Give Love Away
To All,
In our Gospel reading (Matthew 25:14-30), Jesus tells a parable about a man going on a journey, who entrusted to his servants his possessions. He distributed them to three servants, “to each according to his ability.” The parable then goes on to what happens when the man returns. The first two servants doubled the amount given to them, and they are rewarded with greater responsibilities, and the master says, “Come, share your master’s joy.” The third servant, however, out of fear, buries the money he is given, and returns the money to the master. He didn’t lose anything, but he didn’t gain anything, either. He explains his fear by referring to the ruthlessness of the master. The master then has the servant thrown “into the darkness outside,” and tells the servants to give the money the third servant was given, to the first servant. And Jesus says, “For to everyone who has more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
I wonder if people read these words from Jesus, and resigned themselves to the situation where “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.” I’m not sure that Jesus would accept such a perspective, since He told His disciples how hard it would be for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:23-26), and what we’re going to hear in next Sunday’s Gospel.
For me, what Jesus is saying is something that many spiritual traditions have been telling us for a long time.
When we think about such things as love and grace and mercy, these things actually increase when we give them away. There is no zero-sum game when it comes to God’s love for us.
And if we try to hold onto these things for ourselves, we lose what we had.
Understanding this helps me understand the parable a bit more. God has given us grace and mercy and love, even though we are sinners; even though we are imperfect human beings. And Jesus Christ has called us to love one another. Jesus has called us to show mercy to one another. God indeed is a demanding God. The call to love is a commandment, not simply a request. But God is not the ruthless and heartless taskmaster as the third servant describes his master, ready to punish us every time we slip up. For me, then, the parable is about using what we have been given in order to give God’s love in Jesus Christ away to others.
When we get caught up in greed or jealousy or hate or fear, we end up burying the talents we have been given, and hindering the sharing of God’s love in Jesus Christ. It is love and mercy the world is crying out for. We will not lose it if we generously share it with others.
May we give of ourselves in love. May we hear it said to us:
“Well done, my good and faithful servant. Come, share your master’s joy.”
I welcome any comments or questions. Thanks for your time.
In Christ,
Phil, CP
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