Sunday 15 November 2026
Lectio
Divina:*
(See also Mark 13:33-37 and Luke 19:11-27)
Meditatio:
‘to all those who have, more will be given, and they will
have an abundance.’ (Matthew 25:29a)
Commentary:
When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodg'd with me useless
(John Milton, 1608-1674)
The servant with one talent failed not because he was wicked
or dishonest. He failed because he was afraid.
‘I was afraid’, he says, ‘and I went and hid your talent in the ground’. Fear is the real villain of this Gospel.
Fear of failure. Fear of criticism. Fear of making mistakes. Fear of losing
what we have. Fear of what others might think.
How many gifts remain buried because of fear? How many
dreams never become realities? How many acts of kindness are left undone? How
many vocations are never embraced because someone says, ‘I'm not good enough’,
or ‘What if it doesn't work out?’ The tragedy of the third servant is not that
he had little. The tragedy is that he did nothing with what he had.
The Book of Proverbs speaks today about diligence, wisdom,
and initiative. It reminds us that God blesses those who engage with life
rather than withdraw from it. Psalm 128 praises the person who enjoys ‘the
fruit of the labour’ of their hands. Saint Paul, in the second reading, urges
Christians to remain awake and alert, not asleep. All the readings point in the
same direction: discipleship is active, not passive. Faith is something we
live, not something we store away for safekeeping.
We often think of talents as special abilities: music,
leadership, teaching, organisation, practical skills. But the Gospel means
something much broader. The talents entrusted to us include our faith, our
time, our health, our experience, our relationships, our opportunities and even
our wounds, which God can use to bring comfort to others.
Every one of us has received something unique.
A young person may possess courage, creativity and
enthusiasm. A parent may have the gift of nurturing and guiding others. An
older person may possess the wisdom that only years of living can provide.
Someone else may be gifted with compassion, able to accompany people through
grief, illness or loneliness. No one is without gifts.
The question is not, ‘How much have I received?’ The
question is, ‘What am I doing with what I have received?’
One of the great tragedies in our world is not a lack of
talent but the waste of talent. Poverty, injustice, loneliness, discouragement
and exclusion prevent many people from becoming all they could be. There are
lives half-lived, dreams abandoned and gifts unrecognised. Sometimes the
greatest gift we can give another person is encouragement: helping them to see
in themselves what they cannot yet see.
The same applies to our Christian communities. Every parish
contains gifts waiting to be discovered and released. Some have the gift of
hospitality. Some can teach. Some can pray. Some can organise. Some can listen.
Some can visit the sick. Some can inspire others through quiet faithfulness.
The future of the Church will not be secured merely by
maintaining buildings or preserving structures. It will be secured when God's
people discover and use the gifts he has given them.
Parishes flourish when they are marked by three things:
confident faith in the risen Christ, deep prayer rooted in the sacraments and a
warm welcome extended to everyone. But these qualities flourish only when
people are willing to step forward and offer their gifts in service.
The servant who buried his talent chose safety. The servants
who invested theirs chose trust.
That is ultimately the challenge of today's Gospel. Will we
live cautiously, protecting ourselves from risk? Or will we trust that God can
work through our imperfect efforts?
The Lord is not asking for extraordinary success. He is
asking for faithfulness. The servants who received five talents and two talents
receive exactly the same commendation:
‘Well done, good and trustworthy servant’.
God does not compare one disciple with another. He asks only
that we use what he has entrusted to us.
A language unused becomes forgotten. Muscles unused become
weak. Friendships neglected fade. Faith unpractised grows cold. Gifts buried in
the ground eventually wither.
The Gospel's challenge is this: use it or lose it.
God has given each of us gifts, opportunities and
responsibilities. He has entrusted us with a share in his work. We do not
honour those gifts by protecting them from risk. We honour them by placing them
at the service of others.
Today, then, let us ask ourselves: What talent have I
buried? What gift is God asking me to use? What step have I been afraid to
take?
For the Lord who entrusts the talent also gives the grace to
use it. And when we offer him even the little we have, he can do more with it
than we could ever imagine.
Some
extras:
Collect of the Word for this Sunday (Church of Ireland)
Everliving God, before the earth was formed, and even after
it shall cease to be, you are God. break
into our short span of life and show us those things that are eternal, that we
may serve your purpose in all we do; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and
ever.
Post-Communion prayer (Roman Catholic missal of 1970)
Father, may we grow in love by the eucharist we have
celebrated in memory of the Lord Jesus, who is Lord for ever and ever.
Private devotional prayer after Holy Communion
(from The Family Missal and Prayer Book of the Church of
the Holy Spirit, Ballyroan, Dublin, 1976)
Lord Jesus, my Master and my Reward, you have given yourself
to me in the eucharistic meal. May I use
this gift to dedicate myself to your service.
If I am faithful in the work you give me to do, even in small things, you
will reward me. If I use my talents for
you,
they will be multiplied. If I am content
just to possess them, they will be lost. When I bury my talents, I bury myself. Any
act of mine, even giving a drink of cold water to a thirsty man, if done for
you, will have your reward. You give
value to my little worth. As a son of
the light may I be active in your service until you come to share your
happiness with your servants.
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