The Mystery of Christ
The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience

by Father Thomas Keating

Chapter 4 Part VII

Ordinary Time

The Parables - The Talents

    Jesus presented this parable to the crowd. Imagine a man who, before going abroad, sent for his officials and entrusted his money to them. Then he gave five talents to one, to another he gave two, and to a third, just one; to each the amount proportioned to his individual ability. He then went abroad. At once, the recipient of the five talents went to invest them in enterprise and made another five. In like manner, the recipient of the two talents made another two. But the recipient of the one talent went away to dig a hole in the ground and buried his master's money. After a long delay, the master of those officials returned and settled accounts with them. So the recipient of the five talents came forward and presented five additional talents. `Master," he said, "you entrusted me with five talents. Look, I made another five." "Well done, good and faithful servant,' the master said to him. "You were faithful in managing something small. I will now put you in charge of something great. Share to the full your master's happiness."

    When the recipient of the two talents came, he said in turn, "Master, you entrusted me with two talents. Look, I made another two." "Well done, good and faithful servant," the master said to him. "You were faithful in managing something small. I will now put you in charge of something great. Share to the full your master's happiness."

    Finally the recipient of the one talent came before him and said, "Master, I know you are a hard taskmaster. You reap where you have not sown and you store away what you have not winnowed. So I shrank from doing anything at all and went

    But his master had an answer for him. "You lazy good-for-nothing fellow," he said to him, "you knew that I reap where I have not sown and store away what I have winnowed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank and on my return I might have at least recovered my capital plus the interest. Therefore, take the talent away from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. Everyone who already has will receive more yet till he abounds in wealth, while the one who does not have will lose even what he has."
 [Matt. 25:14-29]
Gospel of 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

    According to contemporary exegetes, the parables are the most authentic part of the Gospel. Their repetitive quality helps the memory retain and repeat them with ease. Almost all the parables are designed to shake up the values of the people who are listening and to invite them to reflect on what their values actually are.

    In the parable of the Good Samaritan, a priest and Levite pass by a man who had been beaten up by robbers and left by the roadside. Both go to the other side of the road to avoid getting close to him. The Good Samaritan takes care of the victim, puts him in a hostel, pays for his food, binds up his wounds, and even leaves some money behind so that he can be properly cared for until the Samaritan can come back. In the minds of the people hearing this story, the Samaritans were the scum of the earth. The paradox of a Samaritan doing the right thing and two respectable religious figures doing the wrong thing forces the listeners to reflect. The reversal of their expectations invites them to raise questions about their own motivation and values.

    We might think that the man who hid his talent in the ground was a smart fellow. After all, wouldn't we do the same thing if we felt we were not astute in business? Suppose the man had invested his only talent and lost it through a poor investment. He would have had nothing. He hid it in the ground so that he could at least return it to his master. As he later explained, "I was afraid that I wouldn't do a good job of investing your money. Knowing that you are a hard taskmaster, I hid it in the ground to be sure that I would have it to give back to you upon your return. Here it is."

    The master, instead of being grateful, grabbed the money out of his hand, shouting, "You lousy good-for-nothing! Get out of my sight!" Then he gave the money to the one who already possessed ten talents. We are left wondering what the man did to deserve such wrath. Is it better to take a risk or to protect what we have received?

    The Gospel invites us to holiness and higher states of consciousness. This invitation involves risk; it means growing beyond where we are. It asks us to invest our talents even when we feel they are inadequate to a particular situation, job or ministry. It means that God, when he calls us to ministry, does not promise success, especially immediate success. 

    The parable of the talents shows what happens to two people who accepted God's invitation. They worked hard and with God's help, doubled their investment. The man who hid his talent in the ground is like those who opt for the status quo because they know what it is; they are unwilling to open themselves to the risks of the spiritual journey. They refuse to work at the potential that God has given them and thus obstruct the upward evolution of the human family. Even if they do not regress to lower levels of consciousness, they fail to support the development of human consciousness into Christ-consciousness.

    The man in the parable chose security as his happiness project and in so doing, closed himself off from the opportunity of further growth. Hence, the judgment: "Take away his talent and give it to those who are already advancing."

    Notice that the parable of the talents is taken from the business world. All the parables are based upon ordinary events: some from business, for the sake of the urban population; some from farming or fishing, for the sake of the rural population. Cooking, sweeping, lighting lamps, sewing, harvesting, investing, going to the bank--these daily occurrences form the basis of the parables. This suggests that everyday life is the place where the reign of God takes place. We don't have to go to a monastery, convent, or hermitage. We do not have to go anywhere because the reign of God is right in front of our eyes. It is "close at hand." Divine union is available to everyone on the face of the earth. Our potential for divine union is the talent, above every other, that must not be hidden in the ground. 

    The experience of trying and failing is the way to learn to discard self centered programs for happiness and to surrender to the movement of transformation. Sin is the refusal to continue to evolve. By clinging to mere survival and security, we withdraw ourselves and others from the opportunity and adventure of continuing to grow into the body of Christ.

More information can be obtained by reading the book The Mystery of Christ by Fr. Thomas Keating.  It is offered in our Book Store.