Let’s multiply our talents!

With Jesus’ parable about the talents, which is from the Gospel of Matthew, we meet in a modified form also in the so-called gospel to the Jews, which the Church did not recognize as a gospel inspired by God, but which was widespread and widely read among the so-called by Judeo-Christians, i.e., Christians coming from the Jewish people.

In today’s Gospel, the first servant, to whom the master entrusted five talents when he left, obtained five more for his Master and was praised by the master for this when he returned. The second servant, to whom the master entrusted two talents when he left, buried them in the ground and was mildly reprimanded by the master for this. The third servant, to whom the master entrusted one talent at his departure, squandered this talent with harlots and flute players and stood empty-handed before the master upon his return. And for this embezzlement, he was thrown into prison. What led the writer of this Gospel to the Jews to make these changes? According to Jewish law, one entrusted with some money fulfilled this obligation if he buried the money in a safe place and then, when needed, dug it up and handed it over to the one who entrusted it to him. The author of the Gospel to the Jews, therefore, wanted to preserve the prescription of the Jewish law.

Let’s take a closer look at the parable’s meaning: Who is this parable of Jesus directed against?

Directly against the Jewish scribes, the Jewish scholars of the Scriptures in its Old Testament part. During his public ministry, Jesus constantly blamed them for the fact that they received the key of knowledge in their hands, which opened the door to the kingdom of God, that is, to salvation. Still, they do not use this key to actu this door to those who would like to recereceiveo the kingdom of God. Jesus tells the Jewish scribes: “…you have taken the key of knowledge! You did not enter yourselves, and you prevented those who wanted to enter” (Luke 11:52).

The key to knowledge is the word of God, the word that God spoke to the chosen Jewish nation and thus to all people in the Scriptures. But what exactly did these Jewish scribes do with this revealed word? Did they give him hearts opening knowledge to the suffering, poor and sick? Have they softened the hearts of sinners? Or they made of it only a kind of fence that separates them from God and thus allowed them to close themselves in their own “righteousness,” which will enable them to say in God’s temple: God, I thank you that I am not like other people: blackmailers, dishonest or like this tax collector. What is to be done with the word of God? These are profound words. Serious because God is an incorruptible Judge who will ask each one exactly what he has done with the word of God entrusted to him. Jesus’ parable was addressed primarily to the Old Testament Jewish scribes. Still, it retains its relevance, brothers and sisters, even today, when we are no longer interested in Jesus’ disputes with the Jewish writers. The Word of God was entrusted to the Christian Church. This means to every person of this Church in different ways. Brothers and sisters, the word talent has passed into all modern European speech. It comes from the Greek word – talent, and in modern European languages ​,​it means – talent or aptitude. Today, we don’t even realize that the word talent, talent point to God, who gave something to a person who put something into a person. Before Christianity, the word talent meant only a unit of weight or money. This unit of weight got its meaning as a talent, an aptitude, precisely in Christianity, based on the parable we heard. The simile distinguishes between a person’s talent and ability. To better understand what it means. The talent here means a considerable amount of money. Thus, according to the latest studies, one talent is the salary of 16 well-earning workers of that time in one year. According to the level of their abilities, servants receive talents for their management. There is an emphasis on the idea that we are entrusted with something and are to do something about it.

And that is God’s word for us, which we, Christians, encounter in Jesus Christ. It gives us a firm position and direction in which our life should go, but at the same time, it makes us messengers and witnesses of his truth before people. A genuine Christian can’t revel in his Christianity and not be interested in his surroundings and their problems. Christians cannot be active in the same way. On the one hand,d in their abilities at birth, there will also be differences in the understanding and knowledge of the content of the faith given to them at baptism. Every Christian, whether he has greater or lesser abilities, must be involved in his surroundings and solving problems. Every Christian can and has the opportunity to engage again and again every day. What Jesus wants here was perhaps best described by his great disciple Paul when he writes in his First Letter to the Corinthians: “Let everyone consider us to be Christ’s servants and stewards of God’s mysteries.” And it is required of administrators to be faithful” (1 Cor 4:1-2). What Paul says about himself and ers applies to all Christians without exception. “But I do n about whether you or another human court judges me. I do not even believe myselconsiderr I am not aware unaware, but that does not excuse me. The Lord is my judge. I don’t even consider myself because Iunawareare of anything, but that doesn’t excuse me. The Lord is my judge. I don’t even judge myself because I’m unaware of anything, but that doesn’t excuse me. The Lord is my judge.

Therefore, judge nothing prematurely until the Lord comes. He illuminates what is hidden in darkness and reveals the intentions of hearts. Then everyone will receive praise from God” (1 Cor 4:3-5). These words apply to bishops, priests, parents, educators, and every Christian. Each of them is entrusted with the word of God, but not for themselves. . Each of them each their shoulders for the word of God. God has revealed his word to us, and that means which means he has given us to look for ways to practice it in our lives. And according to the faithfulness that fulfills this duty, each of us will answer God one day and be judged by God. Indeed, there are dif, different ways of providing this service. Providing I, as a priest, am there to study this word of God and explain it to you in an appropriappropriatelyevers, are called to that you pass on this word of God in your immediate surroundings, according to the measure of your abilities. And here, brothers and sisters, the question falls on me as a priest and on you as believers: What have you done, and what have I done to pass on the word of God that was entrusted to me appropriately? For example, what did our Catholic parents do to pass on the word of God to their children? How much have they thought about suitable ways to bring their children to Jesus Christ, to his love? Brothers and sisters, I don’t want to rebuke anyone today, but how many families do we have where parents complain about their children that they are no longer Christians? What did these parents do with the word of God entrusted to them to keep their children close to Jesus Christ? Many parents were content with the proper fulfillment of Christian duties and drove their children to church while they were young. And that was all. So they built a fence around their Christianity and separated themselves from others. That is the most profound meaning of this parable. If we did not pass on the word of God entrusted to us as Christians in suitable ways we were thinking about our surroundings, we would be tough to answer for it, according to that parable. So this seemingly straightforward parable poses a serious question to each of us: which we are puzzled over in our surroundings, and according to that parable, we willtoughcult to answer it. So this seemingly straightforward parable poses a serious question to each of us: which we are puzzled over in our surroundings, and according to that parable, we willtoughcult to answer it. So this parable, seemingly very simple, poses a grave question to each of us:

What have we done with God’s word?
And we will be responsible for that one day.

Brothers and sisters, we take everything formally. We have heard many things in life, but we often do not understand what is hidden behind what we hear. I guehear never even realized what responsibility we took upon ourselves as Christians. I wanted to say: Amen. But since I don’t want to end these words so harshly, I would like to end with a small request: It is never too late to think about your responsibility. I will ask you a question. Not to you older adults anymore, but to the young people here. I see them in the back who sooner or later get married or get married: How much and what do you want to do to correctly explain God’s word to your children who will be born to you?

Daily trifles are our displaced rosary beads.
Those mines (another evangelist remembered as talents) were the highest-value currency. Although the king from Christ’s parable speaks of “little things,” – how abundantly he rewards faithfulness in these little things: Have power over ten cities. So that little thing was not so small.

Because nothing is petty, nothing small – for true love. In the eyes of faith and love, everything is essential, holy, and excellent. The little things are little beads of the rosary that move in the hands; these are our daily activities if we perform them as carefully as possible; these are our daily affairs, experienced in the spirit of faith and love; from them grow our human greatness and immortal glory. Little things – these are tiny drops of God’s graces, thanks to which every day and every activity becomes worthy of a reward and not a small tip.

God entrusted us with those “little things”: he entrusted us with time, strength, health, abilities of the heart and mind, various innate possibilities, and different chances – and such a chance, perhaps underappreciated, is also our sufferings. God entrusted us with all these talents, saying: Trade till I return. We may be proud of our faith in God – but God instead believed and trusted us because he entrusted countless possibilities to take advantage of. Trade till I return. Trade not only with a thought of our merit and reward – but above all, out of love for the community in which we are to live. Trade until I return. The church year ends, and our attention turns to the prophesied coming of Christ. We confess aloud: Christ died, rose from the dead, and Christ will return.. .we await you’re coming in glory. Would this confession not be an empty phrase? The mines or talents entrusted to us must be diligently multiplied if we expect. They are not given to us for our arbitrary disposal, to do with them as we please, but they are entrusted to us as capital, to put them multiplied into the hands of the King who will return.