Today’s Gospel Text:
As
they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to
Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear
immediately. 12 He said therefore, "A
nobleman went into a far country to receive a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants, he
gave them ten pounds, and said to them, 'Trade with these till I come.' 14 But his citizens hated him and
sent an embassy after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us.' 15 When he returned, having
received the kingdom, he commanded these servants, to whom he had given the
money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by trading.
16 The first came before
him, saying, 'Lord, your pound has made ten pounds more.' 17 And he said to him, 'Well done,
good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have
authority over ten cities.' 18 And the second came, saying,
'Lord, your pound has made five pounds.' 19 And he said to him, 'And you
are to be over five cities.' 20 Then another came, saying,
'Lord, here is your pound, which I kept laid away in a napkin; 21 for I was afraid of you,
because you are a severe man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap
what you did not sow.' 22 He said to him, 'I will condemn
you out of your own mouth, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe
man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my
money into the bank, and at my coming I should have collected it with
interest?' 24 And he said to those who stood
by, 'Take the pound from him, and give it to him who has the ten pounds.' 25 (And they said to him, 'Lord,
he has ten pounds!') 26 'I tell you, that to every one
who has will more be given; but from him who has not, even what he has will be
taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of
mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them
before me.'"
28 And when he had said this, he
went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. Luke
19:11-28
Reflection: In
this parable that Jesus talks about we could be so focused on the talents or the
pounds and miss out on a very important truth which seem to come across as
passing.
We
could confuse the message of this parable with the parable that Matthew
mentions in the 25th chapter of his gospel, which explicitly talks about the servants and the talents given to them by the master.
Here
in this parable, as if in passing but significantly, Jesus mentions about the citizens who hated
the noble man.
Jesus
does not give us any reason for their hate but reveals a very important fact in the parable:
you are either a servant of Jesus or a citizen receiving all the ordinary benefits
of the kingdom and yet could be hating the king.
If
the scripture reveals to us that we are sinners, one of the qualities of sin is
to be hostile towards the God whom Jesus has revealed and this hostility is
even manifest in the many gods created by people and by those who do not
believe in him.
Each
individual in this world, if he has not opted to be the servant of Christ, is a
citizen of the kingdom. For God himself accepts them as citizen and makes his
sun shine on them and the rain to water their needs. (Mt. 5:45)
Do you not know that
God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? Rom
2:4
The
above is besides the hostility of the servants who do not value the pound given
by the master and which belongs to the master and do not make much of it.
The
important thing is to ask ourselves where we belong: Whether we are servants or
citizens, if citizens then we need to change and opt to be servants.
If
are servants or opted to be one then it is necessary for us to ask ourselves what
we are going to do with the wealth that Christ has entrusted to each one of us
as his servants; i.e. the gospel.
Prayer: Lord, I thank you for opening my eyes to
understand my place in your kingdom, help me Lord to constantly opt to be your
servant and to carry your word to all whom I meet.
DD = Dedicated
Discipleship: Come grow
in the Lord with us
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