Called to responsibility
Like all parables, this Sunday’s parable is very interesting, giving insight into human attitudes and revealing God’s ways towards us. A man, having to go abroad for a long journey, entrusted his property to his three servants, allotting to each one a portion according to his ability.
God puts us in charge
We should not forget that this is a parable about God and about us. In Gen 1, we find that as soon as God finished creating the world, he entrusted it to humankind. In the parable, we discover the same attitude on God’s side. He puts his trust in us and leaves us in charge. Many times, it may seem that he has gone and left us alone. But we know that he is coming and that we have to present ourselves before him, giving an account of our stewardship.
In the parable, we find two different types of servants, and it is good to compare their different attitudes.
Self-confident, committed and responsible
The first two felt honoured by the trust put on them. They considered themselves lucky, as they saw an extraordinary opportunity to affirm and prove themselves. Being trusted by their master, they were able to develop self-confidence; and in their self-confidence, they were able to devise new initiatives and to take risks. In all that, they showed themselves to be courageous and hardworking. Their commitment paid off, as they doubled the amount of wealth received.
Lazy and good-for-nothing
The third servant was a lazy fellow, with a poor image of himself. He had no initiative and no commitment. And he was lazy. He could not trust his master or his colleagues, because he had no confidence in himself. He had not an optimistic approach to life; he was not able to think about the opportunities that lay ahead; instead he was afraid of the risks.
We can imagine that he was jealous and envious of the others who received more. Or maybe he was happy, as having received less, he would be faced with less work and fewer risks.
What is very clear in the parable is that he was afraid of his master. He considered his master as very demanding and harsh. For him, his master was giving him an opportunity to excel, but offering him a poisoned cup, by putting him to the test and expecting him to fail in order to punish him. He felt threatened in his security, his livelihood and his future. In his fear, he was afraid of life itself. So he decided to tread carefully. The interesting is that he kept the property safe and he gave it back as he received it. However, because of his laziness, he was considered wicked and as a good-for-nothing servant.
We are called to share with God the task of building up the world, so that it becomes a better place than we found it.
No comments:
Post a Comment