The Gospel according to Luke (19:11-28)
While people were listening to Jesus speak, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the Kingdom of God would appear there immediately. So he said, “A nobleman went off to a distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return. He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, ‘Engage in trade with these until I return.’ His fellow citizens, however, despised him and sent a delegation after him to announce, ‘We do not want this man to be our king.’ But when he returned after obtaining the kingship, he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money, to learn what they had gained by trading. The first came forward and said, ‘Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.’ He replied, ‘Well done, good servant! You have been faithful in this very small matter; take charge of ten cities.’ Then the second came and reported, ‘Your gold coin, sir, has earned five more.’ And to this servant too he said, ‘You, take charge of five cities.’ Then the other servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief, for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man; you take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant.’ He said to him, ‘With your own words I shall condemn you, you wicked servant. You knew I was a demanding man, taking up what I did not lay down and harvesting what I did not plant; why did you not put my money in a bank? Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.’ And to those standing by he said, ‘Take the gold coin from him and give it to the servant who has ten.’ But they said to him, ‘Sir, he has ten gold coins.’ He replied, ‘I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king, bring them here and slay them before me.'” After he had said this, he proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem.
REFLECTION: In the Gospel parable today, Jesus gives specific instructions on what the ten servants were to do with the gold coin they were entrusted with. All but one of the ten servants were willing to make more of what they were entrusted with. That one servant was lazy, and did not take a chance to make more. Instead, he put his part away, ‘sat on it’ and did not do anything with it and when confronted by his master, all he did was offer excuses.
There was a time in my life when often I used to worry about the future, to the point that it would distract me from the present. I would worry about failing or making mistakes and would not get the courage to trust in the gifts God was giving me. That occurred in the many ways God was calling me for the service of others. I would think I was not capable and would remain stuck in the present. I would not have been able to move forward, without His help through the spiritual guidance of the people He was putting in my life. As I started to trust in the gifts, He was giving me, more and more blessings came to me and my family, and they continue to come.
This is the approach to life the Lord is encouraging. The servant who put his gold coin away safely out of fear is the opposite of this approach of life. In our use of our gifts and resources we may fail and make mistakes, but the parable suggests that failure is preferable to fearful inactivity. Jesus gives us His spirit and love, for us to multiply, by loving Him and those around us. To do that, we need to avoid spiritual worriedness and laziness.
Today’s Gospel is not about money. Jesus does not care how much money we make in life: He cares about how much we love, especially how much we love Him and each other. Jesus invites us to love Him and others with passion, not with ‘lip service’ only.
Today’s Gospel is a warning of the strict results of being lazy or undecided: Our job is not an easy one, it requires us to constantly do, a self-check of our values, purposes, and actions, so we can make Jesus Christ the biggest priority in our lives. If we do this, we will have truly made good, of the treasure that Jesus gives us, His unconditional love for us and His spirit.
ACTION FOR THE DAY: Today, reflect upon how well you live your faith, and weather you are caught, in a pattern of spiritual laziness. We can always do more with the blessings our Lord gives us each day. Pray for the Lord to give you the grace, and trust, to multiply the blessings He gives you, so you may come to
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