Last Sunday in our church, one of the gospel readings was Our Lord’s parable of the talents. Back in 2018, I posted on this subject, connecting Lewis’s thoughts and a meditation on scripture from the Russian book, Day by Day. Here it is, in a slightly re-arranged order:
This is what Lewis writes in his essay, “Learning in Wartime” (from the collection, “Weight of Glory”):
“The work of a Beethoven and the work of a charwoman become spiritual on precisely the same condition, that of being offered to God, of being humbly done ‘as to the Lord’. This does not, of course, mean that it is for everyone a mere toss-up whether he should sweep rooms or compose symphonies. A mole must dig to the glory of God and a cock must crow. We are members of one body, but differentiated members, each with his own vocation. A man’s upbringing, his talents, his circumstances, are usually a tolerable index of his vocation.”
And this is the meditation from “Day by Day”:
Scripture: “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same
Spirit; there are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.” (1 Cor. 12:
4-5)
Meditation:
"The birds of the sky praise God with their songs; the sweet
smell of the flowers of the field rises to the sky like incense of praise; the
trees cover the ground with their fruit, the clouds water it with beneficent
rain, the stars illuminate the darkness of the night with their wonderful glow;
all of nature serves its Creator and praises Him.
So it is with us, the servants of Christ on Earth – each has
his calling. One works on feeding his large family, another devotes his energy
and talent to a social cause, a third one, debilitated by disease, serves a s
an example of patience and submission. Some are given the gift of eloquence,
some have a writer’s talent, some are gifted with a beautiful voice, and to
some it is given to sit in silent reverence at the feet of Christ, listening to
his words and having their eager lips drink from the source of living water.
“The gifts that we receive are very different, but each of us
must serve the Lord with the gift which he has received from above, no matter
how humble and unnoticeable it is. Let us not waste time in the useless effort
to make ourselves into something that has not been given us, but let us be
content with every gift we have received from God, and let us constantly
develop it for the glory of God. And at the end of our lives, God willing, we
will hear the words of the Savior: “Well done, good and faithful servant, –
you have been faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many
things; enter into the joy of your Lord” (Mat. 25, 23).”
Dimitry
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Love will last forever.” (1 Corinthians 13: 4-8)