Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 / 1 Thess 5:1-6 / Matthew 25:14-30
There is one profession that is hardly talked about but at the same time we can hardly do without.
It is also a dying profession, and ironically it concerns the dead.
This profession is the grave digger and there isn’t a more polite term or politically correct term to it.
A newspaper article some time ago mentioned that there are only about 10 grave diggers in Singapore.
Even though cremation of the dead is a more preferred means, there are still some who opt for burials and that is where the grave digger comes in.
Modern machinery like the excavator may make the job easier but the grave digger will be needed to “tailor” the hole for the coffin to go in.
So there will always be a need for this profession though it is not nice to say that they make a living out of the dead.
In the gospel parable, it can be said that the 3rd servant is like a grave digger – both were into digging holes.
But unlike the grave digger who makes a living out of his digging, the 3rd servant lost his living from his digging. It can be said that he dug his own grave.
Whatever talents or money that his master gave him, he dug a hole in the ground and buried it.
In the parable, the talents that the master gave the servants represented something more than money.
It represented a gift – a gift of life and love.
In burying this gift, the 3rd servant exposed his attitude towards life and love.
Not only that, he even defended his attitude by focusing on his master’s hard and demanding expectations.
In doing so, he tried to shift the problem from himself to his master.
But that’s also our tendency, isn’t it? To always say that others have a problem, but not ourselves.
Like the ostrich, we bury our heads in the ground, refusing to look at the reality of our lives.
But as how the parable goes, the master exposed the servant’s attitude.
And we too will be exposed, sooner or later, but exposed for our own good, if we are willing to accept it.
There is a story of a young successful businessman who owns a big company.
Then he came to know a girl and he was attracted by her simplicity, humility, kindness and pleasant personality.
As they entered into a love relationship, the young successful businessman decided to check on her background.
So he called his assistant to engage a private investigator to check on the girl, but of course, without saying that he was the one who wanted the report.
After a couple of weeks, the private investigator’s report came in and the assistant passed it to that young successful businessman.
The report went like this: The girl in question comes from a middle class family. She holds a decent job in a manufacturing company, is hardworking and honest, kind and helpful.
But there is a problem. Lately, she has been going out with this young businessman who is noted for being ruthless in his business deals. He is crafty and cunning, and will resort to any means just to make money.
End of the report. Just a story, but what a twist it had at the end.
The story does not go on to say what happened to the young businessman.
And as in any story, if we were to put ourselves in the shoes of that young businessman, then what would our reaction be.
Would we refute the private investigator’s report and bury our heads in the ground and refuse to see the reality of ourselves?
Would we say that the private investigator is biased against us and tarnishing our reputation? Or worse, would we think that the “young businessman” in the report refers to someone else?
Say what we may, but like the 3rd servant, we have this tendency to bury our heads in the ground and shift the problem towards others.
But on the other hand, we can also be like the other two servants who used their gifts and talents to help others discover themselves in an enlightening and non-threatening way.
Let me share another story to show you what this means.
A boy had a very bad temper that was getting out of hand.
His father prayed about it and came up with this idea to help him.
He gave his son a hammer and a bag of nails, and he told his son: Every time you lose your temper, go to the wall and hammer a nail.
So the boy did just that – every time he lost his temper he took the hammer and hit the nail into the wall.
And if you have tried hitting a nail into the wall, you will know it is not that easy. Because you often end up hitting your thumb
So after a while, the boy thought that it was easier to control his temper than to keep hitting nails into the wall.
Then one day, the boy told his father that he could now control his temper because he had stopped hitting nails into the wall.
The father said: Well done, my son. Now for every occasion that you felt like losing your temper but managed to control it, pull a nail out of the wall.
The son thought it was strange but did as he was told. So slowly the nails came out of the wall. And after some time, all the nails were pulled out of the wall.
The son told this to his father, and the father brought the son to look at the pock-marked wall.
He said to his son: My son, every time you lose your temper, it is like a nail being hammered into someone’s heart.
You may have apologized and the nail taken out, but the crack and the hurt remains, like this pock-marked wall. But learn this lesson, and you will be a better person.
It is interesting to note what the father did. He prayed first, and then he called upon whatever wisdom and experience he had to help his son overcome his bad temper.
Today’s Gospel parable reminds us that God has given each of us, all the gifts, talents, wisdom, experience, that we need to make the most out of life.
That’s God’s gift to us. Our gift to God will be to use His gifts to us to help others make the most of their lives.
In other words, we are not called to bury hopes and joys. Rather we are called to share life and love.
Life and love are God’s gifts to us. What we do with that life and love is our gift to God and to others.