We return to the Gospel of Matthew today from our regular daily readings of Luke and the well-knownParable of the Talents. The man is about to embark on a journey and before leaving he entrusts his servants with talents; the first with five talents, the second with two, and the third one. Scripture scholars debate on the exact amount of a talent and any definitive number is lost to us today. The point is that it was a significantly large sum.
Even more important than the amount, God has given each of us unique gifts and has charged us to invest in making the kingdom of God present and relevant to others. Fear and anxiety, doubt and worry, insecurities and past wounds, can all be embodied in the third servant. A full range of temptations, distractions, diversions, and disorder goods can arise in all of us.
There have been many times where I have felt the nudge of the Holy Spirit to invest the talent the Lord had given me. Yet, throughout my life since my early youth, I have been like the wicked servant and buried my talent. The good news is that the Holy Spirit never gave up on me nor would he allow myself to give up on myself. He kept nudging, and slowly, I began to follow. I continue to improve on hearing God’s voice, follow his will and walk the path he lights ahead of me.
One particular area of significant growth over the years was moving from being petrified to speak in public to now experiencing consolation. Still my default position is not to speak if I have a choice, but when the nudge of the Holy Spirit comes now, I say, “Yes.” Even this weekend when I will not be preaching at Mass, instead of thinking I dodged a bullet, I miss the opportunity to share what the Holy Spirit gives me to share.
Had I allowed myself to be governed by anxiety, I would not have ever mustered the courage to ask out JoAnn, to pursue the vocation of a teacher, deacon, or now priest. The biggest shift for me in dealing with anxiety and fear has been learning most recently to resist suppressing or fighting these emotions. Instead, I breathe into and embrace them, continue to breathe and identify where I am holding the emotions in my body and breathing in those places until the physical tension releases. Beginning to feel safer, with the Holy Spirit’s help, I then seek to identify the voices I am listing to. Then I give the whole experience to my loving God and Father. He receives them, then loves, consoles, and affirms me.
That is the rhythm we have all been created to participate in. When I first embarked on this path of sharing reflections daily on the Gospel through social media, I was not sure how it would be received or if it would be received. Even with the doubts and trepidation, I trusted that God was inspiring me. He has given me the words to type each day. 2,934 posts later I continue type away on this keyboard and it has become a wonderful practice of prayer with God’s living Word that brings me such peace.
Each of us have been graced with a talent! God has given us something for us to share in our own unique way. Trust in those intuitions of the Holy Spirit’s inspiration. Say yes to sharing your unique gift(s) to help bring God’s light and healing to a tired and weary world. If we give into fear, cling to, or sit on them, they will wither and fade. When we share them they will multiply. The best way is to start small, take baby steps. Each time we step out of our comfort zone we take a risk. True enough, but God will provide the means and he will send others to support and help us to fulfill what he calls each of us to accomplish. Also, realize that it is God’s work and not our’s. We are inspired to express and not impress through our words, actions, and/or faces.
Photo: Time for Holy Hour. My prayers will be with you as we continue to journey together to share the joy, mercy, love, and glory God gives to us to share!
