Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
God is not stupid. He is a great many things. He is wise, loving, truthful, merciful, and just. Actually, it is better to say that He is wisdom, love, truth, mercy, and justice. But he is not stupid. I think we know this intellectually, but sometimes we forget it internally. Because He is not stupid we can trust Him, but when we forget his wisdom, we become afraid. I want to examine this line of thinking by looking to our friend in today’s gospel, the third servant.
The third servant returns the talent to his master after doing nothing with it, out of fear. I think he was afraid of his own shortcomings. Christ tells us that the Master distributed the talents according to each servant’s ability. This servant received one talent while the others received five and three. This is a compelling indicator that his ability was less than the others. But, the master, like God, isn’t stupid. The servant isn’t completely incapable. He has been given all he needs to do more for the sake of his master, but instead he convinces himself that his master is wrong. He is afraid of his own inability.
We do this all the time! Christ gives us intelligence and we convince ourselves that we can’t teach anyone about Him. Christ gives us a need for relationships and we become certain that we can’t be in relationship with Him. He gives us wealth, time, and talent and we fool ourselves into believing that we have nothing to offer. He gives us the opportunity to love another person as He would and we only focus on our shortcomings. We forget that God is not stupid.
Christ scares the socks off of us when He calls us, “to be perfect as my heavenly Father is perfect.” But he then makes it possible. God does not demand impossibilities of us. He doesn’t call those of us who are already perfect, otherwise He wouldn’t call anyone! He calls us to make us perfect. To make us images of Himself to the world. He will never lead without giving us the strength to follow.
Like the talents, my ability to follow comes from God and not from myself. All of this is grace. This is why I can boast in the Lord, because He has made the incapable capable and the impossible possible.
All of this leads me to my title, “What is hope?” Hope is not irresponsible presumption, despair over my own sinfulness and inability, or reliance on my own strengths.
Hope is knowing in my heart that God is not stupid. He is scandalous for calling us to be His disciples, but He knows what He is doing.
When I forget this, I do far worse things than bury money in the ground.
- - Spencer Hargadon