The parable we read today is not a lesson in capitalism. We must bear in mind that Jesus is frustrated with those who had been entrusted with ministering to His people. They had excluded the people and laid heavy burdens upon them. When we read the parable in this sense we can understand the exasperation of the Master. The talents should have been used to transform people’s lives; used for embracing those on the margins; for standing up against injustice and inequality in the world. Yet many were afraid or blind to this, so they hid the talents and did not multiply them. It is a safer place to be.
Compare this outcome to the other servants. There is a beautiful verse in both cases which reads “enter into the joy of your master”. Is this not what happens when we find that path that is right for us? Joy! When we use our talents and gifts in work or projects that are life giving and meeting the needs of our communities? Joy is a fantastic emotion; a sign of God’s grace. Despite the frustrations of whatever work we are involved in, the presence of joy is one sign that we are on the Kingdom track. The challenge is not to be afraid to go out there. Pope Francis asks that we have the ‘smell of the sheep’ and calls us to “be courageous. A Church that does not go out of itself, sooner or later, sickens from the stale air of closed rooms”.
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