As the parable of the talents
unfolds, it becomes clear that this is not a story about personal wealth and a moral
imperative to increase its value. Nor is
it a story about a moral obligation to use personal talents in a productive way. It is neither of these, because, in this
story, the master does not give anything to his servants for their own personal
use. Rather, he entrusts his servants
with a portion of his own wealth.
Even though the master leaves no instructions for them about what to do while he is
away, his servants
know what to do. They know because they know
the heart and mind of their master. They
know he wants them to increase the value of their allotted portion. Two of his
servants in fact imitate his cleverness because they know the master is clever
at increasing his wealth. In following
his example, they immediately begin trading their portion, and before long,
they double its value by sharing it with others.
The portion that Jesus gives to each of us, and the
portion he expects us to increase in value, is the love and peace of God. Thus, the parable is a story about bringing
the love and peace of God to others. Jesus makes this clear not only with the
two great commandments to love God and to love neighbor. He unites the love of God with the peace of
God when he tells his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to
you. Not as the world gives do I give it
to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid” (Jn 14:27). In this sense, love and peace go hand in
hand, for both are at the heart of Jesus’ mission. His gospel of love is also the gospel of
peace (Ep 6:15).
Like the servants in this story, we too know the heart
and mind of Jesus, and thus we know what to do with the love and peace that he
leaves us. For this reason, we reject
the choice of the third servant. Although he also knows his master, he does not
imitate him. Instead, he hides his
portion and refuses to share it with others out of fear. In time, he tries to explain away his lack of
good stewardship, but there is no defense.
The master does not believe his excuse, and calls him wicked and lazy. The
master would have been happy with simple bank interest alone. It was not necessary to double the value. Yet, this servant would not imitate
his master even in this small way.
Thus, our choice is to live like those two servants
who imitate their master. Like them, we
too do not receive detailed instructions from God about how to bring his love
and peace to others. But, we know the heart and mind of God because we know his
son Jesus whom we can imitate. As St. Paul reminds us in his letter to the
Romans, we imitate Christ by bringing the love and peace of God to others,
especially through good works (Rm 14:17-19).
We know the kind of works that were close to the heart
and mind of Jesus—feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger. In a special way for us today, that includes
strangers from foreign lands. We learn from Jesus that love for others means
more than wishing them well and sending them on their way without the
necessities of life (Jm 2:16). “Whatever
you do for the least of these, you do for me” Jesus tells his disciples (Mt
25:40). This close identity of Jesus with others proves how much Jesus loves
each of us. If Jesus loves each of us
this much, we ought to imitate his love for others and treat them in a similar
manner (1Jn 4:11).
Loving others in this way fulfills the commandment to
love God with our whole hearts and minds, and to love others as ourselves (Gal
5:14). We love God by loving his children
and his creation (1Jn5:2). If you keep
this commandment, Jesus says, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept
my Father's commandments and remain in his love. If we remain in Jesus as a branch to the vine,
he remains in us and we bear much fruit (Jn 15:4-10).
Although love for God means seeking
his peace, we do not have to bring the peace of God to the whole world. Just as the master would have been satisfied
with simple bank interest, so too will God be satisfied when we bring his love
and peace even in small ways to others, especially to our families and
communities.
In the very least, Jesus expects simple
acts of kindness on our part done in imitation of his own kindness. That is, we do not return insult for insult;
we do not seek revenge; we do not engage in violent acts or speech, no matter
how trivial or said in jest. We treat
each other—friend and foe alike—with compassion and respect out of love for
God. We keep Christ in our hearts and in
our lives. Living in the peace and love of God brings genuine security and
well-being for ourselves, our families, and even our communities (Lk10:5; Mk
9:50). Small acts of kindness truly do
go a long way.
