“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to their ability.
Gospel of Matthew - Parable of the talents
In order to explore the subject of "evangelization", we have to ask ourselves a very serious question: "How can we take up the mission given to us by Christ to teach all Nations about the Kingdom of God when we seem to be facing such difficulties in the church, and the nations seem not to care for what we have to say?"
This is certainly a good question for our time, a time when the church has been cast into a very unfair light by the media and press, a light that has blurred the vision of many in our society as to what church is all about. But is this a question that just relates to our time, or has it always been present?
Do not the readings we find in scripture speak of the same tension that we experience today between those who struggle to a live life based on Christian values, and a culture or society that seemingly chooses to ignore and reject these core values.
The Book of Maccabees written a couple of centuries before Christ reflect the struggle that existed in a family who wished to live by values that were from God, but contradictory to the ruling culture of the day. For them, not to submit to the power of the ruling authorities meant physical death. Did they surrender to the whims of the ruling authority? No! Their commitment to their values, to how they saw God working in the midst, was something they could not compromise. It just was not negotiable. They held firm to their commitment, even in the face of death.
We are fortunate in our society that we don't have to be challenged to that degree. But it does raise the question: Do I see the mission of Christ, of proclaiming God's Kingdom to all nations, to all peoples, as something of importance, as something of value in my life? Do I see my relationship with Christ as something important to me, something that I value, something I wish to commit myself too? Do I compromise this value, negotiate it away, because of the resistance I see around me from those who reject it or do not see it as important? In other words, am I acting out of fear.
Jesus' parable of the Talents in the Gospel of Matthew express that same tension that we experience today between those who wish to conform their lives with the culture of the day, and those who wish their lives to reflect Christian teaching and faith in Christ.
Note the response of the man who was given one talent, but failed to use this gift that was given him. Sir, he said, here is your talent. I was afraid of you, for you are an exacting man. You pick what you have not put down, and reap what you have not sown.
When we compromise or negotiate away our values, whether it be out of fear or from running after something of lessor value, then we not only lose the growth that comes from further virtues, but we lose the virtues given to us as a gift.
"I tell you, Jesus says, to everyone who has, will be given more; but from the one who has not, even what he as will be taken away."
How can we take up the mission given to us by Christ to teach all nations about the Kingdom of God when we seem to be facing such difficulties in the Church, and the nations seem not to care for what we have to say?
Through our prayer, through our conviction, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we dare to live the life entrusted to us with all of its gifts and abundance. "Those who are faithful, even with the little they are given, will be entrusted with more."
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