they thought that the Kingdom of God
would appear there immediately.
Once we encounter Jesus, the King of the Kingdom, it might seem that we have arrived, that nothing more needs to be done on our part.
A nobleman went off to a distant country
to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return.
He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins
and told them, ‘Engage in trade with these until I return.’
But Jesus did not bring the Kingdom in fullness immediately. Rather, he went to the distant country of heaven to be crowned by his Father and told us to engage in trade until his return, using the gifts he gave us.
His fellow citizens, however, despised him
and sent a delegation after him to announce,
‘We do not want this man to be our king.’
Because Jesus did not immediately manifest his Kingdom in an overwhelming concrete and physical way and solve all of the worlds problems many were tempted to despise him. He didn't do what we would have done so we were tempted to believe that either he could not or that he would not. If he would not, it must be because he didn't care, or so the our darkened minds can't help but imagine.
Jesus could have done everything at once, but there was something so valuable in giving us time to make use of our gifts that it was was worth waiting. If this is so it is not a small matter. The coming of the Kingdom in its fullness is going to be a blessing that no eye has seen and no ear has heard (see First Corinthians 2:9). It is going to be great beyond imagining. Yet this time in between his comings is something he specifically chose because of how important it is for his plans for us.
‘Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.’
He replied, ‘Well done, good servant!
You have been faithful in this very small matter;
take charge of ten cities.’
In order to be ready for heaven, ready for life in the Kingdom, we must first be found faithful in small matters. There is no shortcut to this process. It can't just happen without involving us. We ourselves are given what we need by the nobleman. But we must decide how to invest. This is the time in which we now live. It is a time where we have been given great treasures by God and have a choice to make. We can despise him because we wouldn't have done things the way he did, we can receive his gifts but bury them out of fear, or we can let them do the work they are meant to do.
He replied, ‘I tell you,
to everyone who has, more will be given,
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.
By using our faith we grow in faith. By putting the graces God has given us to work we learn to trust in him more. Are we tempted to ask why all this is necessary? It's because he does not want to leave us as infants, but is raising us up to "take charge of ten cities", to reign with him. For this, we must have wills that are fixed in the faithfulness, tested in their fidelity.
When we are tempted to hold the Lord's apparent absence against him let us remember that he is not actually distant. He promised to be with us always, even unto the end of the age (see Matthew 28:20), to never abandon us or forsake us (see Deuteronomy 31:6). This is especially true at mass where we enter by faith into the Kingdom that we will one day behold by sight.
Day and night they do not stop exclaiming:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty,
who was, and who is, and who is to come.”
The antidote to fear and doubt is praise. If we feel like Jesus is not present, he lives in the praises of his people (see Psalm 22:3). If we are tempted to mistrust the gifts he has given praise will make us confident (see Psalm 18:3).
“Worthy are you, Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things;
because of your will they came to be and were created.”
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