20221116 REALIZING OUR POTENTIALS
16 November, 2022, Wednesday, 33rd Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Apocalypse 4:1-11 © |
He was, he is, and he is to come
In my vision, I, John, saw a door open in heaven and heard the same voice speaking to me, the voice like a trumpet, saying, ‘Come up here: I will show you what is to come in the future.’ With that, the Spirit possessed me and I saw a throne standing in heaven, and the One who was sitting on the throne, and the Person sitting there looked like a diamond and a ruby. There was a rainbow encircling the throne, and this looked like an emerald. Round the throne in a circle were twenty-four thrones, and on them I saw twenty-four elders sitting, dressed in white robes with golden crowns on their heads. Flashes of lightning were coming from the throne, and the sound of peals of thunder, and in front of the throne there were seven flaming lamps burning, the seven Spirits of God. Between the throne and myself was a sea that seemed to be made of glass, like crystal. In the centre, grouped round the throne itself, were four animals with many eyes, in front and behind. The first animal was like a lion, the second like a bull, the third animal had a human face, and the fourth animal was like a flying eagle. Each of the four animals had six wings and had eyes all the way round as well as inside; and day and night they never stopped singing:
‘Holy, Holy, Holy
is the Lord God, the Almighty;
he was, he is and he is to come.’
Every time the animals glorified and honoured and gave thanks to the One sitting on the throne, who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders prostrated themselves before him to worship the One who lives for ever and ever, and threw down their crowns in front of the throne, saying, ‘You are our Lord and our God, you are worthy of glory and honour and power, because you made all the universe and it was only by your will that everything was made and exists.’
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 150 © |
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty.
or
Alleluia!
Praise God in his holy place,
praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his powerful deeds,
praise his surpassing greatness.
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty.
or
Alleluia!
O praise him with sound of trumpet,
praise him with lute and harp.
Praise him with timbrel and dance,
praise him with strings and pipes.
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty.
or
Alleluia!
O praise him with resounding cymbals,
praise him with clashing of cymbals.
Let everything that lives and that breathes
give praise to the Lord.
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | 1Jn2:5 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Whenever anyone obeys what Christ has said,
God’s love comes to perfection in him.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.Jn15:16 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I chose you from the world
to go out and bear fruit,
fruit that will last,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 19:11-28 © |
The parable of the talents
While the people were listening, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and they imagined that the kingdom of God was going to show itself then and there. Accordingly he said, ‘A man of noble birth went to a distant country to be appointed king and afterwards return. He summoned ten of his servants and gave them ten pounds. “Do business with these” he told them “until I get back.” But his compatriots detested him and sent a delegation to follow him with this message, “We do not want this man to be our king.”
‘Now on his return, having received his appointment as king, he sent for those servants to whom he had given the money, to find out what profit each had made. The first came in and said, “Sir, your one pound has brought in ten.” “Well done, my good servant!” he replied “Since you have proved yourself faithful in a very small thing, you shall have the government of ten cities.” Then came the second and said, “Sir, your one pound has made five.” To this one also he said, “And you shall be in charge of five cities.” Next came the other and said, “Sir, here is your pound. I put it away safely in a piece of linen because I was afraid of you; for you are an exacting man: you pick up what you have not put down and reap what you have not sown.” “You wicked servant!” he said “Out of your own mouth I condemn you. So you knew I was an exacting man, picking up what I have not put down and reaping what I have not sown? Then why did you not put my money in the bank? On my return I could have drawn it out with interest.” And he said to those standing by, “Take the pound from him and give it to the man who has ten pounds.” And they said to him, “But, sir, he has ten pounds…”. “I tell you, to everyone who has will be given more; but from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
‘“But as for my enemies who did not want me for their king, bring them here and execute them in my presence.”’
When he had said this he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
REALIZING OUR POTENTIALS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [REV 4:1-11; LUKE 19:11-28]
We all have different gifts and talents in life. Some of us are more privileged than others. Many things in life are givens, our status, our health, our family and even our wealth. Often, those who are less gifted than others tend to envy those who have more. We are always looking at the greener pastures. As a result, we can become resentful, envious and bitter against society and against God. People who are never satisfied can never find happiness in life. Conversely, we have the so-called fortunate people. They seem to be blessed with all the good things in life, health, talents, wealth, loving family, status, influential connections and good careers. Yet, they are not happy. Wealth is a double-edged sword. We can use it for good or abuse it. Failure to use it well will lead to our own destruction.
Consequently, regardless of what gifts and talents the Lord has blessed us with, we are called to be grateful and be contented with what we have. There is no need to desire more or less. Being contented is what brings us real happiness in life. But what does it mean to be contented? Does it mean that we are to be complacent and irresponsible? Does it mean that a contented person has no zeal, no passion and no ambition? Does contentment equate with being irresponsible with our gifts? Being contented is to make full use of what we have for our growth and the service of humanity. It means that we are always acting in full capacity at any point of time. We are not working or doing less, yet we are not over-exerting ourselves at the expense of our health, peace of mind and relationship with our loved ones. It means that we are always realizing our potentials in life, always growing and always living a life of fulfilment. How can we cultivate such a disposition?
Firstly, we must know our place in life. As the gospel tells us, we are the servants of God. He is our king who has given us certain responsibilities in life in His kingdom. We are His subjects. Like the vision in the first reading, we are called to render total submission to the king as the 24 elders did. All of us, regardless of our status in life, must glorify God. They “honoured and gave thanks to the One sitting on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders prostrated themselves before him to worship the One who lives for ever and ever, and threw down their crowns in front of the throne.” Even the four animals, whether it was the mighty lion, the sacrificial ox, the biggest of all birds or the human person, all are called to glorify God each in our own ways, “singing: “‘Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty; he was, he is and he is to come.'”
Secondly, we must understand the inexorable laws of nature. The principle of life is that we are happy only when we are full-filled. That is to say, we are in a state of fullness. Different people have different capacities. It is like eating. When we eat more than our stomach can hold, it becomes a sacrifice and no longer a joy. The joy of eating is in eating just enough. Beyond that, there is decreasing satisfaction. In the same way, there is no need to envy those who have more, whether it is food or a better job because if we are given a responsibility that is more than we can manage, it will be the death of us. We would be so stressed every day that our health and relationships will break down. So in life, in all things, we must seek to arrive at the optimum. That is why greed and gluttony will destroy a person’s health and happiness.
The second law of nature is that we can grow in capacity. But this is not something done overnight. Like a child, we need to learn how to crawl before we learn how to walk and then run. Contentment does not mean complacency and indifference to growth. Rather, it means taking our growth seriously. And as we grow in strength, in knowledge, skills and experience, we can handle more and more. This explains why the man who made ten talents was given ten cities to govern. To give him less would underutilize his talents. But he should not be given more either because it might be too difficult for him to manage. Hence, the man who produced five pounds was given five cities to look after.
The third principle of the law of nature is that those who prove themselves to be “faithful in a very small thing” could then be in charge of greater things. There are some people who want to be promoted in their jobs and be given greater responsibilities. They seek to do big things. Yet the test of a good leader is when he or she is able to be responsible in whatever is given to them. Indeed, a worker who does his or her job well will certainly be seen as a potential for higher duties by the company. Who does not want someone who could do much more? But when we cannot even do small things well, no one would ever entrust us to do greater things because the damage caused could be irreparable. Doing small things well will help us to grow in our skills and work attitudes, which in turn will give confidence to those who are in charge of us.
The fourth principle of the law of nature is that the more we have, the more we will be given. “I tell you, to everyone who has will be given more.” This might seem to be rather unfair in life, that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The truth is that everything is cumulative in life. When we grow in our skills, we have a greater capacity to do more. This is true even in mundane matters like investments, as the gospel suggests. We should take the initiative to make the money grow instead of hiding or hoarding them. The only way to ensure that our money grows is not even to put it in the bank but to invest wisely so that the money is made to work. So if the man who had more was given more, it was because only he could manage with more.
However, there are warnings as well for those who do not take initiative and risks in life. Firstly, they will remain stagnant in life. Such people cannot grow. Life is such, either we are growing or we are dying. Nothing is stagnant. That is why the man who did not invest the money was condemned. He was not only lazy and irresponsible but he was afraid to take risks. He could have done something with the money. And this is true for us. God has given us health, wealth, personal resources, knowledge, education, influence, etc. Where and how have we used them?
Secondly, if we do not use what we have, then Jesus tells us that whatever little we have will be taken away: “From the man who has not; even what he has will be taken away.” Indeed, those who do not use their talents or develop what they have been given will eventually lose them. Those of us who learn music but do not use our talents to render our service to the community will eventually forget how to make music. Those of us who do not practise our language skills will soon be unable to converse in it. The best way to grow something is to continue doing it and become better and better at it each passing day.
So let us use our talents well. They are given to us to glorify God and to serve His people. In the process of using them for service, we grow as persons because we realize our potentials. Only by exercising the gifts given to us, can we develop and form ourselves. That is why we should never be afraid of challenges in life. They help us to maximize our potentials like a fully charged battery. Our focus is not on what we get at the end, or how much money we make, or whether we are given a higher office. The focus is on the present. Happiness in life is experienced more in the journey than on arrival. When we arrive, that is the end of the journey and then another journey must begin till we arrive at the next destination. The fun and joy is in the journey! The end is the beginning.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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