“The end is near! The end is near!” As we continue to struggle with the worldwide coronavirus pandemic and a record number of hurricanes and tropical storms, devastating wildfires and even earthquakes, it’s easy to wonder if the end is near. Of course, people have been making that prediction for thousands of years. In fact, in today’s second reading, we hear St. Paul address a community anxious about the predictions they are hearing regarding the end of time and the return of the Lord. Like some people are doing today in the face of the pandemic and other natural disasters, there were some people in Paul’s time who were using the signs of their times to predict the end of time. In response, St. Paul uses an image we can all relate to – a thief – to remind them – and us – that we simply don’t know when the Lord will return. Just as a thief doesn’t send you an email to let you know when he’s coming to rob your house and ask you to leave your wallet on the kitchen table, Jesus made it very clear, over and over again, that the time of his return is known only by his heavenly Father; and he isn’t telling. So, St. Paul tells the followers of Jesus not to worry about that but, instead, to be concerned about the way they were living day to day. The other two readings this week challenge us to reflect on what we are doing with our everyday lives.
The worthy woman whom we hear praised in the first reading is a model of God’s faithful ones who, day by day, go about doing good, caring for their family and everyone they meet who is in need. And, in today’s Gospel, we hear the familiar parable of the talents. Here we have addressed not only the question how we use the talents that God has given us but, even more important, whether or not we’re one with God in doing his work of building up his kingdom. And, like many of Matthew’s parables, this one needs to be understood as an allegory, with each character and action representing someone or something else.
Let’s look at the situation Jesus presents in this parable. A very wealthy man – who represents Jesus to the community listening to this parable some 50 years after Christ’s death and resurrection – has been successful in his work, and now goes away on business. This represents our risen Lord’s return to heaven after being successful in his mission of saving us from our sins and offering us a share in his kingdom. Since he is going to be away for an extended period of time and he wants his work to continue to prosper, he selects three men from among his staff to continue his work while he is away. The three men represent his followers. And, he equips them with everything they need to do this work; the talents represent what he taught them while he was in their midst. And, notice how the gospel speaks of these talents: they are his possessions that he entrusts to them.
To understand the message fully, it’s important to know what a talent was in Jesus’ day. When we think of the word “talent,” we think of our specific abilities. But, in our Lord’s time, it was a form of currency and its value varied from place to place. Ranging from 50 to 130 pounds, it could made be of copper, silver or gold. Let’s assume that it was gold – so think of gold bars. In today’s market, each talent would be worth about $2 million – a very good foundation for continuing the master’s work.
Now, what the man who received one talent did was not unimaginable given the circumstances of the times. Banks weren’t FDIC insured and weren’t always reliable so it was safer to bury the money; a secret burial place was more secure. We hear about such buried treasure in the gospels, don’t we? But, what was wrong was that this third man refused to continue the work of his master. Unlike the other two men who took what they had learned from their master to double the investment he had made in them, he just buried it. The trouble was that the servant didn’t do what the master had called him to do. The master could have buried the money or even invested it himself! It was as if the master had given this servant seeds to use while he was gone and the servant put them carefully in a cupboard, saying that he was keeping them safe from floods, droughts or a plague of locusts, rather than planting them to produce a harvest.
The master handed his fortune over to his servants so that they could continue his work. Those who did so not only increased the master’s fortune, but they became more like him – successful in their labors as they did his work. And, as they carried forth his mission, they also shared in the joy that came from this work. You will notice that when the master returned, he didn’t look at the amounts and rejoice more for a return of five talents than for the return of two. To both of those servants he said, “Come, share your master’s joy,” which was another way of saying, “Come and share in the joy that comes in making my kingdom come about in your midst.”
The whole truth came out when the servant who had received the $2 million reported in. Before he ever spoke of what he did, he told the master what he thought of him. “You are a demanding person, you harvest what you did not plant. So I decided to have nothing to do with your work. Look, I return to you exactly what you gave me, nothing more, nothing less.” In effect that servant was saying, “I don’t treasure your possessions and I want nothing to do with your endeavors.” And, look what happened to him. While the story says that the master ordered that he be thrown out, that was no more than the logical conclusion of a process the servant himself had set in motion. He had already chosen to exclude himself from the master’s work. If he wouldn’t take part in the master’s plan, it was impossible for him to share the master’s joy.
Today’s readings remind us that everything we have is a gift from God given so that we may know God’s joy as we continue the work that his son has begun. This work is God’s precious possession that he has entrusted to us. Like the servants in today’s Gospel, God has chosen us, calling us at baptism into his household. As we do his work, at home, at school, at our jobs, in our neighborhoods, we enjoy the fruits of this labor – a share in the joy that our Lord promises everyone who builds up his kingdom here on earth. Although some read this as an invitation to share in God’s heavenly kingdom, notice that the master, after congratulating the first two servants, tells them that they will be given even greater responsibilities. Their work is not yet done but they already have a share in the joy that our Lord showers upon us as we do his work.
Everything we are and everything we have – our opportunities, our energy, our intelligence, our relationships, everything in life that is meaningful to us, including our financial resources – is a gift from God given to allow us to continue the work that Jesus began when he was with us – the building up of God’s kingdom. We are not called to simply keep the faith, but to share it!
Although God’s kingdom is most fully realized only in heaven, we are called to continue to bring it about here on earth. Jesus gave his life for that very purpose. He began his public ministry with the bold proclamation that the Kingdom of God is at hand. And he calls us – his followers – to invest our lives in that Kingdom until the end of time – whenever that may be. And, he has given us the resources we need to do this work and all sorts of the opportunities to begin to share in the joy here that will find its fulfillment in heaven. In these uncertain times, that is, indeed, good news!