Be Prepared

Nov. 19, 2023

The Gospels for the past few weeks have presented the same message—be prepared for the return of the Lord. The Gospel for this week continues that message. It is the Parable of the Talents, where the master of three servants goes on a trip, and leaves each of them with a number of “talents.” The talent was worth about 80 pounds of silver, or 6,000 denarii. A denarius was the typical pay for a single day’s work. A single talent was worth 20 years of labor.
   
The master entrusted the first servant with one talent, the second with two talents, and the last with five talents, so even for the one with only one talent, each has received a great deal of money. After a long time, he returned and called his servants together to learn what return each had earned on his money. The one with five talents had invested the money and now had an additional five, and the one with two talents had invested the money, and now had four. The master congratulated them and placed them in charge of great responsibilities for him. The servant with one talent had hidden the money away and had gained nothing for his master, who took the money he had lent out to the servant. He ordered the money to be taken away and the servant to be cast out into the darkness.

The moral of the story is that each of us has been greatly blessed, in varying degrees by God, Who expects a return on His investment. We will have to answer for our lives and what we have done with all that God has done for us. We need to be prepared for when He returns.

--Fr. Mike Comer