Vocation Meditation -
November 16, 2008

Used with permission from www.mscperu.org/

Jesus said to his disciples, "About the day and hour of the coming of the Son of Man, no one knows, neither the angels of heaven nor the Son, but only the Father.

"For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents; to another, two; to another, one; to each according to his ability. Then he went away.

After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me five talents. See, I have made five more talents.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave. You have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master."

And the one with the two talents also came forward saying: 'I have made two more talents.'... And the one who had received the one talent also came forward... But his master replied, 'You wicked and lazy slave!..."As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

If the day and the hour of the second coming of Christ are known to none save God, then all of us must live in constant preparation and readiness for that coming. For this, certain truths of the parable are a must to remember.

First, God has entrusted us with gifts because He believes in our possibilities. The talents we received are meant to enhance our life, our faith, our community. For each gift received comes the responsibility to nurture it. Though we are not equal in talent, we can be equal in effort. And whatever talent we have, little or great, we must lay it at the service of God and humanity.

Secondly, the reward of work well done is having still more work to do. The servants who had done well were told not to lean back and rest on their oars because they had done well. They were given greater trust and with it greater tasks to handle.

Thirdly, God is displeased with him who did not try to make good use of His trust and His gift. The servant did not lose his talent; he simply did nothing with it. He was found comfortably idle. There was no effort exerted to reciprocate God's trust. He did not risk that lone talent of his for the common good.

Lastly, Jesus tells us that on the last day, God can find no use for the closed mind, for an idle follower, for a keeper of the law that is stiff, sad and self sufficient. God is pleased if our following of Christ will be done with faith-filled adventure, creativity and enthusiasm. Only then can we become multipliers of His gifts for the world.

Vocation Challenge:
My vocation is a call to work hard in developing my talents as gifts for the world.
When was the time I added adventure, creativity and enthusiasm in sharing my gifts to my faith community? Share this experience with someone.

For the full Gospel reading for this Sunday, visit the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops site.

Back to main Meditations page