Reflection on the Parables of the Talents (II)
----continuing
One of the best thing that I like is the words that are said by the servants. The first one said,
And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.'
(Mat 25:20)
and the second one said,
And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.'
(Mat 25:22)
While the third one said the followings,
He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.'
(Mat 25:24-25)
Did you notice the difference? What is the difference?
We know that the five and the two talents belong to the Master, but the beautiful story lies when the the two servants gave "all" that they made to the Master. The first one got five and he made another five, but He gave all the ten talents back to the Master. And so it was with the second one. The Master did not know how much they made, but they gave them all.
On the other hand, the third one was afraid and hid the talent. What did he afraid of? The answer is found in his reply, "Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow, so I was afraid". He was afraid of his master. In his thought, his master is someone who reap where he did not sow, and gather where he did not winnow. In other words, the servant is afraid that if he traded the talent and made more talents, the Master would take the talents from him. This is his fear. He is afraid that all his effort would be taken away. If he traded the talent and made more, those should be his, and not the master. He was afraid that the master would take it from him and so he hid it in the ground.
What does this tell us? The first two servants acknowledge that all that they have belong to the Master. And out of Love and faithfulness, they gave all what they made to the master. As the master gave "himself" by entrusting the properties, so did they return what they made as "a gift of themselves" to the master. Why did I say this?
Do you notice that we love to give "gifts" to someone we love? Why? Because we want to share something with that person. We want to give something out of ourselves and so we give them presents and gifts. And all those gifts and presents actually represent "a giving of one self". If you don't believe it, consider the case when you love someone and you give something that is precious to that person, yet the person does not even want to accept it. What would you feel? Part of you is rejected. This is because when you give that gifts, you actually give some part of your lives.
And as the master gave himself, so the two servants gave themselves back to the master by growing what the master gave. No wonder the master said
... enter into the joy of your master.'
(Mat 25:21,23)
He even wanted to share His own Joy.
The third servant, however, refused to give himself back to the master. He made a distinction of what was his and what was his master's. He not only refused to give, he even refused to use what the master gave. In short, he didn't care at all for his master. Imagine that you give a beautiful dress to someone special, and yet that person does not even want to try the dress. What a hurt!
And so the Gospel story is more than just a "develop your gifts" story. It is about giving our whole self to God. It is about acknowledging that God gave himself to us. Our most inner persons reflect this giving of self. Because we were created in His image. He gave us more than just talents and gifts, he gave us himself.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
(Gen 1:27)
And everytime we look inside our inner most self, we can find His gift.
Actually the first time I was thinking about this reflection, I was reflecting about giving faitfully even though it is small, '...you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; ...'(Mat 25:21). However, it seems that God wants me to share more on the giving of oneself. This is what is precious to Him, when we give our whole self back to God, our Loving Father.
I would like to close this reflection with the verse near the end of the parable,
For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
(Mat 25:29)
This is one of the verse that used to confuse me. I used to read it this way, "If God gave you many talents, than he will give more, but if you don't have anything, everything will be taken away". Of course this is not true. As we said before, the master rewarded the two servants with the same rewards. And if we have nothing, how can it be taken away. So this cannot be the meaning.
If you look at the the reference in you bible, you might notice that the same sentence is used several times and, amazingly, with different context. But what explain the meaning to me is from the Gospel of Luke. Jesus was telling a parable of the sower and the parable of the lamp, then he said,
Take heed then how you hear; for to him who has will more be given, and from him who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away."
(Luk 8:18)
This is the same words that is said by the master. But take a look at the first few words, "take heed then How you hear". This is the answer. Jesus was telling a parable and then he told us to take heed how we should hear it, and then after that Luke wrote about question of who is the mother and the brothers of Jesus, and Jesus said,
But he said to them, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it."
(Luk 8:21)
This is the link. Take heed how you hear the message, don't only hear, but do it. And so the words "for to him who has will more be given, and from him who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away." is not refering to having talents or not. It is about our attitude, our response, our disposition.
This why the master in the parable of the talents said those words at the end. You have two kind of servants, one is willing to acknowledge God and give themselves back to God, the other one refused. And so Jesus is simply saying, "take heed how you live your lives". This is what the first reading and the responsorial psalm is saying: Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
... but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
(Pro 31:30)
Lo, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD.
(Psa 128:4)
It is not a fear like what we have when we are afraid of something. It is a fear of Love and Respect as we Love and respect our Father.
Who shall not fear and glorify thy name, O Lord? For thou alone art holy. ..."
(Rev 15:4)
And so, now we know what the following verses mean.
For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
(Mat 25:29)
For those who have the right disposition to give their lives to God, will be given more "life". While those who have not the right disposition, who refused to give their lives, will be taken away.
For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
(Mat 16:25)
And how should we live our lives that would be pleasing to God? Fruitful!
He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them; and he made five talents more. So also, he who had the two talents made two talents more.
(Mat 25:16-17)
By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.
(Joh 15:8)
And what is the best fruit that we can produce?
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.
(Gal 5:22-23)
But how can we bear this fruit? It seems imposible, Yes we will never be, alone. But with God, everything is possible.
Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God."
(Mar 10:27)
We need to be with God...
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
(Joh 15:4-5)
And you might ask how to abide in God?
If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.
(Joh 15:10)
by keeping His commandment, but His commandment is simple and beautiful, that is to love.
"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
(Joh 15:12)
And this is not a commandment to burden us, but to make us fully alive, to be happy in lives.
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
(Joh 15:11)
This is what the parable of the talents is all about. It is an invitation to give our whole selves to God fully, to give our lives as a beautiful sacrifice by bearing fruits. And the most beautiful fruits that God wants us to bear is the fruits of the Spirit. But how can we bear these fruits if we do not abide with the vine, Jesus? Only when we Love one another, then we will abide in Him, and when we abide in Him, we will bear His fruits. And all this he tells us so that you and I may find the full ness of joy.
..., I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
(Joh 10:10)
Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam
-For the Greater Glory of God-
your brother in His love,
oka
One of the best thing that I like is the words that are said by the servants. The first one said,
And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.'
(Mat 25:20)
and the second one said,
And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.'
(Mat 25:22)
While the third one said the followings,
He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.'
(Mat 25:24-25)
Did you notice the difference? What is the difference?
We know that the five and the two talents belong to the Master, but the beautiful story lies when the the two servants gave "all" that they made to the Master. The first one got five and he made another five, but He gave all the ten talents back to the Master. And so it was with the second one. The Master did not know how much they made, but they gave them all.
On the other hand, the third one was afraid and hid the talent. What did he afraid of? The answer is found in his reply, "Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow, so I was afraid". He was afraid of his master. In his thought, his master is someone who reap where he did not sow, and gather where he did not winnow. In other words, the servant is afraid that if he traded the talent and made more talents, the Master would take the talents from him. This is his fear. He is afraid that all his effort would be taken away. If he traded the talent and made more, those should be his, and not the master. He was afraid that the master would take it from him and so he hid it in the ground.
What does this tell us? The first two servants acknowledge that all that they have belong to the Master. And out of Love and faithfulness, they gave all what they made to the master. As the master gave "himself" by entrusting the properties, so did they return what they made as "a gift of themselves" to the master. Why did I say this?
Do you notice that we love to give "gifts" to someone we love? Why? Because we want to share something with that person. We want to give something out of ourselves and so we give them presents and gifts. And all those gifts and presents actually represent "a giving of one self". If you don't believe it, consider the case when you love someone and you give something that is precious to that person, yet the person does not even want to accept it. What would you feel? Part of you is rejected. This is because when you give that gifts, you actually give some part of your lives.
And as the master gave himself, so the two servants gave themselves back to the master by growing what the master gave. No wonder the master said
... enter into the joy of your master.'
(Mat 25:21,23)
He even wanted to share His own Joy.
The third servant, however, refused to give himself back to the master. He made a distinction of what was his and what was his master's. He not only refused to give, he even refused to use what the master gave. In short, he didn't care at all for his master. Imagine that you give a beautiful dress to someone special, and yet that person does not even want to try the dress. What a hurt!
And so the Gospel story is more than just a "develop your gifts" story. It is about giving our whole self to God. It is about acknowledging that God gave himself to us. Our most inner persons reflect this giving of self. Because we were created in His image. He gave us more than just talents and gifts, he gave us himself.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
(Gen 1:27)
And everytime we look inside our inner most self, we can find His gift.
Actually the first time I was thinking about this reflection, I was reflecting about giving faitfully even though it is small, '...you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; ...'(Mat 25:21). However, it seems that God wants me to share more on the giving of oneself. This is what is precious to Him, when we give our whole self back to God, our Loving Father.
I would like to close this reflection with the verse near the end of the parable,
For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
(Mat 25:29)
This is one of the verse that used to confuse me. I used to read it this way, "If God gave you many talents, than he will give more, but if you don't have anything, everything will be taken away". Of course this is not true. As we said before, the master rewarded the two servants with the same rewards. And if we have nothing, how can it be taken away. So this cannot be the meaning.
If you look at the the reference in you bible, you might notice that the same sentence is used several times and, amazingly, with different context. But what explain the meaning to me is from the Gospel of Luke. Jesus was telling a parable of the sower and the parable of the lamp, then he said,
Take heed then how you hear; for to him who has will more be given, and from him who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away."
(Luk 8:18)
This is the same words that is said by the master. But take a look at the first few words, "take heed then How you hear". This is the answer. Jesus was telling a parable and then he told us to take heed how we should hear it, and then after that Luke wrote about question of who is the mother and the brothers of Jesus, and Jesus said,
But he said to them, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it."
(Luk 8:21)
This is the link. Take heed how you hear the message, don't only hear, but do it. And so the words "for to him who has will more be given, and from him who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away." is not refering to having talents or not. It is about our attitude, our response, our disposition.
This why the master in the parable of the talents said those words at the end. You have two kind of servants, one is willing to acknowledge God and give themselves back to God, the other one refused. And so Jesus is simply saying, "take heed how you live your lives". This is what the first reading and the responsorial psalm is saying: Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
... but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
(Pro 31:30)
Lo, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD.
(Psa 128:4)
It is not a fear like what we have when we are afraid of something. It is a fear of Love and Respect as we Love and respect our Father.
Who shall not fear and glorify thy name, O Lord? For thou alone art holy. ..."
(Rev 15:4)
And so, now we know what the following verses mean.
For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
(Mat 25:29)
For those who have the right disposition to give their lives to God, will be given more "life". While those who have not the right disposition, who refused to give their lives, will be taken away.
For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
(Mat 16:25)
And how should we live our lives that would be pleasing to God? Fruitful!
He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them; and he made five talents more. So also, he who had the two talents made two talents more.
(Mat 25:16-17)
By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.
(Joh 15:8)
And what is the best fruit that we can produce?
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.
(Gal 5:22-23)
But how can we bear this fruit? It seems imposible, Yes we will never be, alone. But with God, everything is possible.
Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God."
(Mar 10:27)
We need to be with God...
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
(Joh 15:4-5)
And you might ask how to abide in God?
If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.
(Joh 15:10)
by keeping His commandment, but His commandment is simple and beautiful, that is to love.
"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
(Joh 15:12)
And this is not a commandment to burden us, but to make us fully alive, to be happy in lives.
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
(Joh 15:11)
This is what the parable of the talents is all about. It is an invitation to give our whole selves to God fully, to give our lives as a beautiful sacrifice by bearing fruits. And the most beautiful fruits that God wants us to bear is the fruits of the Spirit. But how can we bear these fruits if we do not abide with the vine, Jesus? Only when we Love one another, then we will abide in Him, and when we abide in Him, we will bear His fruits. And all this he tells us so that you and I may find the full ness of joy.
..., I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
(Joh 10:10)
Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam
-For the Greater Glory of God-
your brother in His love,
oka
posted by Oka | 9:23 pm
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