The sixth Sunday "GebrHeir=ገብርኄር": the Good & Faithful Servant ( Matthew 25: 14-25)
In this sixth great theme in the fast, we ask, "Who is the wise and faithful servant?" The answer to this question is what we do or do not do with our lives until we await Christ's return to this world in His second coming. The faithful servant is the person who hears and dose or fulfills the word of God; it is the one who is faithful and loyal to God, the Church and its family; it is the person who has received the tradition and faith of Christ's Church and holds it steadfastly and courageously. It is the person who is faithful over small things such as fasting, prayer, humility, devotion, our health and material wealth for use in God's work on Earth. The faithful and good servant is the one who builds his house on the rock and not the sand. The unfaithful servant is the opposite of all these. The teaching for Gebrehier is found on Matthew 25:14-46; 13:12 & Lk 19:12-27
Misbak of the day
"I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart." I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness In the great assembly" [ Psalm 40: 8,9]
Lesson- Gebrehier - Faithful and good servant
For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
The Person who went on a Journey is Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – He ascended to the heaven after teaching everything pertaining to the kingdom of God. Through, the sacrament of our church everyone, the bishops, the priests, the deacons and the believers, have received God's grace, His teaching, and His commandment. God gave us different talents (Graces) according to our ability and strength through different time starting with baptism to work with it according to His will. Everyone has talents, even though, not everyone uses their talents to the full extent. There is no one that has no talents. The Lord is not miserly in distributing his he gifts and is not partial to anyone on account of the other. But he knows how to distribute to each one according to his potential. What God has given us as talents has not been given haphazardly, for he knows what is appropriate for each member for his own salvation. This urges us not to be puffed up against those of lesser talents, and not to envy those of greater talents than ourselves, but we rather have to thank him who grants the talents, for it is enough that this is given to us by his own hands. The apostle says, (1 Cor 12:4-6) “There are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.” Some have the talent of helping, teaching, being a role model, some of giving encouragement, others use their personal time at the expense of themselves to help others in prayer or.., yet others help to financially support the church or help the poor.
“He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money.”
Here it raises the question of how we are using those God’s talent [grace]. The three people represent us. Some people try to use what they have been given and others either ignore it or hide it. God is not expectant of any gain, and he is not concerned about the quantity; he is rather a concern about the loyalty of his servants or their negligence.
“Now after a long time, the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
This is the Judgment day- God will come and judge us according to our deeds. How one invests his or her potential in time indicates one's attitude toward God, including one's reactions unto others. Therefore every one based on the talent given through the sacrament of the church is expected to work on those talents and bring interest by the time our Lord and God came for Judgment.
And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” “He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming, I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”.
What the servants of the five and the two talents have profited is only ‘the honesty in the job.’ They were worthy to be in charge of a big amount. But as for those of one talent, his problem is his carelessness, for he has hidden the talent, and has led an idle life. the owner of the five talents, and of the two talents, they have both obtained the eternal reward due to their love of God [His law, church] and to his people. But as for the owner of the one talent, which he hid in the ground, this refers to the selfish man who works for his own account alone. He is not tied in any love to God or to man but is centralized in himself in all selfishness which is able to bury him in the dust. He buries his talent in the ground, in other words: he buries it in worldly business. He does not seek spiritual benefit. He cares only about his own earthly profit. What happened to this man who had one talent? He was afraid of taking a risk. He was afraid of following Christ, losing his own life. And therefore he condemns himself: “I knew that you were a hard master...” He was afraid of being true to his calling but he was not afraid of being lazy, idle, lukewarm-servant: a life of pleasures in the world, thinking as the Psalmist says: “God will not know...” It is a question of life and death as the parable reveals it to us: we must make a choice. The Christian life is a choice. Love is a choice. It is even more than a choice: it is a risk.
Therefore, as St. Yared put it in his song, who would be the good & the faithful servant who is faithful with few things and be put in charge of many things when God comes? Will You!?
Source- Fr. Tadros Malaty [commentary on St. Matthew ch. 25].
Glory Be to God
And to His Virgin Mother
And to the Glorious Cross
Amen.
Dn. Medhanie
