Reflection
We have heard the parable many times…the one about the talents. It is tempting to respond to a familiar Scripture passage with the dismissive thought, “Yeah, I know what that one is about.” For this parable, that “knowing” might be something like along the lines of “This is the one where Jesus tells us that He expects us to use our gifts in His service.” We aren’t wrong in this understanding. However, the first reading for today serves as a challenge to broaden our thinking about what a gift is and how we can offer it to the Lord.
In the passage from Second Maccabees, we find a mother encouraging her seven sons to endure martyrdom rather than transgress against the laws of God.
When we think of the gifts God has given us, is there anything more precious than loved ones, particularly our own children?
And yet, how selfish we can be with these precious gifts. We often seek our will for them more than God’s. We prefer ease for them rather than refinement. We prefer luxury rather than simplicity. We prefer grandchildren over a religious vocation. In the most extreme, if we are really honest, we probably would prefer apostasy over martyrdom.
This is not the example of the holy mother in Maccabees, and it is not the example of Our Almighty Father, who did not spare His Only Begotten Son. Let us not be afraid to offer our greatest, most precious gifts to God. If we want our loved ones to be returned to us even more abundantly in eternity, we must be willing to release them fully to the Lord in this life.
