“Should you not then have put my money in the bank”

The Gospel reading had to do with investing and taking risks. The two servants went out and traded with the money they were given, taking some risks, while the third was fearful and did not even try. With our spiritual talents, if we truly love God, we need to be willing to take a “risk” and share our talents with others. As we find out, those who take the “risk” with their spiritual talents will gain from it.
 
Why does Jesus call the third servant lazy? The third servant used a petty excuse of the Master’s anger to justify the fact that he was being lazy, putting the talent into the ground, acting as if it was his to keep. The opposite of laziness is diligence. The Latin root of diligence is ‘diligere’, to love, to choose after careful study. [1]
 
“Man was created to know, love and serve God in this life. Then he is to see him and possess him in Heaven. When God is known well, it is not hard to love him. And when God is truly loved, it is not difficult to serve him. Nor is it humiliating. In fact, it even becomes a pleasure to serve him. A person who truly loves does not even think that it is degrading and dishonorable to serve his beloved. He never feels humiliated while serving the one he loves. Now then, the third servant knew his master well. At least he had as many opportunities to know him as the other two servants had. And in spite of that it is obvious that he did not love him. And when love is missing, serving becomes very difficult.” [2]
 
Why should we take risks? When we are given so much, more is expected from us. This was not the first time Jesus said this. “To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (Mat. 13:12) God gives more and less of His grace and the gifts He wants us to use to build His Kingdom. When we are afraid of giving ourselves to God and neighbor, God will not want to give us more because He knows we will just squander it.

In our “What is the ground that we bury our talent in?” The ground is our fear. It is fear that will keep us from telling others about Christ and His Church. In the Entrance Antiphon God says He will bring us back from the lands that we are help captive. Fear holds us captive. If we bury our talents, we are held captive and it is only God that can bring us back from this captivity.
 
We are called to Evangelize. Several years ago, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI called for a Year of Faith, which was centered on the New Evangelization. In the video the Holy Father Emeritus speaks of leading people out of the desert. This desert is similar to the ground that the talents are buried in. During the Year of Faith, we must unearth our talents, loose our fears and trust in God’s mercy and grace.
 
In what ways is sharing the Faith with others risky?

Read this document written by the Holy Father Emeritus on the establishment of the new pontifical council for promoting the new evangelization. If we live this document out, talents everywhere and always will cease to be buried, but rather shared with the whole world regardless of the risk.
 
Why did the servant bury the talent? What keeps him from investing it? It was not uncommon for people at that time to bury money. It is similar to those who hid their money under their mattress back in the 1930’s. The third man keeps from investing out of fear of the master’s anger. It is true that the owner is a demanding one [3], but he also expected something rather than nothing. In the responsorial psalm, the refrain is “Blessed are those who fear the Lord”. (Ps 128) Fear of the Lord is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and helps “confirm the virtue of hope and impels a man to a profound respect for the majesty of God.” [4] If the servant had respect for his master, “he could at least have invested the sum with money lenders, who gave an excellent rate of interest in NT [New Testament] times.” [5]
 
What if we fail when we take a risk? We can never fail if we truly use our talents in charity. Our talents are God’s talents, and if we use them but are rejected, then they are rejecting God. When we die, Jesus will look to see how we used our talents. If we used everything we could and those around us denied them, He will still show mercy to us. Many times it takes courage to step out of our comfort zone and stretch our selves. The servant who buried his talent was too afraid to even try. We, on the other hand, should never be afraid to use our God given talents.
 
“One of the greatest Catholic thinkers of the 20^th century was a Swiss priest named Hans Urs von Balthasar.  He once pointed out that one of the most frequently used words in the book of Acts was the Greek word parrhesia, meaning cheerful boldness in the face of danger or opposition.  Without such boldness, Christianity would have stalled in Palestine.  It never would have made it to Antioch, Greece, and Rome.
 
Faithfulness to God means having the courage to take bold initiatives, in pastoral life, family life, and business, to be creative, even entrepreneurial, to express our gratitude to God for all that He has given us by making it grow.” [6] 

[1] In Conversation with God 5, 82.1
[2] F. Suarez, The Afterlife, pg. 106
[3] Jerome Biblical Commentary Mat. 43:176
[4] The Catholic Catechism pg. 205
[5] Jerome Biblical Commentary Mat. 43:176
[6]  http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/pics/Parable_Talents.pdf