another servant, and one talent to a third, to each, according to his ability; and he went away.
He who received five talents went at once to do business with the talents, and gained another
five. The one who received two talents did the same, and gained another two. But the one who
received one talent dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money. After a long time, the
master of those servants returned and asked for a reckoning. The one who had received five
talents came with another five talents, saying, ‘Lord, you entrusted me with five talents, but see,
I have gained five more.’ The master answered, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant, since you
have been faithful in a few things, I will entrust you in charge of many things. Come and share
the joy of your master.’ Then the one who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you
entrusted me with two talents; with them I have gained two more.’ The master said, ‘Well done,
good and faithful servant, since you have been faithful in little things, I will entrust you in charge
of many things. Come and share the joy of your master.’ Finally, the one who had received one
talent came and said, ‘Master, I know that you are a hard man. You reap what you have not
sown, and gather what you have not scattered. I was afraid, so I hid your money in the ground.
Here, take what is yours!’ But his master replied, ‘Wicked and worthless servant, you know
that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered. You should have
deposited my money in the bank, and given it back to me with interest on my return.
Therefore, take the talent from him, and give it to the one who has ten. For to all those who
have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who are
unproductive, even what they have will be taken from them. As for that useless servant, throw
him out into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Reflect

“God-given gifts.” The value of waiting for the Lord’s coming is accentuated by Matthew’s
eschatological discourse. Yesterday, we reflected on the challenge to sensibly wait for Jesus’
coming into our life because we do not exactly know the time of his arrival. The Lord, in his
goodness, has left us with talents which we can use while we wait for him. Today’s Gospel
narrates the parable that is commonly known to us as the parable of the talents. It tells of
a man who, before going abroad, summoned his servants to entrust to them his property.
He gave five talents of silver to one, two to another and one to another servant.
He entrusted these talents to each of his servants according to their respective abilities.
The servant who received five talents went to do business and he earned another five. The
other servant who received two talents did likewise and gained two more. But the last one dug
a hole in the ground and then hid the talent given him. In his return, the master praised
the first two servants while the unproductive servant was thrown outside in the dark. Do
we use our God-given gifts for good or do we waste them?

© Copyright Bible Diary 2024