After all these years trying to understand the meaning of this parable, and God has provided me today with the Wisdom through Bishop Barron. It seems like I have received a talent of wisdom, I better not bury it. May God be our guide and our light!
Thank you Bishop Baron. At LAST I truly understand and appreciate the eternal truth conveyed in this parable. THIS is the Jesus I have come to know and love.
If Divine Mercy - aka Love of Christ is in you, you radiate it to the world. You view others as 'brothers' you feel empathy for them, you love them. Jesus make my heart unto Thine is their prayer!
As someone who is studying to be an Episcopal Priest, I have found your videos outstanding! I love your analysis of context and intellectual and spiritual, just as much as emotional observation of connection. I really respect that you also distinguish how these parables and scriptures would have been understood by the respective culture in the time! Thank you so much Fr. Robert Barron, I hope the Lord blesses you back in kind for the way you help others with understanding!
Absolutely astounding. This man is one of the reasons I am becoming a Catholic. He makes so much sense and speaks truth, even hard ones, with love and real insight. Keep on the good fight, Bishop Barron.
Thank you. As a Catechist, this has prepared me to teach. It unlocked the parable better than Dr. Brant Pitre's explanation, which is usually my go-to. In Catholicism the answer is almost always Both and never and or. I love it.
What an excellent teaching, .UNlike many other's on the same parable. NEVER ceases to amaze me...How Often GOD's WORD is constantly UNFOLDING w yet ANOTHER hidden Truth. Shalom.💜 @ BLESSings in Christ Messiah
I had heard a few times that Talents related to some amount of money or wealth, but the implication of that meaning had never really been explained. This certainly makes the parable a lot clearer. Thank you, Fr. Barron!
This video has been out for nine years and I've only now seen it. I must admit this is the best explanation on this parable I've ever heard. I suppose if I had to make a critique or push back, it would be that at the end the master calls the servant lazy. Not sure laziness fits with an omission on being merciful, but perhaps. Thanks Bishop Barron!
This was so profound and insightful. I wish every priest could give such a deep dive homily once a week on the readings at hand at Mass... Most interesting for me here, was the side-point you made about the Chabod of Yahweh - the weight of God's glory and mercy. I'd never heard of that concept before - and the "spiritual physics" of the Divine Mercy, as you put it. As a fan of the songwriter Nick Cave, and his intensely powerful song, "The Mercy Seat" (a meditation on the electric chair for a death row inmate), I was stunned to find out that the historical "mercy seat" is the top of the Ark of the Covenant, where God's mercy resided for the Israelites. Thanks so much for all of your youtube commentaries, and please keep them coming.
It's ALOT of Fun for me to get into some Etymology 😀 when studying Old @ New Testament. REALLY helps to understand the context as it was MEANT to be understood. ..lol. to say the least.
This guy went into Greek and Latin and whole bunch of fluff and tangents. Don't be distracted by the "Bishop" title. Or distracted by the etymology. Jesus' parables were literally given unto laypeople. Laypeople then and now understand one thing, capitalism. We share that with those to whom Jesus spoke to. I believe the parable meaning is this: To those that HAVE(be that in money/resources) you are expected to make good use of it(if we are God's servants, then that would mean using it to for what God would want that money to be used for) while you are here on this earth. If you have a large corp then help/give the way a large corp can help/give, if you have anything at all(your time) put it to use for your master that is your lord. Not too complex of an idea. It's literally like a quote from a Spiderman movie "with great power comes great responsibility"
This is truly opening up this Parable in an utterly new way from what I ever heard, understood or imagined. I'm so happy i came across this...thankyou!
This interpretation on the "Parable of the Talents" touched me in a very special way... the image of the young man holding something in his hand reminds me with a personnal experience... something like 'receiving a gift from above'... a small stone I found on the beach, no, no... it found me! I titled "Child Stone" and I should add... carried it in my pocket since, some thirty five years. And more... my appreciation for the clouds... the language of clouds. Bishop Barron, your interpretation is an inspiration! Thank you.
That makes so much sense! It goes back to when Jesus was with Simon , and he explained the parable of the two debtors. One owed fifty pence, one owed fifty hundred pence. They both had nothing to give back, the creditor forgave them both. The debtor with fifty hundred pence in debt will be more grateful because more was forgiven of him. The same applies here. Those who are given more mercy for their worse actions will be more grateful, and therefore will share more of it
I interpret the talents as mercy in the sense of sharing the good news instead of hiding the good news out of fear or laziness. "Faith without works is dead" in a different context. Also Luke 8:16-18.
Wow!! Wow! I had never considered this parable from your perspective. Perceiving myself as a one or two talent servant and suddenly realizing I am the five talent guy! I need to get busy!
Same theory you share will work for you... as it is already working for you. For that which God has given you, you have shared and by this i am blessed. i eyes have been opened to a totally new level of selfstanding. Thank you Padre
Everyone has a talent. Whether it’s being an athlete for baseball, basketball or football or soccer. But in my case, I’ve been given two different talents. 1. Sharing the Gospel any person that I encounter and it could be at work. 2. Sharing the Holy Rosary just like Saint Dominic and Saint Padre Pio did. And yes, I’m deeply grateful for what God has given me.
Thank you Fr, Barron. You enlightened me, I sure did think that it was unfair for the 3rd person to only get 1 talent. Now I understand what the gift really was!
This parable has troubled me for a long time. In fact, its apparent harshness is part of why I've found the Gospels so difficult to read - I've always felt the guy w/ one talent deserved a pastoral arm around his shoulder, rather than a bitter rebuke & condemnation. But now, thank you for bringing this contextual and theological understanding.
Frankly, I am lazy, rebellious, disobedient. When I'm enthused, it energizes my performance. We all need the grace of God to do the divine will of the Lord. That is why devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, trusting in the Divine Mercy is essential for serving God humbly, faithfully. The Holy Spirit is inspiring those of us in a state of grace, making our works and endeavors pleasing to the Most Holy Trinity.
Whats troubling to me is the last line in both parables - Matthew 25:30 - & Luke 19:27. This has always been one of my favorite parables yet I don't remember these 2 lines. In fact I've read entire books on these parables and they like here were not talked about...
I have seen a Talent at the Currency Museum in Ottawa. It was indeed "weighty!" I also saw a connection between this interpretation of the Talents and the parable of the servant who is forgiven much but is unforgiving of a tiny amount. Maybe that's just me though.
I just need to hear that today. So then i will continue to sing the songs God has given me inspite of the fact that i lack a good feeling for rythm and i'm always out of tune! Ach, Gott ist gut! Verdammt gut! Gruß Gott, Herr Bischof!
Yes. We were given the heaviest piece of news the world had ever received. It was freely given. Trying to buy it is a big mistake. Trying to sell it is a bigger mistake. The Truth of Christ’s identity,purpose, plan and message .The Good News. The most valuable thing in existence on earth. I think the term “candle “ replacing “talent” might be more illustrative of our “heavenly currency” for the purpose of my interpretation. The servants with multiple candles put them where they could shine the light of Christ’s truth for all to see and follow, guiding and bringing new servants into the fold. The servant that lost all put the candle God gave him under a bushel where it was wasted. I sure hope I’m right. I’m disabled and poor.
Jesus asks ALL of us to be MANAGERS, CEOs......not just spectators of life, to make TOUGH decisions between good and evil......he sees that ability, we do not need to climb corporate ladders to become managers! we already ARE. This also asks for courage! Managers need the courage to make decisions........Do NOT play it safe by DOING nothing!... Those are people who make no sins but also make no good. They limit themselves by beeing overly cautious in everything, unable to make decisions... practically relying on their own strength..which without trust in God makes 0.
Thank you that's a great way of considering it.this week in particular I am amazed by the different exegesis expressed by yourself and Brant Petri. Both make you think differently. The layers of the onion peeling back!
The talent may represent God's mercy. But it could just as easily represent faith. We have an obligation to spread the faith that God has given us to others, in proportion to what God has given us. The talent could also represent personal holiness. When somebody is made holy by the grace of God, he should try his best to grow in holiness to the best of his ability.
This is sort of like Pope Francis' interpretation yesterday (15 Nov 2020) in both his homily and Angelus for the "World Day of the Poor," but, I'm sorry, Bishop, Francis was more direct and surprising! To the last servant who buried his talent, the Master says: "“You ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest” (v. 27). Francis continues: "Who are the 'bankers' who can provide us with long-term interest? They are the poor. Do not forget: the poor are at the heart of the Gospel; we cannot understand the Gospel without the poor." He turns capitalism on its head! We invest in the poor--the bankers!--with our service of love, and so multiply the benefits of grace. God bless you, Bishop Barron, I follow you...religiously!
Milton's famous pun on 'Talent' When I consider how my light is spent, Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide, And that one Talent which is death to hide Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent To serve therewith my Maker, and present My true account, lest he returning chide; “Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?” I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed And post o’er Land and Ocean without rest: They also serve who only stand and wait.” I think this is a somewhat more sophisticated reading of the Parable of the Talents
Amazingly done Father Barron. Aside from your connection to the prodigal son, another parable to be drawn from your video is Matthew 18:21-35 (Parable of the unmerciful servant.) The servant, who was indebted, received amnesty from his master, derive a point from your video, he received God's mercy. With this mercy, he made it his own (and therefore nonexistent because it ceased being God's mercy) by not being merciful with an even lesser servant who owed him money. Say, had he been merciful with the lesser servant, perhaps he would've seen his "talents" increase tenfold. Yet he lost this mercy/these talents by being vengeful. and ultimately landed himself into a state of torment. The point to be drawn from God's mercy from the story in the talents (If I'm understanding you correctly) can be best summarized with CS Lewis,"“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” Thank you so much for your insight Father, and God bless.
Thank you!!! I wrangled with this parable for a while. Your comments helped me draft a personal interpretation I assume the talent itself was used not just for extracting value (I.e. Margin) but for strengthening an economy through exchange within the lords community. Buried wealth has no value, whereas wealth deployed and returned demonstrates comprehension of the needs (and values) within a community. I assumed that within the Kingdom of this lord, a lord in the eyes of Jesus, the means within this kingdom & by these servants would be used in a mutually beneficial exchange (health, nourishment, carpentry etc). An ideal without undue extraction of wealth, but good hard productive turnover. Where a buried coin (or a coin wrapped in cloth) is conservative to the point of fear and restrictive of the motivations within that community.... serving only self preservation and not the community. My take away: “A dormant talent has no value to oneself or ones community. It is the responsibility of those who have to provide ... the will of the lord! Amen.”
Is this right? The talents represent God's love. It is a gift, given freely through Jesus, recalling that Jesus died for us even though we didn't deserve His sacrifice. Receiving this gift can go different ways: 1. You realise that Jesus died for you. Overwhelmed by this unimaginable act of love, you devote your life to God. You show others love, just as Jesus did. You die for others, just as Jesus did. And in this way, the "talents multiply through fruitful investment" - the more people see your acts of love, they love as well, and they are turned towards God. But... (and this is what I'm doing sometimes)... 2. You are so touched by the love of Christ but you don't feel the need to share it. You don't go out to love others, to do good works, to demonstrate the love of God to others. Instead you just keep it to yourself. Eg. I would go to Church and that's it - I knew Jesus loved me, but I didn't talk about it, I "buried it" in a way. And in another way, I bury it by occasionally thinking about Jesus love for me and then forgetting about it when life takes me over. To those who have more of God's love, and "invest" it, will come to know God more deeply and know His love more deeply.
I always saw the talents as gifts form God (money, skill, etc) He expects us to use to help the least fortunate. And with those, come responsibilities (a la Spiderman), hence the "Weight", because as you were given, you will have to account for (hence the rich and powerful better be ready to account for how did they use their power, and the people who were given next to nothing have precisely next to nothing to account for). Thus, they are all told "I gave you this gift, which you did not earn and I could have given to anyone else, but gave it to you: WHAT DID YOU DO WITH IT (how did you use it)?" The servants generating more talents means "I used it to help others in X or Y ways", how much depending on how many talents each received, and precisely each generated in proportion to what they were given, and the ruler congratulates each equally and rewards them despite having "produced" different amounts (but each accordingly to what they were given). Right after this comes the Final Judgement section, which makes it obvious what "what did you with what I gave you" means (how did you use your unearned gifts to help others?) in case you wonder where I get that interpretation from. It's never been about generating more wealth per se (and especially just for your own benefit), but to benefit your fellow man. Talents are a BURDEN, and the one who buried his precisely acts like he did not want to b burdened by it, and is why he is punished. Anyone who saw Good Will Hunting can get this (Will "burying his talent" means wasting his gift, which Affleck tells him he and many others would give an arm and a leg for, and insults them to see him wasting it for he did NOT earn it and they could have received it but did not). I don't know about Protestants or Orthodox, but us Catholics have always been given this clear interpretation (talents = gifts you are expected to use for others and will be asked to account for) in Catechism...
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.
After all these years trying to understand the meaning of this parable, and God has provided me today with the Wisdom through Bishop Barron.
It seems like I have received a talent of wisdom, I better not bury it.
May God be our guide and our light!
Best explanation of this parable I have heard
Thankyou bish
Thank you Bishop Baron. At LAST I truly understand and appreciate the eternal truth conveyed in this parable. THIS is the Jesus I have come to know and love.
"The one thing you can't do is cling to it or bury it." It does indeed still sing to us across the ages! Thank you.
If Divine Mercy - aka Love of Christ is in you, you radiate it to the world. You view others as 'brothers' you feel empathy for them, you love them. Jesus make my heart unto Thine is their prayer!
thank you Bishop! Always connected to Divine Mercy!
As someone who is studying to be an Episcopal Priest, I have found your videos outstanding! I love your analysis of context and intellectual and spiritual, just as much as emotional observation of connection. I really respect that you also distinguish how these parables and scriptures would have been understood by the respective culture in the time! Thank you so much Fr. Robert Barron, I hope the Lord blesses you back in kind for the way you help others with understanding!
Why not become a Catholic priest. You can be a great blessing to our Church. Our Church can use your help.
I love your username
It's been 9 years since your comment. Hope you're a Catholic priest now 😏
Incredibly clear and amazingly profound. Thank you very much for this Fr. Barron. Blessings.
"Divine Mercy only knows how to give." Thanks for the insight! By God's grace, I wish to become this person.
You are doing Great!
Absolutely astounding. This man is one of the reasons I am becoming a Catholic. He makes so much sense and speaks truth, even hard ones, with love and real insight. Keep on the good fight, Bishop Barron.
Thank you. As a Catechist, this has prepared me to teach. It unlocked the parable better than Dr. Brant Pitre's explanation, which is usually my go-to. In Catholicism the answer is almost always Both and never and or. I love it.
Lord lead us in life each day . Amen
I've been struggling to understand this parable for weeks, and this is the first explanation that makes sense! Thank you!
What an excellent teaching, .UNlike many other's on the same parable. NEVER ceases to amaze me...How Often GOD's WORD is constantly UNFOLDING w yet ANOTHER hidden Truth. Shalom.💜 @ BLESSings in Christ Messiah
Thank you Father for shedding light on this parable!
Oh thank you for such a great description of this Parable. I really needed to understand this.
Izvrsno tumačenje! Od srca hvala! 🙏
"the weightiest thing of all is the inexhaustible mercy of God."
Isn’t that beautiful ❤ I never understood this Parable until
Now.
This is the best exposition of the Parable of the Talent. Profound! Thank you, Bishop Barron.
I had heard a few times that Talents related to some amount of money or wealth, but the implication of that meaning had never really been explained. This certainly makes the parable a lot clearer. Thank you, Fr. Barron!
Absolutely beautiful (and brilliant)! Thank you!
This video has been out for nine years and I've only now seen it. I must admit this is the best explanation on this parable I've ever heard. I suppose if I had to make a critique or push back, it would be that at the end the master calls the servant lazy. Not sure laziness fits with an omission on being merciful, but perhaps. Thanks Bishop Barron!
Outstanding Father, thank you!
You got me shook, Bishop! Lol! This is the first time this parable came together completely for me. Thank you so much...
This was so profound and insightful. I wish every priest could give such a deep dive homily once a week on the readings at hand at Mass... Most interesting for me here, was the side-point you made about the Chabod of Yahweh - the weight of God's glory and mercy. I'd never heard of that concept before - and the "spiritual physics" of the Divine Mercy, as you put it. As a fan of the songwriter Nick Cave, and his intensely powerful song, "The Mercy Seat" (a meditation on the electric chair for a death row inmate), I was stunned to find out that the historical "mercy seat" is the top of the Ark of the Covenant, where God's mercy resided for the Israelites. Thanks so much for all of your youtube commentaries, and please keep them coming.
Etymology is an underappreciated tool.
So important
I love etymology
It's ALOT of Fun for me to get into some Etymology 😀 when studying Old @ New Testament. REALLY helps to understand the context as it was MEANT to be understood. ..lol. to say the least.
This guy went into Greek and Latin and whole bunch of fluff and tangents. Don't be distracted by the "Bishop" title. Or distracted by the etymology. Jesus' parables were literally given unto laypeople. Laypeople then and now understand one thing, capitalism. We share that with those to whom Jesus spoke to. I believe the parable meaning is this: To those that HAVE(be that in money/resources) you are expected to make good use of it(if we are God's servants, then that would mean using it to for what God would want that money to be used for) while you are here on this earth. If you have a large corp then help/give the way a large corp can help/give, if you have anything at all(your time) put it to use for your master that is your lord.
Not too complex of an idea. It's literally like a quote from a Spiderman movie "with great power comes great responsibility"
AMAZING! Thank you.
Father, this was an absolutely brilliant explanation.
This is truly opening up this Parable in an utterly new way from what I ever heard, understood or imagined. I'm so happy i came across this...thankyou!
This interpretation on the "Parable of the Talents" touched me in a very special way... the image of the young man holding something in his hand reminds me with a personnal experience... something like 'receiving a gift from above'... a small stone I found on the beach, no, no... it found me! I titled "Child Stone" and I should add... carried it in my pocket since, some thirty five years. And more... my appreciation for the clouds... the language of clouds. Bishop Barron, your interpretation is an inspiration! Thank you.
Excellent explanation for a notoriously confusing (today at least) parable. Thanks!
Thank you for using your 'Talent ' in clearing/unpacking this Parable for me.
Of the varying interpretations I have come across, this one seems to hit closest to The character of Yahweh. Thank you, Bishop Barron
Thank you Fr. Barron. You throw light to the Parable of the Talents.
That makes so much sense! It goes back to when Jesus was with Simon , and he explained the parable of the two debtors. One owed fifty pence, one owed fifty hundred pence. They both had nothing to give back, the creditor forgave them both. The debtor with fifty hundred pence in debt will be more grateful because more was forgiven of him. The same applies here. Those who are given more mercy for their worse actions will be more grateful, and therefore will share more of it
Thank you bishop Barron beautifully explained along with the follow up of prodigal son story. I strive daily to attain this grace.
What a blessed awakening!Thank you , Father Baron.
Fr. Barron, I thank you for your continual insights into the scriptures, they are of great help to me.
God Bless you.
I interpret the talents as mercy in the sense of sharing the good news instead of hiding the good news out of fear or laziness. "Faith without works is dead" in a different context. Also Luke 8:16-18.
Yes ( 7 years later)
Wow!! Wow! I had never considered this parable from your perspective. Perceiving myself as a one or two talent servant and suddenly realizing I am the five talent guy! I need to get busy!
Thank you Bishop Barron
Same theory you share will work for you... as it is already working for you. For that which God has given you, you have shared and by this i am blessed. i eyes have been opened to a totally new level of selfstanding. Thank you Padre
Everyone has a talent. Whether it’s being an athlete for baseball, basketball or football or soccer. But in my case, I’ve been given two different talents.
1. Sharing the Gospel any person that I encounter and it could be at work.
2. Sharing the Holy Rosary just like Saint Dominic and Saint Padre Pio did. And yes, I’m deeply grateful for what God has given me.
What a genius! No temporary Christian figure compares to him. These commentaries should be published as a book!
Excellent reflection. There is novelty in bishop Robert Barron's interpretation.
FINALLY I understand! Thank you, Father.
I think you nailed this, Bishop Barron. Good exegetical and hermeneutical work.
Good explanation...thanks Father...and Yeah God!
Thank you Fr, Barron. You enlightened me, I sure did think that it was unfair for the 3rd person to only get 1 talent. Now I understand what the gift really was!
👍👍good to know...Jesus help us be merciful
Wonderful explanation - thank you for sharing Fr. Barron, God Bless you.
Thank you for this clarification on a tricky parable, Fr. Barron.
5, 2 AND 1 TALENT
Thank you for putting this out there on the interwebs for us! 🤙🏼
This parable has troubled me for a long time. In fact, its apparent harshness is part of why I've found the Gospels so difficult to read - I've always felt the guy w/ one talent deserved a pastoral arm around his shoulder, rather than a bitter rebuke & condemnation. But now, thank you for bringing this contextual and theological understanding.
*mindblown* Thank you, Bishop!!
Frankly, I am lazy, rebellious, disobedient. When I'm enthused, it energizes my performance. We all need the grace of God to do the divine will of the Lord. That is why devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, trusting in the Divine Mercy is essential for serving God humbly, faithfully. The Holy Spirit is inspiring those of us in a state of grace, making our works and endeavors pleasing to the Most Holy Trinity.
That simple...thank you Fr. Barron
Fr Barron your putting in play this talent very well in explaining for those who don't understand 👍
Whats troubling to me is the last line in both parables - Matthew 25:30 - & Luke 19:27. This has always been one of my favorite parables yet I don't remember these 2 lines. In fact I've read entire books on these parables and they like here were not talked about...
The best explanation of the parable I've ever heard
Beautifully ... and helpfully, explained. Thank you. 🙏
I have seen a Talent at the Currency Museum in Ottawa. It was indeed "weighty!" I also saw a connection between this interpretation of the Talents and the parable of the servant who is forgiven much but is unforgiving of a tiny amount. Maybe that's just me though.
A far more worthwhile understanding. Thank you.
That was a pretty "heavy" analysis. Thank you bishop!
Glory to thee O Lord! 🙏🏽❤️☦️
I just need to hear that today. So then i will continue to sing the songs God has given me inspite of the fact that i lack a good feeling for rythm and i'm always out of tune! Ach, Gott ist gut! Verdammt gut! Gruß Gott, Herr Bischof!
Awesome insight. God bless you 😌🙏
Yes. We were given the heaviest piece of news the world had ever received. It was freely given. Trying to buy it is a big mistake. Trying to sell it is a bigger mistake. The Truth of Christ’s identity,purpose, plan and message .The Good News. The most valuable thing in existence on earth.
I think the term “candle “ replacing “talent” might be more illustrative of our “heavenly currency” for the purpose of my interpretation.
The servants with multiple candles put them where they could shine the light of Christ’s truth for all to see and follow, guiding and bringing new servants into the fold. The servant that lost all put the candle God gave him under a bushel where it was wasted.
I sure hope I’m right. I’m disabled and poor.
Jesus asks ALL of us to be MANAGERS, CEOs......not just spectators of life, to make TOUGH decisions between good and evil......he sees that ability, we do not need to climb corporate ladders to become managers! we already ARE. This also asks for courage! Managers need the courage to make decisions........Do NOT play it safe by DOING nothing!... Those are people who make no sins but also make no good. They limit themselves by beeing overly cautious in everything, unable to make decisions... practically relying on their own strength..which without trust in God makes 0.
Thank you that's a great way of considering it.this week in particular I am amazed by the different exegesis expressed by yourself and Brant Petri. Both make you think differently. The layers of the onion peeling back!
thank you so much
Excellent! Very accurate and very well shared. You are always a blessing.
Those who sin are salves of sin! He who is born of God, will not continue to sin, for God seed remains in him!😊
The talent may represent God's mercy. But it could just as easily represent faith. We have an obligation to spread the faith that God has given us to others, in proportion to what God has given us. The talent could also represent personal holiness. When somebody is made holy by the grace of God, he should try his best to grow in holiness to the best of his ability.
Your insights are Gold ! I believe you .. i trust you .. Words of fire .. Legit : )
Wonderful unpacking and explanation of “The Talents”. BTW.. I’ve never heard you ask for money or donations. I find that very refreshing. Bless you.
But he and the "Word on Fire" ministry could definitely use your sharing some of your gifts with them!
@@JoeF-nr6jq let’s both pray, “Where two or more...”
Great explanation
This is sort of like Pope Francis' interpretation yesterday (15 Nov 2020) in both his homily and Angelus for the "World Day of the Poor," but, I'm sorry, Bishop, Francis was more direct and surprising! To the last servant who buried his talent, the Master says: "“You ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest” (v. 27). Francis continues: "Who are the 'bankers' who can provide us with long-term interest? They are the poor. Do not forget: the poor are at the heart of the Gospel; we cannot understand the Gospel without the poor." He turns capitalism on its head! We invest in the poor--the bankers!--with our service of love, and so multiply the benefits of grace. God bless you, Bishop Barron, I follow you...religiously!
Wow thanks for the excellent insight 💯
Thank you,
Brilliant insight
Wow. Thank you so much.
your teaching has more inside. God bless you for using your talent to reach out to many people.
thanks a great blessing
Thank you, always enjoy your insights...."Spiritual Physics"...NICE :)
TL;DR: Go forth and spread the good news!
Milton's famous pun on 'Talent'
When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide;
“Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”
I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o’er Land and Ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait.”
I think this is a somewhat more sophisticated reading of the Parable of the Talents
I was looking to the talents according to their ability.
Amen and Amen
Perfect theme for today. .
Check out Christian Prince
Amazingly done Father Barron. Aside from your connection to the prodigal son, another parable to be drawn from your video is Matthew 18:21-35 (Parable of the unmerciful servant.) The servant, who was indebted, received amnesty from his master, derive a point from your video, he received God's mercy. With this mercy, he made it his own (and therefore nonexistent because it ceased being God's mercy) by not being merciful with an even lesser servant who owed him money. Say, had he been merciful with the lesser servant, perhaps he would've seen his "talents" increase tenfold. Yet he lost this mercy/these talents by being vengeful. and ultimately landed himself into a state of torment.
The point to be drawn from God's mercy from the story in the talents (If I'm understanding you correctly) can be best summarized with CS Lewis,"“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”
Thank you so much for your insight Father, and God bless.
Thank you!!!
I wrangled with this parable for a while. Your comments helped me draft a personal interpretation
I assume the talent itself was used not just for extracting value (I.e. Margin) but for strengthening an economy through exchange within the lords community.
Buried wealth has no value, whereas wealth deployed and returned demonstrates comprehension of the needs (and values) within a community.
I assumed that within the Kingdom of this lord, a lord in the eyes of Jesus, the means within this kingdom & by these servants would be used in a mutually beneficial exchange (health, nourishment, carpentry etc). An ideal without undue extraction of wealth, but good hard productive turnover.
Where a buried coin (or a coin wrapped in cloth) is conservative to the point of fear and restrictive of the motivations within that community.... serving only self preservation and not the community.
My take away: “A dormant talent has no value to oneself or ones community. It is the responsibility of those who have to provide ... the will of the lord! Amen.”
It reminds me of C.S. Lewis', "The Weight of Glory"
Relistened…….thank you
Is this right?
The talents represent God's love. It is a gift, given freely through Jesus, recalling that Jesus died for us even though we didn't deserve His sacrifice.
Receiving this gift can go different ways:
1. You realise that Jesus died for you. Overwhelmed by this unimaginable act of love, you devote your life to God. You show others love, just as Jesus did. You die for others, just as Jesus did. And in this way, the "talents multiply through fruitful investment" - the more people see your acts of love, they love as well, and they are turned towards God.
But... (and this is what I'm doing sometimes)...
2. You are so touched by the love of Christ but you don't feel the need to share it. You don't go out to love others, to do good works, to demonstrate the love of God to others. Instead you just keep it to yourself. Eg. I would go to Church and that's it - I knew Jesus loved me, but I didn't talk about it, I "buried it" in a way. And in another way, I bury it by occasionally thinking about Jesus love for me and then forgetting about it when life takes me over.
To those who have more of God's love, and "invest" it, will come to know God more deeply and know His love more deeply.
There is another way this parable can be unpackaged
How do you share divine mercy?
MrJijack make other people feel good ? use peace, love, and understanding?
I always saw the talents as gifts form God (money, skill, etc) He expects us to use to help the least fortunate.
And with those, come responsibilities (a la Spiderman), hence the "Weight", because as you were given, you will have to account for (hence the rich and powerful better be ready to account for how did they use their power, and the people who were given next to nothing have precisely next to nothing to account for).
Thus, they are all told "I gave you this gift, which you did not earn and I could have given to anyone else, but gave it to you: WHAT DID YOU DO WITH IT (how did you use it)?"
The servants generating more talents means "I used it to help others in X or Y ways", how much depending on how many talents each received, and precisely each generated in proportion to what they were given, and the ruler congratulates each equally and rewards them despite having "produced" different amounts (but each accordingly to what they were given).
Right after this comes the Final Judgement section, which makes it obvious what "what did you with what I gave you" means (how did you use your unearned gifts to help others?) in case you wonder where I get that interpretation from.
It's never been about generating more wealth per se (and especially just for your own benefit), but to benefit your fellow man.
Talents are a BURDEN, and the one who buried his precisely acts like he did not want to b burdened by it, and is why he is punished.
Anyone who saw Good Will Hunting can get this (Will "burying his talent" means wasting his gift, which Affleck tells him he and many others would give an arm and a leg for, and insults them to see him wasting it for he did NOT earn it and they could have received it but did not).
I don't know about Protestants or Orthodox, but us Catholics have always been given this clear interpretation (talents = gifts you are expected to use for others and will be asked to account for) in Catechism...
Great enlighten