Jesus said, “It is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” Matthew 25:14-30
This is a familiar parable to many and we all have had times in our lives when we have hidden our "talents." In Sunday Schools and Church camps kids sing "this little light of mine" And they love shouting NO! on the verse that says, "hide it under a bushel, no, I'm going to let it shine." We all know we are called to shine and grow what we have been given. The world is a hard place, and we can feel so beaten down and fearful, that we hide everything, fearing more ridicule, abuse and shame. Jesus calls us to crawl out from our hiding places and share what we have been given. The truth is, right now, the world needs your gifts and talents. Our light and gifts together might just help our world heal. Let's stop hidden and share the love we have been given.
Gracious Creator, you imbued us with talents and gifts
and give us the strength to share what we have with the world.
Jesus, Savior of the world, help us shine our lights today.
When we are small, we are proud of what we can do
but we shrink away when we are teased and ridiculed.
Jesus, Savior of the world, help us shine our lights today.
We hide the gifts and talents you have bestowed upon us
because we are afraid that people will laugh at us.
Jesus, Savior of the world, help us shine our lights today.
We compare ourselves to others and know we're not enough
even though you have told us we are the light of the world.
Jesus, Savior of the world, help us shine our lights today.
Help us, dear Lord, to come out from our hiding places
so we might share the gifts you have given each of us.
Jesus, Savior of the world, help us shine our lights today.
The world is suffering and needs the talents you give
help us to share our gifts and our light with a hurting world.
Jesus, Savior of the world, help us shine our lights today. Amen.
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