Gospel
Lk 19, 11-28
While the disciples were listening Jesus went on to tell a parable, because he was near
Jerusalem where they thought that the reign of God was about to appear. He said: "A
man of noble birth went to a faraway country to become its king, and then return. He
summoned ten of his servants and gave them sums of ten units each, saying to them, 'Invest
this until I get back.' But his fellow citizens despised him, and they immediately sent a
deputation after him with instructions to say, 'We will not have this man rule over us.'
He returned, however, crowned as king. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given
the money, to learn what profit each had made. The first presented himself and said,
'Lord, the sum you gave me has earned you another ten.' 'Good man!' he replied. 'You
showed yourself capable in a small matter. For that you can take over ten villages.' The
second came and said, 'Your investment, my lord, has netted you five.' His word to him
was, 'Take over five villages.' The third came in and said: 'Here is your money, my lord,
which I hid for safekeeping. You see, I was afraid of you because you are a hard man. You
withdraw what you never deposited. You reap what you never sowed.' To him the king said:
'You worthless lout! I intend to judge you on your own evidence. You knew I was a hard
man, withdrawing what I never deposited, reaping what I never sowed! Why, then, did you
not put my money out on loan, so that on my return I could get it back with interest?' He
said to those standing around, 'Take from him what he has, and give it to the man with the
ten.' 'Yes, but he already has ten,' they said. He responded with, 'The moral is: whoever
has will be given more, but the one who has not will lose the little he has. Now about
those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king, bring them in and slay them in my
presence.'"
Having spoken thus he went ahead with his ascent to Jerusalem.
Reflection:
This afternoon, while I was meditating in Mass, a new thought came to me regarding the
Wednesday Gospel reading (Luke 19:11-28), and I would like to share it with you.
Jesus' parable begs the question: Why does the King give more to the one who already has
much instead of to the one who has only half the amount? Wouldn't it be more loving to
even things out? Doesn't the person whose investment netted five need more help than the
person whose investment netted ten? Why does God give more to those who already have more?
We know we're supposed to invest our gifts and talents for the sake of God's
kingdom, but we are not the only investors here. God (the King) is investing in YOU. Are
you a good investment?
What do we do in the stock market? We put our money into companies that have a
track record of being a good investment. We don't compare two companies and
choose the one that has been giving less return for the money.
So it is with God's investments. If we work hard to be a good investment, God will invest
more in us. He is going to put more gifts and talents and resources into whomever will do
the most good.
One of the great things about belonging to God's kingdom is that we don't have to do the
hard work of becoming a good investment by ourselves. In fact, we can't do it on our own.
We need God's help and He gladly gives it. He knows what's in our hearts, and if we truly
desire to excel in the use of our gifts and talents for the sake of the kingdom, He will
invest time in our "invest-ability".
A prayer that, many years ago, I made my life's request is: "God, make me a pliable
instrument in Your hands." It's because of this desire that He has trained me to be a
better, more loving servant and has entrusted to me these reflections and other
ministries. He will do the same for you if you really want Him to.
In Christ's love.
Anthony Bui
YBIC/YS