Today’s Gospel reading may strike us as the way we are called to live as Christians. We have been given many things from God: gifts, talents, intellect, family; and we are to use them to build up the Kingdom. We build our talents through education, practice, and action. We are not to hide them or keep them to ourselves out of fear or selfishness. And this is good and clear thinking on our part. But what about the fact that the king in the story punishes the man who does nothing with his coin and then slays those who do not want him as their king? Can you imagine Jesus killing someone who opposes him? I cannot.
Jesus tells this parable on the way to Jerusalem, where he knows what will happen to Him and he knows who will kill Him. Those who reject and ultimately kill Jesus choose their own death. To choose Christ is to choose life, eternal life in heaven with God, Mary, and all the saints of heaven. To reject God’s mercy is to choose death. To reject Jesus is to reject salvation.
Jesus wants to tell the people that they have a decision to make. Who will they decide they want to follow? Will they follow Him and believe he is the Messiah, will they deny Him, or will they do nothing? In my study of Scripture, especially regarding the words of Jesus, doing nothing seems to be the wrong choice. What do you think? If you agree that doing nothing is not what Jesus wants then we must do something with what we have been given. As Christians, that something needs to be for Christ and building up the Kingdom.
Today, take an inventory. List all your gifts, as many as you can think of, from your great smile to your wonderful family to your ability to listen well. Then, write down how you can use them for others. And by others I do not only mean strangers or those with extraordinary needs. It means the people right in front of you – your family, friends, co-workers. The children who need diaper changes and meals, the parent who needs help going to the doctor, the co-worker who needs a tech assist.
We do not have to go anywhere or look very far to find people to love and serve with the same love Jesus gives us. Take care of the people in front of you. That is how we multiply our coins. Someday you may be called to serve in a faraway place or a new ministry, but when we are faithful to the seemingly small or very ordinary life in front of us, we grow into faithful followers who can make bold decisions for Jesus.
Daily Reading
Friday of the First Week of Advent
Reading 1 Isaiah 29:17-24 Thus says the Lord GOD: But a very little while, and Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard, and the orchard be regarded as a forest!…
Saint of the Day
St. John of Damascus
St. John of Damascus
Feast date: Dec 04
Catholics remember and celebrate the life of the great Arab Church Father St. John of Damascus on Dec. 4.Eastern Orthodox Christians and Eastern Catholics, whose tradition has been particularly shaped by his insights, celebrate the saint’s feast on the same day as the Roman Catholic Church.Among Eastern Christians, St. John (676-749) is best known for his defense of Christian sacred art, particularly in the form of icons. While the churches of Rome and Constantinople were still united during St. John’s life, the Byzantine Emperor Leo III broke radically from the ancient tradition of the church, charging that the veneration of Christian icons was a form of idolatry.John had grown up under Muslim rule in Damascus, as the child of strongly Christian parents. His excellent education – particularly in theology – prepared him well to defend the tradition of sacred iconography, against the heresy of the “iconoclasts,” so-called because they would enter churches and destroy the images therein.During the 720s, the upstart theologian began publicly opposing the emperor’s command against sacred images in a series of writings. The heart of his argument was twofold: first, that Christians did not actually worship images, but rather, through them they worshiped God, and honored the memory of the saints. Second, he asserted that by taking an incarnate physical form, Christ had given warrant to the Church’s depiction of him in images.By 730, the young public official’s persistent defense of Christian artwork had made him a permanent enemy of the emperor, who had a letter forged in John’s name offering to betray the Muslim government of Damascus. The ruling caliph of the city, taken in by the forgery, is said to have cut off John’s hand. The saint’s sole surviving biography states that the Virgin Mary acted to restore it miraculously. John eventually managed to convince the Muslim ruler of his innocence, before making the decision to become a monk and later a priest.Although a number of imperially-convened synods condemned John’s advocacy of Christian iconography, the Roman church always regarded his position as a defense of apostolic tradition. Years after the priest and monk died, the Seventh Ecumenical Council vindicated his orthodoxy, and ensured the permanent place of holy images in both Eastern and Western Christian piety.St. John of Damascus’ other notable achievements include the “Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith,” a work in which he systematized the earlier Greek Fathers’ thinking about theological truths in light of philosophy. The work exerted a profound influence on St. Thomas Aquinas and subsequent scholastic theologians. Centuries later, St. John’s sermons on the Virgin Mary’s bodily assumption into heaven were cited in Pope Pius XII’s dogmatic definition on the subject.The saint also contributed as an author and editor, to some of the liturgical hymns and poetry that Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics still use in their celebrations of the liturgy.“Show me the icons that you venerate, that I may be able to understand your faith.” – Saint John of Damascus