16th Sunday after Pentecost
2 Cor 6:1-10
Matt 25:14-30
When we hear the word “talent”, we normally think of the natural endowments of a person, as Webster puts it. But in the Gospel reading, it refers to an ancient unit of weight, or its value in silver or gold. As English speakers, though, it helps to realize that any gift we get from God becomes a talent in the first sense of the word. And it helps to recognize that any gift we get from God is as precious as gold.
David was just a shepherd boy, likely born out of wedlock – at least that’s what some Jewish sources suggest. But he had a talent. He played the lyre – a type of harp – beautifully. And that caught the ear of King Saul, and Saul added David to his court.. David used the talent God had given him.
At that time, Israel was at war with the Philistines, and their great warrior was a giant named Goliath. I’m sure you’ve heard the story. The warriors, including the king, were afraid to go up against him; he was that big. But David? David had been a shepherd and he had no fear. He told the king that he would fight the giant. Saul tried to give his own armor to fight against Goliath, but David said no. “I will fight him just as I have fought every animal who tried to steal my sheep”.
So David went out with just his sling and stones, with the talent God had given him. He fought against the warrior, the giant. He fought against Goliath. And he surprised the army, he surprised the king, and he surprised Philistines. With his sling and a rock, he killed Goliath. David used the talent given by God.
In time, King Saul and his sons were killed by the Philistines in battle. David became king. Using the warrior talents and the political talents God had given him, for forty years he led Israel. He expanded the country through conquest and through diplomacy. He was the greatest of all the kings of Israel. David used the talent given by God.
The Gospel today talks about talents.
The five talents that God will give us are our five senses. They are our means of learning about the world around us. And God will reward us for developing the talent that he gives us for understanding the world, for understanding the physical things of the universe and using that understanding to benefit humanity.
The two talents are wisdom and action. They can be thought of as learning about Him and using that knowledge to touch others. It’s what I do when I’m up here, using the knowledge I’ve gained, the knowledge of Him, of His word, so that I can point you in the way to serve Him, as imperfectly as I might do that. It’s what Sunday School teachers do with their students.
The single talent He speaks of is, in a sense, the simplest, but it’s also the most important. It is the ability, the obligation, to pray, to engage in spiritual warfare.
Have you looked around? The world we live in is becoming increasingly dangerous if you happen to express a belief that goes against the cultural norm. We’ve all heard about Charlie Kirk, of course. I’m not asking you to agree or disagree with anything he said. But, ask yourself, did he deserve to die? Do any of us deserve to be killed because we don’t follow the ideas of society?
In our society, it’s almost assumed that it’s OK to react with violence towards someone who disagrees with you.
THAT. IS. DEMONIC.
It’s what the Nazis did. It’s what the Communists did. It’s what the supporters of slavery did in our own country two centuries ago.
How should we react? Do we fight back?
As Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “Our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places”.
Our land is sick, and God gave us the answer to that illness when Solomon’s Temple was dedicated. On that day, he said, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land”.
It’s up to us, the people called by his name.
What can we do?
In your “Hear Me, O Lord” prayerbook, there’s a section called “Little Catechism”. Learning the ideas in that little six-page section is a great starting place. Live the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. Live the Cardinal and Spiritual Virtues. In the section on the Liturgy, under “Third Antiphon”, you’ll find the Beatitudes. Meditate on all those things, and really start living them.
That’s the Basic Training for our spiritual warfare. But what about weapons? Again, in “Hear Me, O Lord”, we have a battle manual for that warfare. Prayer.
Another weapon in the battle is the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. During the Consecration of the Eucharist, the priest prays, “We offer to you yours of your own on behalf of all and for all”, while the deacon lifts the Eucharist Elements. In the Chaplet, at the beginning of each decade, we pray, “Eternal Father, we offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, of your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world”.
When we pray the Chaplet, we tap into the power of the Eucharist!!!
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land”.
My brothers and sisters, God has given us the ability to fix this land.
God has given us the duty to fix this land.
It’s up to us.
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And do though, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
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