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He that hath ears to hear, let him hear! (The Parable of the Talents)

The Parable of the Talents, as expounded by the Evangelist Matthew, is the last parable before the Lord’s sufferings. It ends with a warning: "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear!" (Matthew 25:30).

   The Parable of the Talents is preceded by the Parable of the Ten Virgins, and the Parable of the Talents is itself an elaboration and clarification of the thought expressed in the Parable of the Ten Virgins. This last parable also ends with a warning that we not be left without God’s Kingdom: "Verily I say unto you, I know you not" (Matthew 25:12), and, explaining what He meant, ends it with these words: "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh" (25:13). Developing this thought further, the Lord then preaches the Parable of the Talents: "For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods, and unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey..." (Matthew 25:14-15). The parable then ends with the fearsome sentence of Divine Justice: "Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear" (Matthew 25:30).

   Further, immediately after this, the Lord expounds upon the Last Judgment. And so, in the Gospel narrative, the Parables of the Ten Virgins and the Talents are a preparatory introduction to the discussion on the Last Judgment. At first the Lord speaks of it covertly, in the guise of ten virgins and the Bridegroom, later more clearly explaining the coming Judgment in the Parable of the Talents and, having prepared his audience to understand the mysteries of God’s Kingdom in this manner, now spoke directly about the Last Judgment and about His eternal Kingdom.

   For many it remains unclear why this warning in this narrative is warranted. If one looks at it from the human perspective, the condemned committed no serious or capital legal offenses that would merit eternal damnation. People have grown accustomed to living according primarily to legalistic understandings, simply constraining evil, paying no mind to the development of good, and, if one were to approach the Gospel using this measuring device, then it will be impossible to comprehend it.

   In actuality, the foolish virgins, though justified in much, possessing both virginity and a desire to be with the Bridegroom, did not show enough care or foresight, and did not obtain for themselves beforehand a sufficient supply of oil (spiritual life – love). They attempted to overcome their shortage at the last minute, borrowing some or buying the salvific oil, but this proved impossible for them; it had to be obtained beforehand, and they remained without the royal palace, because they had not within them that light which is necessary to gain entry therein. The wicked and slothful servant failed only to heed his Master’s charge and did not fulfill it, finding himself cast into outer darkness. Those condemned at the Last Judgment were not guilty of any serious crimes, for example, of murder, theft, adultery, and so on, but of acts not listed in any criminal code, of not showing obedience and love for the Lord, not fulfilling the commands of the Gospel in their lives, and not performing labors of love in God’s name. If one were to judge these condemned according to a legal code, then their actions would not reveal any punishable crimes. But in no way does this mean that civil laws are more humane than those of the Gospel, but it means that the God’s Kingdom is based on different principles than human society.

   At the cornerstone of the Gospel lie obedience to the will of God and love, inextricably interconnected. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). "As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love" (John 15:9-10).

   In this regard, by talents, of which the Lord speaks in the parable, we are to understand not money or the capabilities of the human soul to perform some activity, for example music, song, drawing, and the like, nor even good deeds, but, according to the interpretation of Metropolitan Anthony, by talents we are to understand the possibility and ability of man to perform labors of love, to nurture the good nature of his soul and, as its outward expression, good deeds. Metropolitan Anthony writes: "The talent is every possibility to perform good; these are such virtues as kindness, tenderness, sympathy – these are the talents, and if one does not exercise them, they will be extinguished and no longer will there be those gusts of sweetness and goodwill that so gladden people. He who has love and knows how to express it has not buried his talent" ("Thoughts of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Anthony, expressed in sermons," 1935-6, p. 32).

   According to Metropolitan Anthony, good deeds will flow from you themselves, if only you have good inclinations in your soul, especially love, and only these good deeds, these expressions of love, have value in God’s eyes. These good inclinations grow and are strengthened in our souls by our conscientious labors and the co-operation of God’s grace.

   The Epistle reading assigned for the day when the Parable of the Talents is read in church is very interesting. In his antecedent narrative, the Apostle Paul, pointing out that the Apostles are the messengers of Christ and that they summon all to reconcile with God and become righteous in His sight, says further: "We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee (Isaiah 49:8). Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:1-2). This accepted time is the stage of our life itself – the time for labors – after we have come to know the Lord through the Gospel.

   We can see in the Apostle Paul himself the wealth of talents given to him, and how he multiplied them an hundredfold by the labors of his zealous life. "In all things we approve ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; by pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left" (2 Corinthians 6:4-7).

   Having such talents and multiplying them by the unending labors of his life, the Holy Apostle lit the fire of faith across the whole world and kindled a flame in individual hearts. So was the holy first-martyress and equal-of-the-apostles St. Thecla captivated to be Christ’s bride. She, a young and beautiful maiden, was taken by the preaching of the Apostle, and became as his daughter, and took for naught all the beautiful things of this world that lay before her. She had discovered the greatness and beauty of her own soul in her supernatural labors, unshakably carrying her faithfulness to Christ God through her whole life, and was crowned with the crown of the first martyress and an equal of the apostles. So it was that through some talents were obtained more talents. His incessant preaching to the Universe through his epistles will resound until the end of time.

   Why are the growth of the gift of love and obedience to the will of God the foremost building blocks of Christianity?

   Because the goal of a Christian life is the acquisition of God’s Kingdom. And in the eternal Kingdom of Glory, in exact contrast to our earthly life that lies in evil, there will be no possibility for evil. There evil will be bound and will but suffer in its own powerless and irredeemable malice. There, good and love will be reality, and at the same time the participants of God’s Kingdom will be free in the image and likeness of God. In the conjunction of love and freedom, and in their limitless growth – therein lies eternal bliss. The foundation of this spiritual process must be laid on the earth. Man must make God’s inherent gift of love a reality, and expand it. Just as there is a time to sow and a time to reap, to sow in the spring or fall and reap in the summer, so can the participants of God’s Kingdom be only those who grow and nurture within themselves that gift of love in this earthly life. He who does not labor over this gift and buries it in the ground, growing in its place hatred and evil as the wicked and slothful servant, and who does not show sufficient attention and care to his soul, as the foolish virgins – such a one will find no place in God’s Kingdom. This is the message of the whole Gospel.

   This is why the Lord concludes His Parable of the Talents by crying out His warning to us all: He that hath ears to hear, let him hear!

1955

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Eastern American Diocese | Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia