Have you been ignoring your talents? Are you actively using them in the life of the Church or for the body of Christ? What happens when you don’t use your talents?
by Robin Jacob Abraham
The following speech was given by the author at the time of the Great Lent, a 50-day period of spiritual preparation for Christians, that leads to Holy Easter.
Glory be to the Triune God!
Respected Achens, elders and my dear brothers and sisters in Christ
We find the parable of the talents, in the twenty-fifth chapter, of the Gospel according to Matthew. It is a parable, I assume, most of us have heard or read.
A man goes to a faraway country, entrusting his goods with 3 of his servants, to each, according to his ability. To one he gives 5 talents, to another 2 and to the third, 1 talent.
The one with the 5 talents, trades the same and receives another 5 talents. The one with the 2 talents, likewise, gains another 2. The third servant, however, digs a hole and hides the 1 talent.
When the master returns, he rewards the servants who made 10 and 4 talents, but he calls the third servant a wicked and slothful servant, hands over the 1 talent that he has, to the one who has 10 and banishes him into the outer darkness.
Now the questions we need to ask ourselves are these
Am I one of the 2 servants who used their talents for their master’s work and received more? or
Am I the unprofitable servant who is not using the talents God has given in His service?
Like the unprofitable servant, are we digging these talents into the earth? Using it for our own glory versus our master’s?
USING OUR TALENTS FOR GOD’S GLORY
The talents given to us are immense. There are those of us who can sing. Are we using it to glorify God?
There are those of us who can teach? Are we using it to teach each others & our children, to know God?
Nurses, Doctors, Musicians, Marketers, Engineers, Administrators, Accountants, Chartered Accountants, Leaders, I am sure the list is endless but are we using any of the talents He has given, for His purpose?
What happens when we don’t use these skills and talents for His purpose?
We know what happened to the unprofitable servant. Is the same happening to us?
Can we say that the peace that passeth understanding resides in our hearts? Can we say that the Kingdom of God is within us?
Or are our lives riddled with anxieties, fears, disappointments & discontentment? Are we already in the outer darkness, that the unprofitable servant was banished to?
BECOMING THE BODY OF CHRIST
We are all part of the true Vine, Christ. In the Eucharist and through the Eucharist. we become a part of Christ’s body, the Church, with Christ being the head.
As members of this body of Christ, we have a responsibility to constantly nourish this body. When we nourish the body, we nourish ourselves.
As St. Paul observes in 1 Corinthians 12, can a foot survive without the body? Or can an eye survive without the body?
In our day and age, we seem to be doing exactly that, not realizing that individually, we’re all dying.
To truly become the body of Christ, then, we need to first become the community of God, by using the talents we have in His service, so that we may bear fruit.
Jesus prays in the garden of Gethsamane “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”
UNITING FOR HIS PURPOSE
Recently, on a trip to Rural Gujarat, in the Gir Somnath region, I was fortunate enough to attend a meeting of a community of cotton growing farmers.
This particular community had 1020 farmers across 36 groups and 9 villages. While talking to them, I realized that before being a part of this community, each farmer used his own understanding of growing cotton, often leading to excessive use of dangerous pesticides.
This adversely impacted their health too. Expensive inputs and lower negotiating abilities to sell their produce, were also challenges. Consequently, growing cotton was a zero sum effort, with barely any income generated.
However, ever since the formation of this community, they have seen a 50% reduction in usage of pesticides & increased profitability. Knowledge & understanding of their crops has increased because they share knowledge with each other and are able to call upon external experts for help.
Both physical health and financial health has tremendously improved, as a result of this unity. Today, this movement has spread to 22000 farmers in the region!
Imagine what transformation we can achieve as a community, if we were to use our talents for His body, His purpose, His Church.
PUTTING AWAY IDOLS
Let us all strive to stop worshipping other Idols that come in the way of serving God with our talents & becoming a community.
That precious nap, that television program, that shopping festival, that chilling at home, that sumptuous meal, that all so seemingly important chore. These idols, among others are not letting us live the life of the Church.
As St. Paul put it in Galatians 5:13 “You, my brothers & sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather serve one another, humbly in love.”
Let us not become the community that God warns against, in Isaiah Chapter 29
“These people draw near with their mouths
and honour me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me,
and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote;”
Let us not be the branches of the vine that the gardener, Our Heavenly Father, must cut off because we’re not bearing fruit. Let us not be the unprofitable servants.
Instead, let us use this lent, to reorient our lives towards Christ, and His body, the Church. Let us all pray that we may become a community in Christ, for Christ, coming together as a Church that our children, our youngsters and all those around, can experience.
Thanking God for his continued grace and mercy upon us all and His Church. May God bless us all!
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Hi! My name is Rubitah. I’m a Content Writer certified Life Coach, Counselor, Social Work professional and the Founder of Being Rubitah. Over the years through my professional and personal life, I have realized that prayers and love can do wonders to family life once you come to terms with yourself and surrender to God. Do you relate to me? Then you may like what I post here! Read more about me
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