The Parable of the Talents and Inner Invitations

By mmayer

Matthew 25:14-30

The parable of the bags of gold

¹⁴‘Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. ¹⁵To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,^[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. ¹⁶The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. ¹⁷So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. ¹⁸But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹‘After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. ²⁰The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. “Master,” he said, “you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.”

²¹‘His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

²²‘The man with two bags of gold also came. “Master,” he said, “you entrusted me with two bags of gold: see, I have gained two more.”

²³‘His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

²⁴‘Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. “Master,” he said, “I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.”

²⁶‘His master replied, “You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? ²⁷Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

²⁸‘“So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. ²⁹For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. ³⁰And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Video

In Matthew 25:14-30, the master goes away for a long time, and hands out 5, 3 and 1 bags of gold to servants to use. The 3^rd servant can’t handle that, buries the gold in the ground, and will end up having to face up to that with the master.

Lucy Tierney is a nun whom I hold in the highest esteem for her wisdom and skills. I went to her for monthly Spiritual Direction for a number of years. With critical incidents in my life, her support was vital and life-saving. Her brand new book, ‘Inner Invitations’ gives a simple 2 minute daily practice. Let’s look at it, and see how it would have helped our 3^rd servant (the bits in brackets below). The practice is simply doing a daily check-in with yourself, then allowing the Holy Spirit and your spirit to guide you deeper into God’s grace and mercy which is always around you.

Take a brief moment to be silent and still. (3^rd servant: I had such a restless night.)
Drop beneath your busy mind into ‘you-in-your-skin’. (Just trying to stop my crazy mind for a moment.)
Once there, ask ‘How am I?’ (This feels stupid, but here goes. How am I?)
Let the response arise spontaneously. (So pressured. It’s relentless.)
Don’t filter your response. Just receive it. (I can’t stop worrying about that money in the ground.)
Hold this inner reality gently and compassionately. (This is such a big worry. No wonder I can’t sleep.)
If you can, identify a follow-through practice that can shift your energy into a more balanced reality throughout the day. (Day 1. You are kidding. This is impossible. Day 2. I’m trapped. Day 3. What if….Could I actually do something with that bag of gold. Day 4. I could dig that money up, and …..Day 8. I did it. I placed it with the money lenders. I feel so relieved.)
Carry this awareness into your day, allowing it to bring the freedom of making more balanced responses to the events of the day as you encounter them. (It’s like an immense weight has been lifted. Now – about that other thing that has been rally bothering me…I can do this.)