Gospel (Lk 19:11-28)

At that time, Jesus told a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.

He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive a kingdom and then return. Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Trade with these till I come.’ But his citizens hated him and sent an embassy after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ When he returned, having received the kingdom, he commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by trading. The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a napkin; for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, ‘I will condemn you out of your own mouth, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money into the bank, and at my coming I should have collected it with interest?’ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has the ten minas.’ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ ‘I tell you, that to everyone who has will more be given; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them before me.’”

And when he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

Commentary

In today's Gospel we see two main threads: a man who goes to receive royal investiture and encounters the hatred and opposition of his people, and the servants who each receive an amount of money to negotiate with.

We are in the final days of the liturgical year and the Word of God returns often during these days to the end of time, presenting us with parables about the judgment that awaits us and the Kingdom God is going to establish.

The parable of the ten minas speaks about our attitude before the divine King who is also our Father and Lord. Saint Josemaría once asked: “Why then do so many people not know Christ? Why do we still hear that cruel protest: ‘We do not want this man to reign over us’? There are millions of people in the world who reject Christ in this way; or rather they reject his shadow, for they do not know Christ. They have not seen the beauty of his face; they do not realize how wonderful his teaching is” (Christ is Passing By, no. 179).

With our Christian conduct and the apostolate to which all the baptized are called, we say again forcefully: Regnare Christum volumus! We want Christ to reign! And this is shown in the way we use the “mina” entrusted to us. Matthew's version of this parable speaks about talents, but Luke uses this term that indicates an amount of money corresponding to several months’ salary of a worker of that time.

The servants in the parable receive power over the cities of the kingdom according to their ability to negotiate with the money they received. But one of them, out of fear, hides the mina in a handkerchief. When the king discovers what this servant did, he orders that the money be taken from him and given to the one who already has ten minas. Our Lord’s story ends with this surprising teaching: “to everyone who has will more be given.” That is, whoever has a generous heart open to doing God’s will is given the opportunity to do great things.

The kingdom God is going to establish in the world begins in the hearts of his servants, in the heart of each one of us, when we begin to live as children who receive everything from the hand of their Father, and thus bear much fruit.