ANGELUS 16 NOVEMBER 2014
Jesus
does not ask us to conserve talents in a safe
ANGELUS POPE FRANCIS
Saint Peter's Square Sunday, 16
November 2014
Dear
Brothers and Sisters, Good morning,
The
Gospel this Sunday is the Parable of the Talents. The passage from St Matthew
(25:14-30) tells of a man who, before setting off on a journey, calls his
servants and entrusts his assets to them in talents, extremely valuable ancient
coins. That master entrusts five talents to the first servant, two to the
second, and one to the third. During the master’s absence, the three servants
must earn a profit from this patrimony. The first and second servants each
double the initial value of the capital. The third, however, for fear of losing
it all, buries the talent he received in a hole. Upon the master’s return, the
first two receive praise and rewards, while the third, who returned only the
coin he had received, is reproached and punished.
The
meaning of this is clear. The man in the parable represents Jesus, we are the
servants, and the talents are the inheritance that the Lord entrusts to us.
What is the inheritance? His Word, the Eucharist, faith in the Heavenly Father,
his forgiveness..., in other words, so many things, his most precious
treasures. This is the inheritance that He entrusts to us, not only to
safeguard, but to make fruitful! While in common usage the term “talent”
indicates a pronounced individual quality, for example talent in music, in
sport, and so on, in the parable, talent represent the riches of the Lord,
which He entrusts to us so that we make them bear fruit. The hole dug into the
soil by the “wicked and slothful servant” (v. 26) points to the fear of risk
which blocks creativity and the fruitfulness of love, because the fear of the
risks of love stop us. Jesus does not ask us to store his grace in a safe!
Jesus does not ask us for this, but He wants us to use it to benefit others.
All the goods that we have received are to give to others, and thus they
increase, as if He were to tell us: “Here is my mercy, my tenderness, my
forgiveness: take them and make ample use of them”. And what have we done with
them? Whom have we “infected” with our faith? How many people have we
encouraged with our hope? How much love have we shared with our neighbour?
These are questions that will do us good to ask ourselves. Any environment,
even the furthest and most impractical, can become a place where our talents
can bear fruit. There are no situations or places precluded from the Christian
presence and witness. The witness which Jesus asks of us is not closed, but is
open, it is in our hands.
This
parable urges us not to conceal our faith and our belonging to Christ, not to
bury the Word of the Gospel, but to let it circulate in our life, in our
relationships, in concrete situations, as a strength which galvanizes, which
purifies, which renews. Similarly, the forgiveness, which the Lord grants us
particularly in the Sacrament of Reconciliation: let us not keep it closed
within ourselves, but let us allow it to emit its power, which brings down the
walls that our egoism has raised, which enables us to take the first step in
strained relationships, to resume the dialogue where there is no longer
communication.... And so forth. Allow these talents, these gifts, these
presents that the Lord has given us, to be, to grow, to bear fruit for others,
with our witness.
I
think it would be a fine gesture for each of you to pick up the Gospel at home
today, the Gospel of St Matthew, Chapter 25, verses 14 to 30, Matthew 25:14-30,
and read this, and meditate a bit: “The talents, the treasures, all that God
has given me, all things spiritual, all goodness, the Word of God, how do I
make this grow in others? Or do I merely store it in a safe?”.
Moreover,
the Lord does not give the same things to everyone in the same way: He knows us
personally and entrusts us with what is right for us; but in everyone, in all,
there is something equal: the same, immense trust. God trusts us, God has hope
in us! And this is the same for everyone. Let us not disappoint Him! Let us not
be misled by fear, but let us reciprocate trust with trust! The Virgin Mary
embodied this attitude in the fullest and most beautiful way. She received and
welcomed the most sublime gift, Jesus himself, and in turn she offered Him to
mankind with a generous heart. Let us ask Her to help us to be “good and faithful
servants” in order to participate “in the joy of our Lord”.
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