DO NOT BURY YOUR TALENT

HOMILY FOR THE 33^RD SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

Today, Jesus tells another parable as a follow-up of the parable of the ten virgins. These parables tell us about the approaching advent of the kingdom of heaven. These form the last teachings of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. And these teachings have just one goal which is a call to be prepared against the time of reckoning so as not to be caught unawares. Today, we are presented with the the parable of the Talents. The talent was a weight, not a coin. Its value depended on whether the coinage involved was copper, gold or silver. Christ most probably used money to describe what he was talking about because money is one of the most understood commodities anywhere in the world. Extensively today, when we talk about talent, our minds go to those gifts, ability, responsibility and blessing we are endowed with. Hence, Jesus by virtue of this parable teaches us to be diligent in whatever He gives us and to be productive wherever we find ourselves. By this, he condemns idleness, cunning thoughts, and the lazy attitudes of Christians towards their divine endowments.

In the parable of the talents are three individuals who the property of the master was entrusted to. He gave one five talents, the second two talents and the third one talent. This is the first awareness. It was the property of the master, and the master has right to his property. Therefore, whenever he desires the property, he ought to have them because they are his. Our talents are not our property, but the master’s property. Whenever the master demands them, we are to render an account of how we have used them. This is a strong message against those who see their talents as theirs, or use them for extortion and personal aggrandisement. The talents we have got have been freely given to us to use it as the master wants. He has given us the liberty to use them. But even at that, the liberty is subject to divine direction and scrutiny, because after we must have used them, we must be called to account for them.

These three received the talents and off they went. The first two worked and doubled their capital, but the third refused to work that his capital gained no profit. This is the second awareness. The little we have can be taken away from us if we fail to use them, especially out of a naive and uncultured reason as we see in the account of the third individual. One can allude that this third caretaker may have felt bad that as others were given talents in plurality, he was given his in singularity. Therefore, he may have thought that he is distrusted, hated and considered a no-body or a never-do-well person. But this was far from the reason of his master. His master knew that regardless of the quantity of whatever he has given them, when they work, they will be rewarded.  As the master looks to the reward, the servant looked at the quantity of the talents.

Since he has refused to work with the one that was given him, not only that it will be withdrawn but also that he will be punished. The master had to show him that he owns both himself and the talents. He spoke to the master in a demeaning manner, calling him a hard man who reaps where he does not sow. His reason for not working with it was that he was afraid, probably of losing the one talent and entering into more trouble. But this is what I call a devilish fear, a cunning fear that gives the impression of fear where in reality, it is full-hardiness. This servant was wicked. We cannot even say that he was lazy. No, he was not. We must note that he was somehow active. He spent time and energy to go out and bury the talent. His activity was to see that he used that talent, but he simply hid and went about his own business. What was he doing? We were not told, but his efforts were not spent in the Lord’s cause. He served only himself. He was worldly, going after personal enrichments. He was out to serve himself and not God. And it is to this kind of people that the Prophet Hosea talks to: but you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception, because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors (Hosea 10:13).

He was not even appreciative that he was considered worthy of been given a talent of trust. He read evil in the master’s action. Of course, he was punished. Anyone who knows what is good and does not do it, sins (James 4:17). What you do not use, you lose. The man who has a talent and fails to exercise it will inevitably lose it and will be punished. If we have some proficiency at a game, exercise, skill or an art, the more we put it into use, the more we learn more and the more responsibility we may attract. This was why the first person was given that extra one that the wicked servant failed to use. If we fail to use it, we lose it. It is a proven lesson of life that the only way to keep a gift is to use it constantly, and in the service of God and humanity. What is that talent that you have, use it.

Nevertheless, many feel they are with no talent. They think themselves of being worthless. I want to assure you today that God has implanted talents into each and every one of us. No one is without talent. Just try and discover yours. These six steps will be of help towards the discovery of our God-given talent.

1. Do not wait for talents to appear automatically. You cannot know if you have got any talent if you do not try to exercise it. For instance, you cannot know if you are a good tennis ball player unless you start playing it and putting in more effort to be the best wherever you play it. You pray by praying, you sing by singing, you dance by dancing; you act by acting, etc. Remember that practice makes the perfect. Most probably, you are not going to find a talent without trying. Face the obstacles and seek out challenges to see the in-born talent you have been blessed with. The way to do this is that you must make it your purpose to try something new every week. Learn how to go out of yourself, go on adventures, and dare things you never tried before. Try different sports, arts, skills to tap the untapped natural ability in you.

2. Try those things that come easiest to you. What do you do without much stress? Start with those. Look to your obsession and interest to discover your talent. If you love to spend all day telling stories, you can probably turn into a good story writer. If you spend your day listening to music, you can probably turn into a musician. Discover your talents by focusing on that which comes easiest to you. If you are a student, what class homework worries you the least? It might be a clue. Another is to pay attention to what other people might have noted about you. Ask your family, friends and teachers to help you figure out what you make look easy.

3. Try those harder interests. What would you love to be naturally good at without trying? Face the challenges and find out what it takes to good at them. Start learning everything you can about it to demystify the process. Some people love orators but were fearful of speaking publicly. When they made effort to go beyond their fears, they discover that they too are better orators.

4. Discover and follow what others are tired of hearing you talk about. Use the things you are obsessed with to discover abilities that might be hiding in you. If you are obsessed with good looks and pictures, it may be that you will make a good photographer.

5. Track your little successes. If you are feeling you have got no talent, it may be that you neglect your little successes. Try to pay attention to your breakthroughs, no matter how little. Think creatively about how those little things can lead you to bigger ones.

6. Ignore the blown figures. What do I call the blown figures? They are those figures that make you tremble. Some figures simply leave us to wonder whether the same God created us all. Allowing yourself to be intimidated by those figures may make your own talent shrink. Yes, they may be talented, but you must also know that being talented does not imply being famous. Talent implies dedication and attentiveness to your God-given ability. Work on yourself. In life, the only competitor you have is yourself.

God expects us to work on our talents and produce. Little wonder he instructed that the unproductive servant be stripped of his talent: take the talent from him. This message concerns the man who rather than working for God desires to work for himself. Since the talents we have are not ours strictly speaking, then we must work on them to get reward, and not damnation. As St. Paul warns the Thessalonians, we must stay alert and sober so as not to be taken unawares when such temptations come our way to do without talents as we please and not as God pleases. May we continually tap from God's grace to use our talents judiciously for the glory of God and for humanity. amen. Happy New week. God bless you.