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Vocation Meditation -
November 13, 2011
"Well done good and faithful servant"
When we think about it, God really has invested a lot in each one of us. In today's Gospel, the parable of the talents, Jesus portrays a certain man (God) as giving a very substantial sum to each of his servants according to their individual abilities. In Jesus' time, one talent was equivalent to 6,000 denarii's, or fifteen years salary for a laborer. The parable reveals that God has great confidence to entrust goods of such great value to them. It reveals a God who is also willing to take risks, because there is no guarantee that everything will work out well. The parable also reveals that the departure of the master gave each servant the freedom to do whatever he wanted with the riches. Thus each one becomes in a sense their own master with this treasure of talents.
Who could not be amazed at such generosity and trust?
As we read on into the story, we finds in its conclusion, that the Giver of the talents is not so interested in how much each servant succeeded, but that they put the talents to use, took some risks with them, and produced some good results. In this they showed how they appreciated the valuable free gift given to them. On the other hand, the servant who received just one talent is not blamed for having done a poor job, but for having done nothing at all. A commentator on this Sunday's gospel writes: "God has entrusted properties of great worth to us: life, love, liberty, and many individual gifts. These properties do not belong to us, we are accountable for them."
Every vocation in life is a God -given gift that we are free to develop. A vocation to the priesthood or religious life, as well as marriage and the single life, are gifts of God that once discovered, discerned, and developed will lead us into a satisfying, happy, fulfilled life. How can this happen? Because at the core of our vocation is a God who supports us, trusts us and enables us to reach out and personally grow in our vocation in service to the Reign of God. What more could we ask for in life?
For the full Gospel reading for this Sunday, visit the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops site.