Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Tag: Talents

  • Where your heart is and should be.

    Where your heart is and should be.

    November 15, 2020 – 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111520.cfm)

    Homily

    As we are about to end the year and prepare for another year ahead, during these coming weeks, it is opportune time for us to review the year has been & about to end – especially as we are forced to deal & adjust with the life-threatening pandemic infection, and consider our life’s endtime or endgame as well. Yes, it is but timely & important for us to be once again in touch & in tune with meaning & purpose of our being and living life then-now-ahead, and above all, for us Christians to  have a closer look & be in sync once again & anew about our views, attitude, & beliefs towards God’s kingdom – our life-eternal with God.

    We have just heard about the all-too familiar Parable of the Talents. The master entrusted some investments to his servants – each according to his ability. As accounting day arrives, those who did well to make the most of his investment were entrusted with more investments & responsibilities, but those who failed to maximize his investments were deprived of further investments & responsibilities. Such a simple business principle. You reap what you sow. Same as in computer language, it is called GIGO (Garbage IN, Garbage Out).

    But somehow life-lessons learned here in our gospel today may also teach us more about the Kingdom of God – our life being and living with God.

    First, God’s kingdom is all about our DYNAMIC and CREATIVE life with God – never should be a static and typical life. Like dance, life with God is the marriage partnership between God and man. For Him to grant us His blessing of Creation and Redemption, God needs a Partner. God needs us to be His partners. He needs our contribution and participation in the dance and marriage of Life and salvation.

    And somehow this is how our partnership with God works: God provides us with the necessary materials or ingredients. He endowed & entrusted each one of us with unique talents, capabilities in attitude, skills and knowledge and opportunities in life (each according to his capacity). But for us to Participate in the Re-Creation, i.e for creating once again our life and our world, and for us to continue God’s work of Redemption, it is up to you – to each and everyone of us to take risk, develop, make the most use of, invest and contribute such GIFTs and talents.

    Second, God’s kingdom also works in a different grading system. Usually using our grading system, we rate the individual student’s capacity against our own standards. Against our accepted standard, we rate them as poor – good – very good – excellent. We grade them with numbers or letters (60 – 75 – 80 – 98 or A – B – F). But in His Kingdom, in His ways or His eyes, God works with a different standard. He sees our basic goodness, our unique potentialities (each according to our capacity). He gives each of us 100%, or excellent or straight A by his own standards & our unique capacity. But like the servants in the Gospel, it is up to us remain at 100%, or settle for less… OR to take risk, strive more to be than 100%. It is not a matter of striving for 100% grade, but a matter of taking a venture to make the most use of our full potentials.

    For instance, making a school project, like -baking a cake or assembling a radio. In school, we are given the opportunity to create those things. Our parents provide us with the necessary materials or ingredients or instruments. Our teachers give us a chance to cook a cake or assemble a radio.  They facilitate and guide us in creating or producing the project. But to the last analysis, it is you who will make the project. It is up to your discretion and creativity to make your cake taste like cake or better than mom’s cake, or to make your radio makes sounds and sounds good. And as we all know; others would settle for less. But others would explore, experiment, and take risks to be more creative and to learn more. Therefore, in doing a project, it is a joint venture, a partnership between your parents, your teacher, and yourself.

    And lastly, our life with God is mirrored in the state of our life here on earth & the state of our life then in heaven later. It is lived on how we make the most of & be responsible for His investments with us in life, & how poor/right & good/bad our marriage partnership with him. In other words, God’s kingdom is how we treasure God in our hearts.

    Marriage, Venture, Treasure – are just but keywords to remind us at this time to consider that God’s kingdom is where our heart is and should be.

    Now consider this….

    In a dream, a rich man found himself at the heaven’s door with two angels. The angels said: “Welcome Home, Sir”. He was brought inside a posh five-starred hotel, where he was also welcomed by his former staff, friends, family & colleagues who have gone before him. Glad to be in heaven meeting again his people, he was then led to his room at 175th floor. Coming down from the elevator, he and the angels passed through several VIP rooms. But eventually, he was led into a storage room near the staircase with only a cushion bed on the floor. Shocked with what he got, he complained: “That’s it?  Only this pathetic room?”. But an angel replied: “Well, that’s only we can do & set up for you from the few materials & resources you have sent here.”

    Remember Jesus advices us: “Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth… but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Mt. 6:19-20)

    Set our hearts, Lord towards Your Kingdom at all times so that we may not lost our ways & not lose Your ways but rather live our lives here now on earth more directed and meaningful, and thus fully enjoy our being with You now and forever. Amen.

  • A Paralyzing Fear

    A Paralyzing Fear

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    November 15, 2020 – 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111520.cfm)

    Homily

    I had a conversation among students and we were talking about self-confidence and talents. There was a good number among them who expressed that they were struggling because of low self-esteem. Most of them too tended to compare themselves a lot with others. They recognized more what was lacking in them and what others have. Such comparison seemed to become a habit that anything can become a subject of comparison and telling the self that he/she lacks and is unfortunate.

    As I let them talk about their experiences, most of them also expressed that it started at home. Their parents tend to compare them with their sibling, or cousin or neighbor or a classmate who seemed to be so much better, brighter and more talented than them. The constant nagging and comparing of their parents have made and molded their consciousness that they were less intelligent and less talented.

    Thus, when we tend to compare more ourselves from others, we also become harsher towards ourselves. By identifying what we don’t have and what others have would only make us more miserable in life. We become more miserable because we will not be contented with what we have. Moreover, we will become indifferent to our own talents and capacities, resources and potentials. This will develop then, into fear, into a paralyzing fear that prevents us to be fruitful, joyful and living life to the fullest.

    Now, this brings me into our Gospel today. Jesus tells us this wonderful story of the parable of the talents. There were three people being given talents from their master. The talents, here were the amount of money gifted to the three. And so the master, gave the talents according to the ability of each one. To the first, he gave five talents. To the second, he gave two talents. And the last one was given one talent.

    However, we were told that the third man was a fearful person. Unlike the two, he did not take the risk of investing the talent given to him because we was afraid of failure. He chose not to do anything because fear seemed to paralyze him.

    He must have pitied himself because he only received one talent unlike the two who had more. He must have compared himself a lot with them. Deep inside, he must be furious and angry why he only received one. It must have been so unfair for him. In his insecurity, he retreated to hide, to low self-esteem, to fear but bitter towards the gifts and blessings of others.

    These thoughts must have occupied his mind and heart to the point that he couldn’t do anything because fear crept it. He feared his master. He was afraid to fail. Yet, that fear in him did not also save him. The talent that he was hiding because of fear, was taken away from him. He lost it and lost the opportunity given to him to be fruitful in his own way. He lost the opportunity to enjoy that talent and to enjoy life.

    Moreover, this attitude is only one possible extreme reaction towards the talents, gifts, and potentials we have. Another possible reaction is its opposite and that is to accumulate what we believe to have been lacking in us and ignoring what we are actually capable of. When we tend to amass things that we were deprived of, we will also tend to be corrupt and abusive. Then, we begin to show arrogance, exercise power and control over others whom we think are lesser than us.

    We can be this person. We can be that man who was anxious and fearful, insecure and bitter. We can also be that person who will become self-entitled and corrupt but deep within, fearful and insecure.

    This is not what God wants us to be. God wants us to trust Him who has blessed us with gifts, talents and people. Trusting God means being faithful to the gifts that we have received which may include our intellectual and physical abilities, our ministry, roles and responsibilities in our community  and even our relationships as a parent, as a spouse, as a sibling or as a child. These are the areas where we are invited by the Lord to invest our heart and our life.

    The Lord gifted us, each according to our abilities. God is confident with our potentials. God knows very much what we are capable of. Yet, let us also remember, that we don’t have to make big and spectacular things to just seek praise and recognition from others. The Book of Proverbs in our first reading today tells us how a simple wife does her duties with grace and kindness. In that way, she developed her gifts as a wife and as a person by also reaching out to others and extending kindness to the needy.

    This is God’s invitation for us – to trust God who trusted us first, to trust his generosity and to be faithful to the many gifts and talents we have received from him. We are called to recognize and embrace what we have, to be grateful for those and invest time and effort. God wants us also to commit ourselves to those things.

    I would like now to leave three reminders for today.

    First, do not compare yourself to others. It will not help you. You will only become more miserable. Rather, begin to acknowledge what you have now – talents or abilities, roles or responsibilities and relationships. Identify also those areas where you think you are still weak and so need more investment from you, perhaps, you need more time, more attention, more practice, more focus, more presence and more confidence. When we are able to accept them and nurture them, then, we shall surely witness God’s wonder in making us productive and flourishing.

    Second, parents, please stop comparing your child to another. It does not help. Instead, discover their gifts and encourage them to develop them. But avoid pampering them to the point that they couldn’t do anything without you.

    Third, never be afraid of failure. If we fail, it could be painful and shameful but go on. It is not the end of your world. Never let fear prevent or paralyze you. Conquer fear by becoming more grateful to God who first loved us and also the first one to have confidence in us. Hinaut pa.