace that enables us to bring about good results in building up the church and its people, and spreading God’s kingdom. St. Paul wanted people to use whatever skills they had to foster unity in the new Christian Church. All of us can use spiritual gifts and bring about the fruits of the Spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23.)
Charity, St. Paul tells us, is the most important gift of all; we need to exercise it constantly, and those charitable works and Works of Mercy similar to the Beatitudes will bring forth additional gifts and virtues. Without charity we cannot make effective use of the other gifts. (1Corinthians 13:1-4.) At the final judgment may the Lord say to us as he did to the profitable servants: “Well done, good and faithful servants... Now enter into the joy of your Lord.” (Matthew 25: 21 )
