Gospel: Luke 19:11-28

 

The Gospel today presents the parable of the talents in which Jesus speaks of the gifts that persons receive from God. “At that time Jesus… was near Jerusalem”. In this statement, Luke presents the reasons which led Jesus to tell this parable: proximity to the Passion, to the imminent Kingdom of God.

 

We meditate on the third servant. He said: “Sir, here is your pound I put it away safely wrapped up in a cloth, because I was afraid of you, for you are an exacting man, you gather in what you have not laid out and reap what you have not sown.” 

 

In this part, we have a mistaken idea of God which is criticized by Jesus. The 3rd servant considers God a severe master. Before such a God, the human being is afraid and hides himself behind the exact and poor observance of the law. He thinks that by acting this way, he will not be punished by the ruler. 

 

In reality, such a person does not believe in God, but believes only in self and in his observance of the law. He closes himself up in self. He draws away from God and is not concerned about others. He becomes incapable of growth as a free person. This false image of God isolates the human being, kills the community, extinguishes joy and impoverishes life. 

 

The servant is not consistent in his image  of God. If he imagined God to be so severe, he should  have put the money in the bank. He is not condemned by God, but by his mistaken idea of God, which renders him immature and  fearful.  One of the things which greatly influence a person’s life is his image  of God. Some Jews,  especially the Pharisees, imagined God as a severe judge who treated them according  to the merits gained by  observance of the Law. This caused fear and prevented people from growing.  Above all, it prevented them from opening a space within themselves to accept the new experience of God which Jesus communicated.