According to scripture scholars and other faith educators, a “talent” as used in today’s Matthean Gospel is “more than an inborn trait” but rather we are to understand it as “a huge allotment of Divine goods that God entrusts to Jesus’ disciples” for the building up of the Kingdom of God.

For content, we are told by scholars that Matthew places this parable in the gospel just days before the Passion of Jesus — the ultimate sacrifice — using His talent (Jesus offers Himself up for others, for the good of God’s Kingdom). The “master” in this parable is Jesus who is about to go on a long journey — to His Passion — and when He returns (remember from last Sunday’s gospel we heard of Jesus’ return (a.k.a. The Parousia ),

As the master heads out on His journey, He provides talents to His servants. To some He gave five or two talents, and they planned how they could use the talents for the betterment of the master’s holdings (the Kingdom) — they take initiative and risks — one might say self - initiative takes over for the benefit of their master, but that this “self - initiative” is motivated by something else.

In the Matthean gospel we should note that the master spends the majority of His time speaking about the one - talent servant because most Christians are like this servant — and Jesus wants to shock such servants out of the indifference or complacency before time is up—that is, before we come face-to-face with that unknown hour or day of the Final Judgment.

What we are called to recognize in — and — through our Catholic faith is that God assigns to each of us certain work to perform in the Kingdom on earth. That work may entail raising children in the faith or passing on the faith through word and deed (consider a catechist or youth ministry leader who shows that the faith is not just applicable in the modern culture but that it is beneficial to the culture, thus all peoples). In today’s gospel, we are told that the one - talent servant uses speech that illustrates his view of God: “Master, I knew that you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here is it back.” Notice the perspective that God is “demanding” or “tough” or even “cruel.” Fear overtakes the servant and paralyzes him for acting for the good of the master — the common good of the Kingdom of God. It is more about escaping the master’s wrath and anger than about pleasing the master and receiving a supreme blessing.

The surprise here is that even though the one - talent servant didn’t do anything proactively “bad,” such as squander the master’s talent on himself, nor did he do anything “proactively” evil — such as take the talent and rather than feed the hungry he invesed it in some get - rich - quick scheme. No, he just did nothing.

So what is a “talent” and what’s its purpose — and what does it mean for us today? Consider a “talent” to be a gift which you possess: the ability to sing or the gift of communicating with the young and offering them guidance in youth ministry or in teaching the faith; perhaps your talent is a sense of empathy or compassion which enables you to reach out to someone who is lost and wandering without direction or guidance; perhaps your “talent” is time — plenty free time to get involved and make a difference; or your talent may be in proclaiming the Good News at Mass or simply possessing a sympathetic ear to call some isolated in this pandemic and offering the ministry of presence.

What’s its purpose? To build up the human person, to refresh their understanding of their God - given divine dignity, to bring about social justice, to fill empty bellies or lead someone to much needed healthcare, or just to be of help by raking their lawn. Your talent may not be to solve a political stalemate or stop the wild fires or prevent Eta from coming ashore, but its purpose is about making the human soul feel the presence of Christ in the midst of hunger or fear or ignorance or need. It is about being a proactive and participatory member of the family of God and using our talents for His purpose: salvation of all. And for us today, it means hearing those life - giving words, “ Well done, my good and faithful servant; ” it means not sticking our heads in the sand, saying “it’s not my job,” or in being indifferent to another’s needs or complacent by our own self - used gifts and talents. Advent is right around the corner, and so it is a good time to consider the Last Day. And what you and I need to be doing with our talents. As a funny birthday card says it best, “ Look busy, Jesus is coming!” Peace!