It is perhaps a little unfortunate that the English word “talent” means a particular ability or aptitude. We would say, for example, Michael Jordan had a talent for basketball. The choir has a talent for music. Politicians have a talent for… what do politicians have a talent for? In the story as Jesus tells it, talent means something of great value, or as we usually call it, money. So when the Bible says to use your talents wisely it does not mean only developing one’s ability to do math or play the piano or shoot pool – although those are certainly good things to do. It means using wisely whatever one has been blessed with. The immediate context for today’s gospel implies that we as believers have been blessed with faith. Like the master of those servants, Jesus has entrusted us with something of great value in the faith we have received. It is simply not sufficient to hold onto the faith, to hide it, to dig a hole in the ground and bury it. If we don’t use it, we lose it. Faith is meant to be shared, to be spread around, to multiply in the lives of others. On judgment day we can’t go to God and declare, “I know you are a demanding judge so I have kept the faith untouched and hidden. Here it is back.” God would say to us as the master said to his servant, “You worthless, lazy servant. Your faith wasn’t your possession to cling to. It was supposed to blossom and grow in the lives of those around you.” If we don’t use our faith in the providence of our everyday life with all the people we come in contact with, we will lose it and there will be a wailing and grinding of teeth.
Besides faith, God has blessed us with healing. We have a positive “talent” for being healed, you might say, as the children of God. Each one of us has experienced some grief, some loss, some pain, some misunderstanding, some loneliness, some sorrow, some dishonor, some heartache. After we turn those feelings over to God we find that blessed assurance, that sweet balm of Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul. No matter what we have done or what has been done to us, Jesus, the divine physician, brings the peace which is beyond all understanding. But the parable challenges us to realize that the healing we have received is not for ourselves alone. It is meant to be shared, to be invested in the lives of others. Use it or lose it. Say, for example, you have lost a family member who was dear to you. You bring your grief to God and in God’s good time you find the truth of the beatitude: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” In the divine plan that gift of consolation is not meant for you alone but is meant to be shared. You have found your way through the valley of darkness guided by the rod and staff which give you comfort. Who better than you to testify to others who are grieving of the power of God to wipe away every tear and make all things new! In sharing our story, we become the hands that God uses to bring healing to the other. Our compassion, our suffering with another does not drain the grace and favor we have been given. Quite to the contrary, our willingness to share blessings received benefits both the giver and the receiver. The same method works with all the suffering of life. When we invest the mercy of God in the lives of others, not only do we not lose it but it expands to fill the ache in both our souls.
Of course the greatest blessing, the most special “talent” that Jesus has entrusted to us is love. We have been loved and thus have the capability of loving others. As the parable reminds us, though, love isn’t love until you give it away. Use it or lose it. Trying to hold onto love, to stow it in some secret cubby hole, causes us to lose the love we have. To understand why this is so requires an understanding of love which is deeper than that of the popular song or the hallmark card. Love in the Bible can be defined as a willingness to act for the well-being of another. Love is more than a feeling, more than a second-hand emotion. It is related to action, to attentiveness, to care. That understanding of love serves as background for the investment that love requires. Let’s think for example of a father who loves his family. He is going to act for their well-being. He provides food, clothing and all the comforts of home. But the first thing he will notice is that he can’t hide his family in the ground. They are part of a world with good and bad people. So he will act for the well-being of the friends and neighbors, the school mates and church members who impact his family. If they are well, his family will be well. Soon, he notices that his little family is also threatened by forces outside their immediate circle. Racists, drug dealers and criminals all imperil the well-being of those he loves. Therefore, he must expand his circle of care to include them as well. Because we love people enough to want their well-being we don’t tolerate their behaviors which lessen their dignity as human beings. We love them enough to want them to change. Finally, our hypothetical father notices that his little family is impacted by events around the world. As we discovered so dramatically on 9/11, if there is war and injustice anywhere, it can come back to haunt our tiny little corner of the world. What we do locally affects what is happening globally. So this father’s love which started out caring for his nuclear family of necessity expands to include all God’s children. Once we use the love we have, we are guaranteed that we will never lose it but instead to the more we have, more will be given since God is love. Our God will not be outdone in generosity. The irony is, love is a magic penny that multiplies in the mere act of passing it on.
