Stored in the Attic

~~~ Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time ~~~

~~~ Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 ~~~ Psalm 128 ~~~

~~~ 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 ~~~ Matthew 25:14-30 ~~~ 

'Well done, my good and faithful servant. 

Since you were faithful in small matters,

I will give you great responsibilities.

Come, share your master's joy.’

In the Gospel we are reminded to develop our talents.

We are reminded as we use our talents they will multiply.

We are reminded that keeping our talents solely for ourselves 

is equivalent to wasting our talents.

Whether it is five, three, or one talent 

we are to make use of them.

Our talents are not given to us to be

 stored away in the attic.

Our talents are not given to us

 to be saved for a rainy day.

God wants us to understand that the more often 

we use our talents the better person we will become.

On our final day when we come before the Lord,

we hope he will approve of how well we have used 

the gifts and talents he has given to us.

When one finds a worthy wife,

her value is far beyond pearls.

Her husband, entrusting his heart to her,

has an unfailing prize.

She brings him good, and not evil,

all the days of her life.

In marriage each person must find a way

 to use their talents and gifts.

The husband must find ways to develop his talents 

to be the best husband he can be.

How does he love, care and provide for his wife and family?

The wife, in using her talents must strive

 to be the best person she can be.

A wife uses her talents in preparing a home that is filled with love.

She uses her talents to care for all members of the family.

A devoted wife will make the life of her husband more pleasant.

The more you are loved in a marriage the more 

love you will can extend to others.

The wife uses her talents to help her husband.

The loving wife supports her husband in his endeavors

 to use and develop his talents.

If there is tension and resistance within a marriage neither party 

will be able to develop their talents.

 you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come

like a thief at night.

Not even a thief can rob one of their talents.

When, how, and why you develop your talents is your choice.

During the process of using our gifts God stands ready to support us.

God is there to Bless us as we decide to use our talents.

If today you have talents packed away in the attic

bring them down...begin to use them.

The more we use our gifts the stronger they will become.

~~~Peace~~~

Five, Two, One

~~~ 1 Thessalonians 4:9-11~~~ Psalm 98 ~~~ Matthew 25:14-30 ~~~

 

'Well done, my good and faithful servant.'

 

I think it is part of human nature to respond to positive feedback.

In my classroom I tried to give my students honest

positive feedback as often as I could.

 

Yesterday we heard about the foolish virgins

who did not prepare for the long night.

They ran out of oil.

Today we hear about the wicked, lazy servant who buried his talent.

He wasted what he had been given by the master.

This man had to relinquish his talent because he did not put it to good use.

The master does not tell him 'well done'.

 

God gives each of us gifts and talents, not necessarily

 in the form of currency but gifts just the same.

It is up to us to discern how we can put them to good use.

Certainly it is not a good idea to hide them away.

In this case the coins did not decay; they were taken out of circulation.

As most people know who have money, it does not

increase in value if it is buried in the back yard.

 

...to work with your own hands,
as we instructed you.

Working with your own hands implies that you are the one responsible.

You make the decisions concerning your gifts and talents.

 

It is up to you to increase what you have been entrusted with by the master.

The more we invest in developing our gifts

the more likely we are to hear the rewarding words from the master...

 

'Well done, my good and faithful servant.'

 

I do not believe that God is the sort of bookkeeper

 depicted in this parable,

but I do believe that he has expectations for us.

 

I pray that I recognize, accept, and develop the talents given to me by God.

I must confess I do want to get positive feedback from God when I die.

God gave each of different talents and gifts to use for his benefit.

 

The number of talents may not be as important as what you do to develop them.

Five talents, two talents, or one talent all entrusted to our hands

to multiply for the glory and honor of the Divine Master.

 

How are you increasing the value of your gifts?

 

Blessings in the actions you take regarding your talents.

Come Share in the Joy

~~~ 1 Cor 1: 26-31 ~~~ Psalm 33 ~~~ Matthew 25: 14-30 ~~~

 

We have taken a couple long journeys recently.

We have entrusted the care of our cat to friends.

Our neighbors kindly collect our mail for us.

We have not given up control of our finances.

We do not broadcast to very many people

that we are going to be gone.

 

In the gospel of Matthew verse thirteen

is the reminder to stay awake because we do not know the day or the hour.

The man who is leaving on a journey distributes his possessions

for safe keeping among his trusted servants.

 

As we know the first two took responsibility

for what they were given and invested wisely.

When the master returned he was very pleased with the decisions

made on his behalf by the first two servants.

 

'Well done, my good and faithful servant.

Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master's joy.'

 

Because these two servants made good decisions

they were promised even greater responsibilities.

They were promised to share in the master's joy.

They were going to be invited to the festivities.

The message here for us is to examine how we are using

what has been given to us.

How are we increasing the gifts we have?

All that we have has been as a result of the generosity of God.

Are we taking them seriously?

Are we taking them for granted?

Are we acknowledging the the source of our gifts and talents.

 

Some think that they alone are responsible for creating the good in their lives.

While it is true that we must do the work to develop and increase our talents;

we did not make ourselves capable.

 

The opposite is also true as we see with the third servant in today's gospel.

This servant made excuses to the master for his lack of action.

His fears, real or not, paralyzed him.

Our talents must be identified, and developed.

It is not alright to put them under the bed and save them for later.

The master's response was harsh; he took all of the talents away.

The servant feared loosing the talents so took no action

 only to have the master return and take them back.

 

We would not think that inaction would be considered squandering,

but that is exactly what the master says.

"...For to everyone who has,
more will be given and he will grow rich;
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away."

 

The master rewarded the servants who were willing to take action.

The master rewarded the servants who were willing to risk.

Even if the first two servants had lost some of what they invested I wonder

if the master would still have rewarded them.

 

Is it better to take action and fail or is it better to be fearful and take no action?

I am not sure there is only one answer here.

It may depend on each situation.

 

In the beginning the three servants were in the same place.

They were equals...peers.

All three were trusted servants of the master.

The master could have chosen others,

but they were each chosen to be given some talents.

 

 

 

Paul says to the Corinthians...

"Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord."

 

Whatever talents you have been given

use them wisely,

develop them

and return them to the Lord hundredfold.

More will be given to those who act wisely.

How do you feel about this concept?

Was the third servant treated unfairly?

Isn't it a good quality to be cautious?

How does this apply to your life?