The Value of Small Gifts
Fr. George Smiga
November 15/16, 2008
Matthew 24: 36; 25: 14 - 30
There is much bad news in today’s gospel. We discover the master is a harsh man who insists on results. We discover that the servant who received one talent was paralyzed by fear. So much so that he loses his one talent and is thrown into the outer darkness to gnash his teeth. We discover that the talent which was taken away from him is given to the servant who already has ten talents. Now that poor fellow has even more work to do. With all of these negative strains, where is the good news in today’s parable? What positive message can we pull out of it to help us live? I would suggest two points. First, everyone is given a talent. Second, even the small talents are worth using.
Every servant in the parable receives a talent. No one is without a gift. And the gospel is clear that even the person who receives the smallest talent was expected to use it. So these two ideas are both important. They build on one another.
Everyone receives a talent. Perhaps there are some here this morning who are struggling with their own worth and their own abilities, who are searching to find a purpose in their life. The gospel says that everyone receives a talent. It encourages you to keep searching for your talent, to keep believing you will find it. If God has created you, God has created you for a reason. That reason cannot be doubted. Everyone receives a talent.
The second point builds upon the first. Even the smallest talent is worth using. Most of us here know that we have talents. We know what we are good at. Perhaps we are good at organizing. Perhaps we are a good athlete. Perhaps we are a deep thinker. But along with the clear talents that we know and recognize, most of us here have been given other smaller talents, weaker talents. Those gifts do not measure up to the bigger ones in which we take pride. Today’s gospel addresses those smaller talents. It tells us that even though they do not compare with our bigger gifts, those small gifts are still worth using.
Perhaps you know that your spouse is much better with your children or grandchildren than you are: better at listening; better at being patient; better at nurturing. In those areas your gifts are small. But they are still valuable. They are still worth using. The gospel today calls you to use those smaller gifts, to invest them in your family. It assures you that if you make that investment it will not be wasted.
Perhaps you are dealing with sickness or the pressures of growing older. When you look at the energy you once had compared to the energy you have today, today’s energy is small. What used to be easy now requires effort. What used to spontaneous now requires careful planning. Strength used to be abundant, now it is reduced, limited, small. The gospel says that even though your strength may be small it is still valuable. You should still invest it with all of your heart, believing that by giving the little you have God will bless you and bless others.
Perhaps you are going through a difficult time. You still have a job and a good family, but the future looks grim. You worry about what is to come. Hope is in short supply. The gospel today says even if your hope is small, it still valuable. You need to lift it up, share it with others, and believe in its power. Giving that hope, believing in that hope, investing that hope will not be in vain.
Everyone receives a gift, and even the smallest gifts are worth using. After all, the gifts that God gives us have been carefully chosen. Even when they look small or diminished, they can still carry a power that is beyond our perception. But that power can only be released when we use what we have been given. So look at your gifts, even the small ones. Do not be afraid to invest them. If you do they will bless you and bless others, and you will hear the words that were heard by the servants in today’s gospel: “Well done good and faithful servant. Come, enter your master’s joy.”
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