There has always been this desire for greatness inside of me.  I have always wanted to be the best at something, to achieve something spectacular, to be a hero, or to be a star.  I think that desire is in a lot of us.  We dream of reaching the top of the mountain and standing alone in the shining moment of glory.  Even the apostles sometimes entertained that dream as evidenced by their discussions about which of them was the greatest.  Unfortunately, I was not equipped to be the best at anything.  God has richly blessed me with many good gifts and I have my own unique talents but in looking at others around me and making an honest assessment of my abilities, there have always been others that were more gifted than myself.  Others were always stronger, faster, better jumpers, smarter, more creative and artistic, better conversationalists, funnier and more entertaining, and I could go on and on. Most of us have our abilities but we are not the “most able”.  Given this truth and bit of wisdom that we come to in this life, what do we do with it?  Do we focus on our lack of abilities and shrink away from life in fear, shame and embarrassment or do we make the most out of what the good Lord has given us?  It is very human for us to fall into the trap of thinking at times, “I wish I had what other people have.”  However, when this becomes our constant line of thought, this kind of thinking can lead to fear, self-defeat, timidity, resentment and even hatred.  I have recognized my limitations in this life and I know that I am not the most gifted person in music or sports or academics but I do have gifts and I have always tried to do the very best that I can with the gifts that I have been given.  The one thing that I need to be the “best” at is being my true self and making the most of the gift of life that God has blessed me with.  I have tried to avoid the temptation to compare myself with others as there will always be people with greater and lesser gifts.  It is most important to me to trust in the love that God has for me and the plan that he has for my life.  In the end, I don’t believe that God will judge us in comparison with the achievements of others but rather, he will want to see what we have done with the unique and beautiful gifts that he has given to each one of us.

“A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them…to each according to his ability.”
Our gospel parable this Sunday teaches us a valuable lesson about life’s gifts and how they can lead us to share in the fullness of the eternal joy of our Lord or how we can turn against the Lord  in our hearts and end up with nothing.  In the parable, the master “calls” his servants and “entrusts” them with his possessions, “to each  according to his ability.”  God knows each of us deeply and intimately and he is aware of each of our abilities.  His love is not conditioned by the abilities that each of us have and our value to him is not calculated upon our unique abilities.  In the world, we give people greater value and adulation based upon the mere fact that they can sing well, act well, play sports well or achieve academic distinction.  We assign value along utilitarian lines, according to what people can do, their instrumental value but God values people for who they are, for their unique being.  God loves and values us all equally for he created each of us to be our own unique self.  God will not judge our abilities, he will judge what we do with our abilities in service to others.

“Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded…Likewise, the one who received two…But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money.”
     The master demonstrates his trust in his servants and gives them his possessions, he shares his own life achievement with them, each in a different measure.  The first two do not waste time comparing what they received with what the other received, they immediately go out to invest themselves in life and make a profit.  There is risk involved but the first two persons trust in the trust that the master has shown in them.  God believes in us and trusts us with life and grace.   We can trust in the trust he has for us.  With God, nothing is impossible.  We can do all things empowered by the love and gift of God.  The third person has no trust in the master’s love and trust and so he experiences the master’s gift as a burden  and an unreasonable and unjust demand.  He responds with a fear of failure and promptly digs himself a hole and buries his life in it.  When we cannot trust in God’s love for us, when we cannot believe in the power of God’s grace to be efficacious and to accomplish God’s purpose in our life, we fall into fear and end up with an “epic fail”.

“After a long time…”
The master gives the servants a lifetime to accomplish something with his gifts.  Each of the first two servants has something to show for their life, they have made something meaningful with the gifts that the master gave them.  They have been good and faithful.  The master seems unconcerned with the amounts that were gained, only that there was some profit from the experience.  They each share in the same reward, to share in the master’s joy and to receive greater responsibilities.  The third person has only bitter words and accusations to offer to the master as he hands his gift back.  He blames his fear and failure on the master.  His life experience has been one of fear and bitter resentment for the demands of life.  He thinks he knows the master but his knowledge has no basis in true relationship, it is only a shadow in his mind.  Those who build up a resentment toward God and harbor an image of God that is a caricature, depicting God as harsh and demanding, unfair and uncaring will find themselves with nothing  meaningful to show for their lives, and will consign themselves forever to the outer darkness of their own bitterness and fear.

“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.”
The one who has faith and trusts in God’s love and trust in him will grow rich in life and will share in the Father’s eternal joy.  This attitude of complete trust, faith and love will open their lives to receive an abundance of blessings from the Lord in this life.  In the life to come they will join with the saints in their constant liturgy of praise before the throne of God, offering intercessions for the pilgrim church. The one who trusts only in his own distorted image of God and lives in fear of God’s grace will suffer from a hardened heart and will be closed and unable to receive God’s blessings.  He will find that all that he was sure that he knew about God is stripped away in the light of the truth of God’s love and he will be left alone in the outer darkness with nothing, not even his illusions, to comfort him.

God did not bless me with the greatest abilities but his grace and gift is sufficient for the work that he has called me to do in his name.  God trusts me to do something meaningful with the gifts he has given me for the glory of his kingdom.  Jesus, “for the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12,2)  I will be faithful to his trust “for the sake of the joy” that I hope to one day share with the Father.