So let's talk about today's readings 8/29/09

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“Nevertheless we urge you, brothers and sisters, to progress even more,
and to aspire to live a tranquil life,
to mind your own affairs,
and to work with your own hands,
as we instructed you”

Aha! Some official instructions on how to live our life.
  1. LIVE A TRANQUIL LIFE. Tranquil - free from disturbances or turmoil, quiet.
    Sometimes this seems out of our hands, but is it? Can we live a quiet life?
    Is this why many saints became hermits? I do think that to some people,
    the idea of living a tranquil life is very unpleasant. They must be entertained…
  2. MIND YOUR OWN AFFAIRS. Or, keep your mind on your own business and
    concerns. That probably means more of not pointing out what others should do,
    and instead, work on yourself. I’m sure it doesn’t mean not to try to help others…
  3. WORK WITH YOUR OWN HANDS?. Like Jesus, being a carpenter? Is there
    some kind of work that would be not with your own hands? What would that be?
    Would it be wrong to do certain kinds of work? And if someone didn’t have hands,
    could they use their feet, like Jesse Manabusen? (guitar player that has no
    hands, and uses his feet). What is the main idea behind this advice?
“Let the rivers clap their hands”
– I’d like to see the rivers try clapping their hands.
“He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with equity”
– When will He do this? Right now, He is very lenient, and many innocent suffer…

“John had said to Herod,
“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife”
– Would anyone dare say a thing like this today? People try and decide whether
to attend an unlawful wedding so as not to upset the participants. Yet John the
Baptist and St. Thomas More gave their lives for saying, “this is unlawful”.
They are saints.

Today is the day of the death of St. John the Baptist. Because of that, the regular
gospel reading wasn’t used. It would have been the parable of the talents. I read
it, before noticing it would not be used today, and I noticed something different about
the ones who were given 5 and 10 talents. In order to get more, they “traded” their
talents. So they had to give them away. They didn’t keep any. But we always
keep some of our money. And look what happened to many recently who invested
in stocks and real estate? Many lost everything, yet Jesus is saying it never works
that way with Him. He is saying you always get double when you invest in His kingdom. 🙂

So what struck you about today’s readings? :bible1::twocents:
 
I read the regular Gospel reading about the talents–whenever I read that particular passage, I do think about the one guy who hid his talent. It seems that he did it out of fear of his boss. His reaction seems not irrational on a natural level–his boss reaped where he didn’t sow, and so forth. He appears like someone you don’t want to get on the bad side of.

However, his boss is angry at his timidity (or cowardice) and tells the servant that it is precisely because he reaps where he doesn’t so, ect., that he should have used the talent wisely. Even the servant who didn’t get much back is rewarded–he stepped out in faith and he at least tried.

So, looking at the talent not as a denomination of money (which I think is the use of it here) but as what it appears: one’s gifts, talents, oneself; I think you have to step out in faith and use them the best as you can for God. He has given everyone something to be used for His kingdom and we should at least try. The servant was rewarded for doing something, not chastised because he didn’t have as large a yield as the other servant.
 
Since you brought up the 3rd guy, I just want to address people who are like me,
and think they don’t have any talents. Your talents aren’t necessarily exceptional,
good, or better than others. They are just what you can do at the moment. I discovered I had a talent for driving, when I drove someone who needed a ride. I
discovered I had a talent for seeing, and writing, when I wrote out someone’s
Christmas cards who was blind. I discovered I had a talent for making sandwiches,
when someone came to my door and asked me for one. Sure, lots of people can
make a better sandwich than me. But I was blessed with two good working hands,
and the ingredients at that moment… May the Lord bless us all…
 
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