It's not about the money (Mt 25:14-31)

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.