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The Parable of The Talents,
Painted by Willem de Poorter (1608–1668),
Oil on panel,
Executed mid 17th century,
© Narodni Galerie, Prague |
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. |
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| | Reflection on the Painting
As some of you may know, I entered the seminary a few months ago. One of the joys of being in seminary, is having the time to discern the talents that God gave each of us seminarians and instilled deep inside us… the talents mentioned in today’s Gospel. We reflect on talents we may have already used and developed throughout our lives, but we also discover new found talents in light of what we are doing. This sense of discovery is a source of immense joy. It seems now we have come to another junction in our lives we are discovering talents which may have lied dormant , and are now being awakened. In our Gospel reading of today, Jesus mentions that we have to “do business with our talents”. As most of us seminarians had careers before entering seminary, these talents would have been used mostly for our own glory. Now we want to do business for God’s glory…!
Going forward with these daily meditations, if you will allow me, I will from time to time write you with some thoughts or comments growing forth out of my new found life here in the seminary. I write these daily reflections in prayer and from my heart, and so as seminary life is having a direct impact on my spiritual life, I may mention life as a seminarian from time to time. As I start my journey here in Rome, continuing the conversion of my own heart, mind and soul into hopefully becoming a man that will one day fully carry out an effective ministry to the service of God and His people, I would like to ask you for your prayers for all of us seminarians, that we may all joyfully follow Christ and do His will… Thank you for all your loving support and let’s discover some more beautiful art together!
by Patrick van der Vorst |  | |
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