#DAYLIGHT – Daily #MenofLight
#GospelReflection
November 20,
2019 , Wednesday
Gospel: Luke
19: 11 – 28
Sharer: Bro.
Mike Lapid
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The Gospel
11 As they were
listening to this, he went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem,
and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 So
he said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself
and then return. 13 He summoned ten of his slaves, and gave
them ten pounds, and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back.’ 14 But
the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying,
‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’ 15 When he returned,
having received royal power, he ordered these slaves, to whom he had given the
money, to be summoned so that he might find out what they had gained by
trading. 16 The first came forward and said, ‘Lord, your pound
has made ten more pounds.’ 17 He said to him, ‘Well done, good
slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of
ten cities.’ 18 Then the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your pound
has made five pounds.’ 19 He said to him, ‘And you, rule over
five cities.’ 20 Then the other came, saying, ‘Lord, here is
your pound. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, 21 for I was
afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit,
and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, ‘I will
judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I was a
harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why
then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could have
collected it with interest.’ 24 He said to the bystanders,
‘Take the pound from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’ 25 (And
they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten pounds!’) 26 ‘I tell you,
to all those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing,
even what they have will be taken away. 27 But as for these
enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and
slaughter them in my presence.’”28 After he had said this, he
went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
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Reflection
The Return of
the King
Our Gospel
reading is perhaps better known as the parable of the talents. Here we see a
nobleman giving ten pounds to each of his three servants, instructing them to
do business with the money he gave them while he was away. But perhaps, we can
also call this parable, the parable of the returning king. We read in this
gospel that the same nobleman returned as a king despite being rejected by the
citizens of another kingdom for him to become their king.
Clearly, the
nobleman who later returned as king is none other than Jesus himself. Luke
places the context of this story just before Jesus enters Jerusalem where he
would suffer and die. Jesus’ passion and death obviously made it clear that the
Jews rejected Jesus as their king. Eventually, however, after Jesus’ death and
resurrection, Jesus would emerge victorious and will take his place as king and
Lord of all the earth. So the context of this parable is in light of Jesus who is
rejected by the Jews but who eventually will return victorious as king at the
end of time.
What does this
parable teach us?
From this
parable we can see that the Lord gives and entrusts to each one of us something
of value which is expected to increase and grow over time. This is perhaps why
the master was happy to hear from the first and second servants that what he
has given them has increased in value. On the other hand, the master was not
pleased when the money he gave to the third servant didn’t increase in value. He
scolds the third servant not because he lost the money, but because the money
became stale and didn’t grow in value while he was away.
So what then,
has Lord given and entrusted to us, his servants? And how do we add value to
what he has given us?
First, the Lord
entrusted to us our gifts and talents. Our gifts and talents could be anything.
They could be our skills, our intelligence, our wealth, our creativity, our
work, our profession, etc. The list can really go on and on. But the underlying
aspect of all these is that they are all God-given. They never really belong to
us in the first place. They have been there, given by the Lord, for a purpose. The
fact that we don’t own them should give us enough reason to remain humble. If we
claim ownership over these gifts, then the Lord wouldn’t have any right at all
to demand from us an accounting of these gifts when he returns. But since they are all from the Lord, he has
all the right to seek from us an accounting of how we have used them when he
comes back as king at the end of time.
It is only when
we utilize our gifts to the best of our ability that we are able to create
value not only for ourselves but for the world around us. Our gifts and talents
can help shape and build a more beautiful world, a world that lives in justice
and peace, a world that is caring, compassionate and loving. Each of our gifts and talents, no matter how
small or insignificant they may be, can have a tremendous impact in our world.
The return of
Jesus as our king at the end of time, should be a joyful event for us who long
to see the Lord face to face. It should be a time when we shall happily realize
how the Lord has truly blessed us with so much talent. The Lord will also witness
for himself how our talents have shaped and impacted the lives of our fellowmen
in a good way and shall, in the end, reward us accordingly to what we deserve.
The Lord’s
return, however, could turn into a frightening event for those of us who may
not have used our talents for good; for those who thought that their talents
were theirs alone; for those who used these talents in a selfish way; and for
those whose talents have impacted the world in a bad way. To them who have not
added anything of value to the world, will the Lord show much displeasure.
Then, just like in the parable, the talent that remained unused shall be taken
away and given to those who deserve it better.
For all we
know, our entry into God’s kingdom might well be dependent on how well we have
used these talents given to us by the Lord when he returns as king at the end
of time. Come to think of it; if the Lord takes away the talent from us on
judgment day and are left with nothing at all, how then, can we even think of
entering his kingdom?
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Prayer
Dear Lord,
thank you for the talents you have given and have entrusted to me. I now feel
that I must be responsible in using these for the good of those around me. Let
these talents help shape my family, the community and the society where I live
in, to help build a better world, a world that is beautiful, a world that lives
in justice and peace, and a world that is truly caring and loving. May you find
in me the fruits of the talents you have entrusted to me when you return in
glory in that kingdom that never ends. Amen.
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Quote
Our gifts and
talents can help shape and build a more beautiful world.
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