The Parable of the Talents

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew:

Jesus spoke this parable to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of Heaven is like a man on his way abroad who summoned his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to a third one; each in proportion to his ability. Then he set out.

‘The man who had received the five talents promptly went and traded with them and made five more. The man who had received two made two more in the same way. But the man who had received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

‘Now a long time after, the master of those servants came back and went through his accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents came forward bringing five more. “Sir,” he said “you entrusted me with five talents; here are five more that I have made.”

‘His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have shown you can be faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater; come and join in your master’s happiness.”

‘Next the man with the two talents came forward. “Sir,” he said “you entrusted me with two talents; here are two more that I have made.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have shown you can be faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater; come and join in your master’s happiness.”

‘Last came forward the man who had the one talent. “Sir,” said he “I had heard you were a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered; so I was afraid, and I went off and hid your talent in the ground. Here it is; it was yours, you have it back.” But his master answered him, “You wicked and lazy servant! So you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered? Well then, you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have recovered my capital with interest. So now, take the talent from him and give it to the man who has the five talents. For to everyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away. As for this good-for-nothing servant, throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.”’

–

There was once a couple who had three children – all yet to marry – who earned a humble income and led a normal life; both were also very devout Catholics and took part in Church activities often. Their favourite pastime was purchasing lottery ticket(s) at the Singapore Pools in the hope of making it rich.

The wife, on a rainy and lazy Monday afternoon, went to a nearby lottery shop to purchase a ticket for the night’s draw – all numbers chosen were by random. Once she was done, she went back home and did her daily routine – taking care of the children, tidying up the house and preparing dinner. Her husband was overseas on a business trip, and she was in-charge of the household for the time being.

When she went to check the results for the draw, she found it quite impossible to believe her eyes – matching each and every number chosen with what she was seeing on the TV screen. The lottery ticket had just made the family 50 million dollars richer, and she had the only share.

Mouth very much agape, and her eyes wild with excitement, she was about to call her husband to tell him the exciting news. Upon reaching the phone, she hesitated – “what if my husband suffered a heart attack – and drop dead – upon hearing the news? No one will be there to assist him, and he didn’t bring his medication because the trip is going to be a short one. Besides, I don’t want him to splurge already and get greedy because of this”, she thought to herself. Thus, she decided to go to church and consult her friendly parish priest.

“Why don’t you invite me over to your place for dinner when your husband is back, at a time fine for you both? I’ll be there”, said the priest cheerily.

And so they did – upon reaching their house, the father asked her husband everything he possibly could. They discussed about the meaning of life, the purpose of life, and their lives, and the vocation that God has called them to.

Then, the priest asked, “Andrew, what would you do with 50 million dollars if you were to strike the lottery?”

“I would give them all to you, father,” he said.

The priest, upon hearing this, dropped dead.

–

The word ‘talent’ during Jesus’ ministry was the largest possible currency during their day. The master had placed a lot of trust in his servants to handle such a large sum of cash – he was taking a risk, no doubt, by asking his servants to turn this principal into something profitable for him, and for his servants.

All of us know that investing our money into real estate, companies, the government etcetera carries with it a certain degree of risk no matter how skilled you think you are. We just hope that our decisions were ideal, and that amount will bring back with it a profit instead of a loss.

The first servant, being the more ‘talented’ one, went off to trade and was successful in gaining five more talents for his master and himself, making the balance a total of 10 talents. He was praised by his master, and invited to join in “his happiness”.

The second servant, while not as ‘talented’ as the first, attempted to trade and earn a profit as well – he succeeded and garnered two more talents, making his balance a total of four talents. In a similar way as the first servant, he was praised and blessed with abundant joy and graces by his master.

The third servant, however, was afraid and feared that investing his one talent would result in a loss of some kind – thus, he decided that the best way to deal with it was to dig a hole on the ground and bury the talent there. When he was recalled by his master, he received a tongue-lashing – being called a “good-for-nothing” servant and was thrown out of his master’s home, “where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth”.

The definition of the word ‘talent’ as we know it today means a gift, a key ability that we posses. Indeed, the gospel challenges us to develop our gifts and our abilities for the benefit of the common good, our neighbours, and our heavenly father’s kingdom on Earth.

All of us Christians are servants to Jesus, our Lord and our master. He expects us to make full use of the gifts endowed upon us by the Holy Spirit and an account must be given to him of this administration on Judgment Day, when we return to Lord after the end of our earthly body and life.

In today’s self-centred society, we Christians – as stewards of the good news – are called to bring out the talent in every member of God’s kingdom, ensuring that it is used and developed to profit the individual as well as society as a whole. The gifts and abilities given to us are not for individualistic self-gain, but rather, for the development and growth of
God’s kingdom on Earth – he outlines in the Holy Bible that he wishes for it to be so.

Mother Teresa once said this:

God does not require us to succeed, he only wishes for you to try.

The first servant did, the second one followed suit, but the third one did not. He was not willing to invest the money given to him by his master, and thus was seen as one who cannot be trusted to serve and assist his fellow neighbours and the one who sent him, and hence, was left out of his master’s happiness.

In a similar way, all of us have been blessed with gifts from our heavenly father, and he sent us to Earth to help the rest of society with their troubles and problems – using our gifts where necessary. Those who do not will be separated – as seen in the gospel next Sunday – into goats from sheep, descending into eternal damnation and punishment, while the virtuous sheep to eternal life.

So, for the grace to bring into others and ourselves a sense of fulfilment, we ask the Holy Spirit to guide each and every one of us in our thoughts and actions, and to ensure that we use the gifts given to us by our Lord for the benefit of ourselves and those around us, especially the ones we love. We pray through Christ our Lord, Amen.