DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Saint Luke 19:12-28
(11/25-12/8) Friday of
the Twenty-seventh Week after Pentecost
Each One’s Gain: Saint Luke 19:12-28, especially
vs. 15: “And so it was that
when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these
servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might
know how much every man had gained by trading.” Saint
Luke 19:11 provides the setting for Jesus’ parable of ‘The Ten
Minas,’ the content of the assigned passage in Saint Luke for today. The parable points ahead to the time
when our Lord will actually return and each disciple will be assessed. Hence, our Lord urges us to invest the
‘spiritual capital’ He entrusts to us so that He may look for
growth - for what we have gained from His love, peace, grace, and power
received through the Holy Spirit.
Notice that among the Lord Jesus’ first disciples a
serious misapprehension developed - believing that “...the kingdom of God
would appear immediately...” (Lk. 19:11). But see, the Lord rejects this error:
each disciple must apply himself wisely and energetically now in order
to be able to deliver some gain on whatever spiritual ‘capital’ our
Savior and God commits to him. Spiritual
idleness, or relaxation, is an ever present and great temptation. May we be energetic and prudent
followers in handling the riches of Christ’s kingdom!
Also, Beloved, remember that the kingdom of God comes in
two stages: in the present, our lives are enriched by its Holy Mysteries that
raise us up a certain degree to “...sit together in the heavenly places
in Christ Jesus.” But then,
when He returns, He will “...show the exceeding riches of His
grace...toward us...” (Eph. 2:6,7). May we build on what we receive and gain
more!
In a hidden way, the kingdom of God is at work in all of
human history, but principally through the actions of those who embrace and
invest the good things of God’s reign. One day, when the Lord returns, the
kingdom will become the sole power and reality operating openly in the whole
creation. The request, “Thy
kingdom come,” will then be completely fulfilled. However, for each Christian, our
personal accounting with respect to the riches of the kingdom will come when we
repose (Heb. 9:27). Later, at the
Lord’s Second Coming, the implications of God’s judgment upon each
of us will be realized in its full and eternal effect.
Never forget that this present life is the decisive
period of our existence. Woe to us
to whom have been entrusted with the Master’s riches if we receive the
Holy Mysteries of Christ but do not put them to work, being lazy and
slack. Blessed Theophylact
of Bulgaria makes a chilling observation about the use of the gifts of
Christ. He points out that each has
received an equal gift, each has been entrusted with “one mina,”
and each uses the gift well and energetically or is careless and lazy. Listen and heed his words: “You
have received the very same gift as Peter and Paul. If they received a pound [mina], and you
also received a pound, but then did not benefit yourself at all to labor for
the good, why do you blame God?”
How does Blessed Theophylact
arrive at this conclusion? Note the
words of the parable: each servant received the same amount. There were ten servants and ten mina, one for each.
The Saints are not more gifted than any one of us. The command is the same to all:
“Do business till I come” (Lk.
19:13). The Lord makes this
requirement a direct order. The
verb implies that a test of faithfulness is given to each one of us. When we received Holy Illumination, we
received remission of sins, the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit, and
participation in the Holy Gifts. Be
quite sure that the Lord will ask us what we did with the mina He gave us. Apply His grace and great mercy, invest
them in yourself and in everyone you meet.
As we make such efforts, according to His will He will help us and our
effort will grow and be enlarged in others.
Enable me, O Lord, to be faithful, even unto the end,
through Thy crown incorruptible.
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