“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
“‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
My sincere apologies but this homily will be a nice, short and sweet one because I have been extremely busy lately, as we all are, and I haven't had a lot of time to reflect or pray upon the reading of the day.
Having stayed thus, we have all been given various gifts in this life. Some of us are musically talented eg; instrument players or singers or others scholastic geniuses. Some are good with their hands such as builders, sculptors, painters. Others are great teachers/leaders while others are simple but loving people who would do anything and everything to help a fellow human being.
All these gifts stem from the Author of life! The one who sculpted this very earth with His hand. So many people on this planet are so extremely talented in so many ways but they use these extraordinary gifts in useless ways or they do not use them at all.
The message for us in today's gospel is that the Lord our God has gifted/graced us with a special gift. It is only right and just that we use that gift; firstly for His Glorification, and lastly for the good of His Holy Church and us, His children!
For example, if one has a good voice, as King David exhorts in his 96th Psalm: O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.
If one is great with there hands as it is written in 1 Chronicles 28 verse 21; The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on the temple of God, and every willing man skilled in any craft will help you in all the work.
Now I'm not saying the we should go out and build churches and sing in them, all I am saying is that if the occasion were to arise and if one had the opportunity to use their skills for the Glory of God, one should strongly consider so.
I will give another example. A wonderful person from our Metropolis is an exceptionally great artist. Now I won't name this person in case they wish to remain anonymous. However, I can see them becoming an amazing iconographer; using this amazing skill for the Glory of God and His people!
I myself have created a few wood work items such as 3 tabernacles 1 for myself and 2 for our Bishops, a pastoral staff, several crosses and a few other bits and pieces! Now I'm far from a professional when it come to woodworks I'm actually quite an amateur however, the little techniques I have learned over the years I've put into practice and created for God's glory not mine!
When I have made/created certain objects I have learned to turn that into a prayer. Just like when one paints an icon they fast and pray, so what I do is I burn incense and perhaps have some Church chant in the background to help keep me focused.
Moreover, even with writing my homilies, I'll always pray before I commence. While I write them I will listen to Orthodox chant and when completed, I give thanks to God.
We all have a gift! Let's give thanks to God's for these gifts by presenting them to Him in what little or big way we can. The Lord our God loves us all individually in a way no person can ever fully comprehend! The more we turn to Him wholeheartedly the more He will bestow upon us!
Finally, as Jesus says to us time and time again - "Do Not Be Afraid! Let us never allow fear to take over our Christian agenda, but lets place our lives in the palm of His hand and wholeheartedly surrender unto Him! I promise through my own experiences that - He will never allow anyone to shame you, for His wonderous love has called you into life! (Taken from the Tipica)
Through the prayers of our All Pure Mother, our Lady Bogorodica Theotokos who's nativity we celebrated this passed Thursday, Lord Jesus Christ our God have mercy on us and save us! Amen
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