Jesus told his disciples this parable:
"A man going on a journey
called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.
Again, just as in many other parables, we must contend with a space of absence by the master. We see how three servants handle this absence differently, two with wisdom, and one foolishly. An important aspect of this parable is that it is clear that the servants were not left completely alone and adrift. They were entrusted with resources and a stewardship. How would they respond when the master was distant, when there was not the immediate promise that he would step in to correct mishaps and accidents, when even the condemnation of any mistakes would not come immediately and obviously? Would they have the courage to trust in the gifts of the master? Or would they instead allow his absence to make them forgetful of their stewardship? This is a common occurrence in other parables, where the master's delay leads to a spiritual slumber.
But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk (see Luke 12:45).
How well these servants responded or did not respond to the task set to them by the master was determined more by their faith than the amount they were given. The one who received the five talents and the one who received two were both bold in going forth and making a return for the master. It is as though they trusted in the master's plan and in his provisions. Had they the mindset of the servant who received one, that the master was a "a hard man" or if they could see him only as a "demanding person" they too might have been too afraid to put their talents to use. Having more in the face of such a fear might have only increased the fear. But those who received more had a more healthy view of their master, perhaps correctly sensing the goodness of his intentions to gradually raise them up higher and higher, entrusting them with increasing amounts as they grew in their ability to respond to his gift.
We see that the master was not so concerned with the amounts in question as with the response. We tend to measure out our own allocation against others and use this as a reason to doubt both our own capabilities and the master's love for us. But the servant entrusted with two who faithfully used them to make two more received the same reward as the servant who doubled his five. All that was required was a response of faithful trust in the master and his gift, a response that could be equal no matter the quantity of talents. One suspects that even if they had tried and failed this too would have been understood by the master as well. The only thing the master would not abide was to make no attempt.
'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.'
If we hide the gift entrusted to us by the master we shortchange both ourselves and others. Even one talent, according to the Fathers, was a sizable amount, and could have been used to yield a great return. We might even see it as the one thing necessary. The man who received it, however, seemed to see it as an indictment of his lack of ability. And this in turn seemed to stem from his perception of the master as one who was out to get him, looking for an excuse to judge him. In any case, he lacked the trust that the other two demonstrated, that putting the talents to use was a worthy endeavor. The master didn't even condemn him for his fear, but rather his laziness, that he had been given a great gift, meant to be shared, but couldn't be bothered.
Should you not then have put my money in the bank
so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?
The Lord is not seeking from us great things so much as the faithful response of trusting servants. Let us not measure our own gifts against others in order to assess our worth, for this measuring is likely to be wrong due to our limited perspectives. Let us see the master's entrusting us with so much, life, breath, grace, and salvation, not as a trial that he might condemn us, but as a school by which he desires to make us more perfectly like him, holy as he is holy. All we need to grow rich in what matters to God is trust enough to respond. He will see to the rest.
On the subject of fraternal charity
you have no need for anyone to write you,
for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.
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