Experiencing God - Obstacles of Fear and Mistrust 125

"Lord, here is your talent.  I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man.  You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow."
Gospel of Luke

Both the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke contain the parable of the talents.  In this parable story in Matthew, only three servants were given talents.  In Luke's Gospel, ten servants were given pounds with which to do business.  But the message of the two Gospels are the same.  The negligent servant in both Gospels is quoted as saving:  "Lord, here is your talent.  I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man.  You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow."

The reaction of many people when they hear this parable is guilt.  Why guilt?  Because it generates the question - Am I doing enough?  We picture in our minds that the ones passing the test are those who are very busy, those who are at the centre of every activity.  But the Gospel is not about busyness.  It is not about the multiplication of our money.  It's about trust and faith. 

Do you believe that God loves you unconditionally?  If you do, is that belief integrated into your life to the point that it affects and influences your relationships with others? 

If you look at Jesus' own life, you discover that there are a lot of things he was not about.  Jesus came from an obscure Nazareth village.  He did a bit of carpentry work in His early years but left that for other pursuits.  He had no university degrees.  He did not seek or attain fame or fortune.  He wrote no books.  He belonged to no committees or organizations.  He depended largely on others for His personal needs which were minimal.  And yet, more than any other person, He touched the lives of others. He was present to them in a way that changed their lives.

The difficulty with the servant who took his talent and hid it in a piece of cloth was that he could not trust in God's unconditional love for him.  His life did not reflect the awesome presence of God's abundance and goodness because his heart was closed and fearful.  He could not trust. The little he had of the very thing he needed the most was lost to him because he chose to remain closed to God's creative energy that permeates all things.  

The question that arises from all this is: "In what ways am I shutting out God's love that prevent me from seeing His goodness and abundance?  What do I need to change in my life so that this goodness is reflected in my life and shared with the people I encounter; my spouse, my children, my friends and neighbors, those with whom I share faith, the stranger I meet in my daily journey?  These are the moments that give witness to God's Kingdom.  These are the moments that Jesus was able to live so well.