“Finally, arrived the one who received only one talent, and he said:”Lord, I know that you are a severe man, for you harvest where you don’t plant and reap where you don’t sow, Therefore, I filled with fear and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what belongs to you.”

The Lord responded to him: “You evil and lazy servant! You know that I harvest where I did not plant and that reap where I did not sow.” (Matt 25:24ff)

Reading this Gospel I remained mesmerized because from this Lord remaining so brave, with the one employee who buried his talent through fear. His anger was because of the cowardice and laziness of that servant.

We can be very good compared to this servant. For how many of us live hiding our talents and gifts. Through fear, pride, interior vanity…with mere excuses of what I am not capable, there exist people better than I to do that work. A hypocrite of false modesty.

Beginning a new year, let us make the proposition of the Lord of not burying the talents that He entrusts to us. We are going to in God, render these gifts that are not ours. We are simply insufficient instruments of service for the coming of the Lord.

Let us not be cowards burying the gifts of the Lord.

Ademir Costa

translated from Portuguese