Jesus
tells us of a man who planned to take a long journey. He gathered His slaves
and entrusted his property to them while he was gone. To one slave he gave five
talents, to another he gave two and to the third he gave one talent. A talent
is a sum of money, which some calculate to be equivalent to 20 years’ worth of
wages. The servant with the five talents immediately went and used the money in
trade earning an additional five talents. The one with the two talents did the
same and earned two additional talents. The servant with one talent feared his
master, so he dug a hole in the ground and buried the money.
When the
property owner returned from his journey, he summoned them to settle his
accounts. The first two slaves, who were given five and two talents, respectively,
proudly offered their master his property doubled. “His master said to (them) him, ‘Well
done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I
will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master’”
(Matthew 25:21). To the third slave, who buried the one talent, “his
master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave…you ought to have invested my money
with the bankers, and on my return, I would have received what was my own with
interest. So, take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten
talents” (Matthew 25:27-28).
It is ironic that today the word talent refers to one’s abilities
and special gifts, since Christ was teaching us about stewardship in this
parable. Everything in this life and on this earth belongs to our Master, God. We
speak of “my house” and “my car” and “my money, but it all belongs to God. When
we depart from this life, none of our possessions go with us. While we are
alive, we are simply stewards, those responsible for God’s possessions. Just as
the master in the parable put his slaves in charge of his property, God puts us
in charge of the gifts He has bestowed upon us, whether they are possessions or
abilities or talents. He expects us to use our gifts wisely to bring light into
this world by glorifying Him. He does not want us to bury our gifts.
Another story, which illustrates this concept, is the fig tree. Jesus
was hungry and saw a fig tree in the distance. He approached it and found
nothing but leaves. He cursed the tree, saying, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again” (Mark 11:14). Christ cursed
the fig tree because it was not bearing fruit. Later, as they passed the tree,
once again, the disciples noticed that it was withered. God expects us to bear
fruit, to be a light in the world. He expects us to live our lives revealing the
image of Christ, being witnesses of our faith by sharing God’s love to all. We
are living icons, images of Christ.
Whatever gifts and talents we have received from God, we are to
share them with others in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When we
do, God bestows greater gifts on our lives.
When the disciples noticed the withered fig tree, Christ responded, “Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say
to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not
doubt in your heart but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be
done for you. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in
prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark
11: 22-24). When we do anything and everything to please God, He will reward us
beyond what we can imagine. When we go to work and give it all we can, we will
experience joy and contentment. Work will not be a drudgery. Even one who does
the most menial type of work will experience joy in being able to reveal Christ
to others.
St. Nektarios of Aegina worked for a cruel master when he was but
a young boy. His master beat him and berated him. There was nothing St. Nektarios
could do to please his master. Nevertheless, the young boy would copy passages
of scripture and hide them in the packages he delivered for his master. With
joy, he would painstakingly copy scripture and spread God’s word to all of his
master’s patrons. His joy in Christ could not be quenched. Today, he is a saint
of the church who is called upon to intercede on behalf of multitudes of
believers, especially cancer patients. Countless miracles are attributed to his
intercessions. I, too, prayed to St. Nektarios to intercede on my behalf when I
had cancer six years ago.
It is our responsibility, as Christians, to be ambassadors for
Christ. We do not have to knock on doors or take to the streets to spread the
word of God. We utilized the gifts God has granted us in our everyday lives. According
to Paul (1 Corinthians 12:28), “God has appointed in
the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of
power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various
kinds of tongues,” but the greatest gifts are “faith, hope, and love…and the greatest of
these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). Those three are gifts we all possess!
We, as Christians are to be known by our fruits, the effects our
faith, hope and love have on others and on ourselves. These are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians
5:22-23). These bring great joy to Christ and glorify Him! Not only are we to
share our gifts with the world around us, but more importantly, these are necessities
to the flourishing of our Church. They are intended to strengthen us and our
faith. They are to supply the needs of all the members of the Church, the body
of Christ. We possess the Holy Spirit within us which unites us. We utilize our
gifts to build each other up, to deepen our relationship with Christ, to raise
our spirits and to support one another in suffering. “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member
is honored, all rejoice together with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26).
If we are suffering in any way, we seek comfort in one another. We
empathize with one another because we have all suffered in one way or another. We
forgive one another, knowing that God will forgive us, as well. This is the way
of the Church. “And let us
consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not
neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one
another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews
10:24-25). Do not withhold the gifts you have to offer the church. Become an
active part of your church. Let us become a blessing to one another. I have
found that every single time I have asked God to allow be to be a blessing to
others, I have received blessings in greater measure. We cannot out-give God.
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2018 Helen Kamenos All rights reserved
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