No
Risk, No Gain!
Barnabas
was a juggler in a circus before he became a monk. He felt called
to enter an ancient monastery to give himself more fully to the Lord.
At first he was very happy in the monastery, but after some time he
became depressed. He saw that Brother Mark was a great painter and
spend his time glorifying God painting icons. Brother Gall used his
chisel to make beautiful statues, and Brother John used his pen to
copy the sacred scriptures and so glorify the Lord. Poor Barnabas
felt that he had nothing to offer and so he told the Abbot that he
planned to leave the monastery.
Soon
after this the Abbot noticed two things. He noticed that Barnabas
was standing straight and looking cheerful again and also that each
day, after lunch when the other monks went for siesta, he would go
to the chapel on his own. One day the Abbot slipped out from lunch
early and hid in the chapel. Barnabas came in and took four candle
sticks from the altar. He then went in front of the statue of Our
Lady and, standing on his head, did a most wonderful juggling act
with the candle sticks. The Abbot from his hiding place was angry
at this unbecoming behavior in the chapel and was just about to come
out to reprimand Barnabas when the statue of Our Lady came alive and
Mary stepped down and wiped the juggler's brow with her veil! Barnabas
had offered the only talent he had and was richly rewarded.
Today's
gospel parable is about using the talents that have been given to
us. An enterprising employer, who hopes that his own flair and daring
in business will be reflected by his servants, entrusts his property
to them wile he goes abroad. He gives them no instructions but just
watches for their initiative. As in all stories and jokes with three
characters, our attention if focused on number three; the third servant
is the one who refuses to involve himself in the spirit of the enterprise.
He buries what was given to him because he knows his master is strict.
(In one village sharing a farmer said that the third servant was the
smartest one. Why should he work hard and make money only for his
master!)
In
the original situation Jesus is making a point against the Scribes
and Pharisees. Their chief aim is to keep the law, which they had
been given, exactly as it was - not to change it, develop it or alter
it in any way. They said their mission was to "build a fence
around the law." But in this parable Jesus tells us that there
can be no religion with risk, adventure and enterprise. Willingness
to dare is an essential part of our faith. Where there is no risk
there is no gain in spiritual as well as in material matters.
The
first two servants risked and gained. The third brought back the master's
money unused and defended himself by focusing on the reputed meanness
of the master, not on his own lack of courage as the reason for this
failure. So often we too take the problem away from where it is -
with ourselves - and place it where it is not - with someone outside.
When we do this we make it impossible to solve our problem; we put
ourselves beyond redemption! I knew one man who complained how hard
life had been on him. His classmates were all in managerial positions.
They, however, said that while they had worked their way up, he wanted
to be at the top from the start and blamed others for this failure.
Many
people think that prayer is something difficult and complicated. They
say it is too difficult and that they have no time. Particularly,
if they are asked to meditate - to be still before God without using
words or images - they feel that they are not praying. They often,
because of insecurity, pad their meditation around with other kinds
of prayer. But God asks us to do the little we can, to take a risk
- like the monk Barnabas - and he will be quite satisfied. Pure prayer
is just to be present in total poverty accepting and offering back
the gifts, great or small, that God may have given to us. All we need
do is to try to say our prayer word. When we become aware of anything
else we show our fidelity by coming back to the little word, the little
task. When we do this, virgins in statues may not become alive but
we will have done our little best and that is all that the Lord ever
expects of us. As the great poet of religious experience, T.S. Elliot
put it,
"For
us there is only the trying.
The
rest is not our business."
Taken
from Sundays
into Silence - A Pathway to Life. Copyright © 1998 by Claretian
Publications
