Risk your money

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary speak to the response we should have to the great gifts we have received from God. Paul addresses the Corinthians with a reminder that they are not members of intellectual, social or political elites. In the eyes of society, they are simple insignificant people. FriarJude Winkler notes that many were in the merchant class and some were slaves. Paul exhorts them to accept the gifts from God which will be given, by them, to others so that the power of God will be demonstrated in the foolish who have wisdom and the poor who have spiritual richness. The Gospel of Matthew is one of Jesus discourses on action in anticipation of the final judgement. FatherRobert Barron discusses this “parable of the talents” with many references to being on the edge of the Christian paradox. In the phrase often attributed to St Francis, “it is in giving that we receive”. Fr Barron sees the theme, which resonates with commercial affairs, of investment, risk and return. North American culture understands this ethic in terms of entrepreneurship. The facts of this parable tells us that the servants are gifted with an enormous amount of wealth so the attitude of the one who “hid the talents” is understandable as that of those who have made it and have the income security to carry them home. The conclusion is that the gifts we have, financial, social, political, emotional, intellectual, entertaining, greeting, forgiving, compassionate, empathetic, strategic are lost if we hold them or in Father Barron’s words “privatize them”. The commercial model most applicable to Christian life is risk rather than conserve.