The Master’s Joy

“Come share your Master’s joy.” Matthew 25:21

In Matthew 25, Jesus gives us the gift of another parable. A rich man goes off on a journey and entrusted talents to each of his servants. Today we think of talents as a special ability. A talent in Jesus’ day was a measure of the weight of gold or silver so one talent in today’s equivalent would be about more than a million dollars. One servant was given 5, the second one two, and the third, one. When he left, the first servant immediately went and used the talents, maybe bought a boat and started fishing and sold fish. The second one probably went to Divisoria and bought stuff to sell. The third one dug a hole in the ground and hid it. 

When the Master came back after a long time, he called his servants and settled accounts with them. He was so happy that the first one doubled his talents that he exclaimed, “Well done, my good and faithful servant! Since you were faithful with small matters, I will put you in charge of many things! Come, share your master’s joy! Celebrate with me!” The same thing happened with the second servant who was also able to double the talents entrusted to him. 

But alas! The third servant received a tongue whipping! “Wicked and lazy! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten! Throw this useless servant into the darkness outside!” 

When we use our creativity and imagination, when we work hard, using the gifts and talents God generously gave each of us, we do experience joy! It is the same joy that God experienced in Genesis when He created the heavens and the earth. God totally revelled in making all the magnificent birds, fishes and flowers. He took great pleasure in forming the corals in Coron, the Niagara, Mount Everest, the VY Canis Majoris. “God saw that it was good,” is repeated so many times in Genesis. I believe that God wanted us to have that same kind of triumph and exhilaration when we too make something out of what has been given us. The first servant IMMEDIATELY went out to use the talents. He was that excited. We too should be excited to use whatever resources we have at our disposal. At the end, we will have to show God what we have done with the talents he gifted us with. I hope God will say to each of us, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the fullness of my joy!”