November 13, 2005: Looking with New Eyes

+ THE THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Today’s Readings: Prov. 31: 10–31; Ps. 128; 1 Thess. 5: 1–6; Mt. 25: 14–30 (Key reading)


Today we hear the familiar parable about the man who entrusts his three servants with his money for safekeeping while he goes away on a journey. The money he gives them is in the form of talents, a currency of the ancient Roman world.

Over the years, I’ve heard this story countless times—and I know you have, too. I always assumed that a talent was a gold or silver coin… but never gave it much more thought than that.

As I meditated on this week’s Scriptures, though, a stray thought crossed my mind: “What exactly is a talent?” So off I went to do a bit of research.

I was stunned to discover that one talent is roughly 75 pounds of gold. At today’s gold price of about $460 an ounce, that means that in dollars, one talent is worth $552,000.

Wow. So servant number 1 was given $2.8 million. Servant number 2 was given $1.1 million. And even the poor chap who only got one talent wound up with better than half a million dollars. I guess their master really trusted them.

Think about what you would do in that situation. Would you wheel and deal and try to make more money for the boss? Or would you be so gun-shy about losing the money that you’d dig a proverbial hole and bury the treasure?

Actually, a great many of us are like the third servant. God has entrusted us with extraordinary gifts—faith, wisdom, intelligence, skills, talents, freedom, health and all kinds of material things—and yet, we often guard our lives as if we might lose them at any moment instead of using them. We’re so careful not to take risks or break rules. When we don’t know what to do, our tendency is to do nothing. A lot of people do a lot of waiting to see what happens in fear of finding out!

The point of this lesson is that God does not want that. God gives us abundant life plus more talents, chances and opportunities than even the most energetic and adventurous among us can explore in a lifetime. It also seems that God provides amazing protection. We are far more resilient than we think we are, and God’s kingdom is totally so.

Do you remember the old children’s saying, “Step on a crack and break your mother’s back?” God didn’t make that up. In fact, it was God who gave us bones that heal if we happen to stumble and break a leg. It’s not God who cautions us to put our money into federally insured certificates of deposit. No, God urges us to give a feast and invite the poor… or better yet, to sell all our property and give the money to the needy.

The point is, the Lord stresses that life is a precious, joyous opportunity for the living. Jesus said to let the dead bury the dead. We—the living… God’s children—are called to follow him.

The problem is, lots of us are stymied about what to do. OK, here I am. How am I supposed to figure out what to do with the proverbial pile of gold that God has so graciously dumped in my lap?

St. Paul wrote to the Romans (Rom 8: 26) that the Holy Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness. We don’t know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings.

We should actually believe this Scripture and let the Spirit guide and prompt us. Our job is to seek, to be open and to cooperate.

Marcel Proust, the great French writer and intellectual, once said that the voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new vistas but in looking with new eyes. News eyes can often be found in very simple ways.

A good exercise is to take ten or fifteen minutes in the evening and review the events of your day. Ask yourself three questions—and better yet, jot down your answers in a little journal or notebook.

The three questions are:

• What surprised me today?

• What moved me or touched me today?

• What inspired me today?

At first, you’ll probably answer the questions this way: nothing, nothing, nothing. But that’s because you’ll still looking at life in old ways. Instead, try looking at the people around you as if you were a novelist, a journalist, or maybe a poet. Better yet, look through the eyes of a humanitarian, a living saint, or even Jesus Christ himself. Look for the stories, the possibilities, the opportunities, the love…

As you practice, you’ll find that you won’t have to stop in the evening and look back at your day over your shoulder. With practice, you’ll begin to see things at the time they are actually happening so you can do something… or say something… or pray something. And all of a sudden, things will start to change. You will be putting your talents to work in extraordinary new ways.

In the parable, Jesus tells the successful servants: Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, come share in your master’s joy.

Wouldn’t it be great to hear those words from the Lord, especially when we stand before his judgment seat? It’s never too late to dig up the talent we’ve buried and start putting it to work. May the Holy Spirit inspire us all to do just that.