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[Jesus
continued his story of the talents.] "After a long time the master
of those
servants came back and settled accounts with them. The one who had
received five talents came forward
bringing the additional five. He said,
‘Master, you gave me five talents. See,
I have made five more.’ His master said
to him, ‘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.’ Then the one
who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master,
you gave me
two talents. See, I have made two more.’ His master
said to him, ‘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.’ Then the one who had received the one talent
came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding
person, harvesting
where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out
of fear
I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is
back.’ His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked,
lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest
where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? Should you
not then have put my money in the
bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my
return? Now, then! Take the talent from him and give it to
the one with ten. 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. And throw this useless
servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
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“Child,
don’t you worry. It’s
enough you’re growing up in such a
hurry. Brings you down, the news they
sell you—to put in your mind that all mankind is a failure. But nobody knows what’s gonna happen
tomorrow. We try not to show how
frightened we are. If you love me,
I’ll
protect you however I can. You’ve got
to
believe, it’ll be alright in the end.”
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Jesus
felt strongly about people using what they had. First of all, when
we are
given some talents, some abilities, we are meant to develop them, and
do the
best we can with what we have. Secondly,
we are not all given the same—some of us receive five, some, two,
some, one,
but we all are given something and we
all can do something if we want to. Thirdly,
doing nothing with what we have is condemned, and a rather
strong condemnation for those who do not use their talents well: in
Biblical
language, wailing and grinding of teeth is a description of hell.
Duran Duran’s song “What Happens Tomorrow” can be understood from the point of view of using the help that we have. They are singing that we have help even though life really is difficult, and in the end, everything will be alright—it is what we believe. Or in Jesus’ terms, it means using the talents that we have been given. Using those talents not only implies that we have to help ourselves, but that we use the help that comes from others—our families, our friends, our God. Indeed, we have the help we need in order to face tomorrow whatever that may be. If we use what we have, and use it well, it will be all right in the end. |
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THOUGHT
What are the gifts that have
been given to every person as they mature?
PRAYER
Good and gracious God, you have
given us so
much in our lives. We have the help of our
own intelligence and
the help that others give us, including your direction and guidance. Help us use what we have been given, and use
it well. Be with us, we pray.
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©2007
Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America |
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