Let’s Make More of What God Has Given Us
The Parable of the Talents that we hear in this weekend’s Gospel from Matthew (chapter 25:14-30) is one of the most inspiring for me. It has become integral to my philosophy of work. Perhaps you have heard me talk about faith as a Divine/Human enterprise. I so strongly believe that all of life, and thus our faith and thus our work, are enterprises that we share with God. Faith, work and all of life is a partnership between us and God. That partnership is manifest in organizations, teams, parishes and families as well as each of us personally, uniquely and individually.
Notice in the Gospel story that the man going on the journey ENTRUSTS his servants with varying degrees of talents. In first-century Israel, a talent was a large sum of silver or gold, and it weighed between 58 and 75 pounds. This parable actually contributed to the shifting etymology and meaning of the word from gold or silver to a burden or carrying a heavy weight, to mean a natural ability or gift. This background is helpful in appreciating that the man has ENTRUSTED a lot to the three servants. Let us embrace the man in the story as God and let us take the role of the servants.
I so strongly believe that God has ENTRUSTED all of us with more than we think. We may tend to compare ourselves with others and thus take the place of one of the three servants in the story. May I suggest that we focus on what God has ENTRUSTED to each of us. Focus on what God has entrusted to you. Immediately, we may identify possessions, blessings, life experiences, and so on. The first servant has been given five talents, and that is a huge amount. But he immediately began to make more of what he had been given. The second servant does likewise. And the third buries what has been ENTRUSTED to him out of fear.
Now there is a reckoning, and the first two servants present to the man, stating that they had made more. The third servant gives the talent back to the man. I believe there are two elements of sadness in him. The first is fear. He is afraid of the one who has entrusted it to him. The second is that he never sees the talent as his. He says during the reckoning, “Here is YOUR talent back.” I believe that through our work (our work of any kind) if we see what God has entrusted to us as a partnership; if we work hard to make more of what has been entrusted to us, the result will bring joy to us and God.
Notice the affirmation from the entruster for the first two servants: “Come share your master's joy.” I hope that this beautiful parable inspires you to take stock of what God has ENTRUSTED to you. May you work hard in partnership with God to make more in and through that partnership.
Come Holy Spirit
We are also constantly partners with the Holy Spirit, and let me give you a simple opportunity to engage in that partnership. I want to encourage as many of you as possible to remain after Mass this weekend and spend a few minutes in a very important conversation. Please trust that the Holy Spirit is working here at Holy Family as we gather in groups of two or three, sharing and LISTENING to the responses to one question: What do you most value about Holy Family and why? Notice this is not a survey or simply a form to fill out. We hope that as you gather with one or two others, you will LISTEN to their comments as well as share your own. This is a very simple yet powerful way that the Holy Spirit works in our midst. Taking the time to both share your opinion and listen to others makes room for the Holy Spirit to surface and guide us. Notice that it is not overly dramatic. It is really quite simple.
The Holy Spirit works in many more dramatic ways in our lives, and it can be intimidating, especially for us Catholics, to even talk about the Holy Spirit. Let us trust in the simple listening and sharing that results in recognizing the varying ways that we approach a topic, in this case, what we value most about Holy Family and why.
May I suggest that you take a form home and do a simple exercise with your family, allowing time for each to voice what they most value about our faith community, pausing for some silence and respectfully responding to what you have heard. Drop off any completed forms to Debbie at the front office, addressed to the Transition Team. The Transition Team that I have assembled, comprised of parishioners and staff, will collate and review your feedback. Your voice and the Holy Spirit at work in your conversations will be used to craft a Parish Profile and a Pastor Profile, both of which will be used in the discernment of candidates to be your next pastor here at Holy Family. There is also a video on the front page of our website that gives more detail regarding a time line of transition events. The Holy Spirit is at work in us here at Holy Family. These simple Conversations in the Spirit can make even more of us!