November 19, 2017
Jesus speaks about the mystery of God and the way God relates to us through stories, which have many layers of meaning and different possible interpretations. They are like an onion. When you have peeled off and understood one layer of truth a new layer become visible. Like many stories of Jesus, the Gospel of today is a provocation. God does not act justly. This master seems to discriminate his servants. To one he entrusts five “talents” (a huge amount of money at the time), the other one only one talent. It is an apt description of reality. That is the way things are. One child in the family is extremely gifted, the other one struggles through school. One is always healthy and great at sports, the other often sick. God seems very unfair in distributing his gifts. The parable also answers our question, at least partially. God gives to each one “according to his capacities”. More importantly, each one, whether he gets five or two talents as starting capital, will in the end receive the same reward: to “enter your master’s joy.” One may add another thought. If every human being would have the same qualities, would the world not become very boring? It is our differences that make life rich. Our big mistake is that we compare our gifts with each other and get jealous instead of developing whatever we have received. And that seems to be the second layer of the story. God wants us to grow and develop our gifts, few or many. Many stories of Jesus compare God’s kingdom to seeds that have the power to grow and produce a great harvest. The story of the talents challenges us whether we are still growing, not physically or materially in our possessions, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Do we trade with our talents? Even in old age we are still capable of growing, if we stimulate our brain, take up new ideas and initiatives. Do we grow in compassion for those who are in need? Pope Francis declared the 33rd Sunday of the Year as the Word Day of the Poor. What place do the poor have in our life? How do I look at the beggars and the homeless on the streets of Berlin? Do I take some time to phone a lonely person or to visit a sick friend? Or does my heart become insensitive like a stone to the suffering of others? The greatest talent we have all received is our capacity to relate to God and love God. But if we never pray personally to God, never read his word and a good book that encourages us to search for him, our spirit becomes dull, our spirit dies. Finally, the story of the talents questions us about the image we have of God. The third servant admits why he failed his master: because “I was afraid of you.” The other two trust their master and trust themselves. They are not afraid to take risks. Fear paralyzed the third. Many of us still carry within us an image of a God who judges and punishes which paralyzes us and kills our joy for life. Jesus wants us to look with total trust at God as He did: as our Abba, our loving Father.
Fr Wolfgang Schonecke