Investment
Advice
33rd
Sunday in Ordinary Time
Cycle
C
A
majority of Americans invest money in the financial markets in some way, either
through owning stocks directly, through mutual funds, 401k and IRA accounts, company
retirement plans, etc. This is usually part of an overall investment strategy,
and many people use professional financial planners to help them manage their
investments. The most important question investors ask themselves is what are
their investment goals. What kind of return do they want to receive on their
investments over what period of time, and what level of risk are they willing
to assume. Those things determine how much a person should invest and where.
Today
we hear the famous parable of the talents. Each servant is given by their
master an amount of property to steward while their master is away. The master
gives to each according to his abilities. But he never tells them what to do
with it. The property is not theirs, it is not even a gift. It remains the
master’s. But the servants know that their master is a man who expects a lot of
his servants. They know that they are expected to do something with his
property, and so, like any good investor, they begin by setting their
investment goals. What do they think the master expects as a return?
One
servant, the one who had been given the largest amount, invested aggressively.
He immediately went out and doubled what had been entrusted to him. The second
servant did likewise. They kept their eye on the end goal based upon what they
thought the master expected of them. But the third servant, the one who the
master had judged to have the least ability, let his fear overcome him and did
nothing with what had been entrusted to him. He may have had as much investment
savvy as the other two, but he was afraid of failure, and so he played it safe.
What
kind of an investor are you? This parable today talks about talents, and we
tend to think about talents as abilities today. What are our personal talents
that we can contribute to the community. But in Jesus’ time a talent had a
monetary value. The talent
typically weighed about 75 lb. At today’s price of gold, a talent would be
worth over $1.5 million! With that in mind, how would you react if someone
suddenly gave you almost $8 million dollars and told you to invest it?
Would
you be an aggressive investor, seeking the highest return in the shortest
period of time? Would you be a growth investor, looking for a steady, safer
return over time? Would you be afraid that you will lose your principal if you
invest at all, and so do nothing, conserving what you have? Which type of
investor does the Lord seek? Which does he consider to be a good and faithful
servant?
As
servants of the Lord we are all His stewards. Everything about our existence –
who our parents are, which country we were born into, our material goods, the
food we eat and the clothes we wear, the very air we breathe and our next
heartbeat – are not ours. We did not create them and we did not create
ourselves. Everything we have and everything we are is not truly ours. They
have been given to us by our creator, and we are expected to do something with
them. The master does not tell us how to invest them, but the expectation is
that we do something with them, to increase them for the benefit of ourselves and
the people of God.
God
expects a return on his investment in us. What do you invest in?
You
are wonderfully made, and God has created you to be totally unlike any other
person the world has ever seen or ever will see. He has made you, you. The
human person is the summit of all creation. All the amazing elements of
creation, from the smallest atomic particle to the stars themselves, are not
made in the image and likeness of their creator. But you are. How do you invest
first of all in yourself?
What
do you do to increase the talents the master has given you? How do you invest
your time? You only have so much of it, do you use it wisely? How much do you
waste? How much do you use on busy work or meaningless tasks? How much do you
spend in prayer or contemplation? On study? On scripture? On other people?
How
do you view your body and how do you take care of it? It seems that society
today does not view the human body as being a temple or a gift, but something
to exploit. It’s my body and I can do with it what I will. That is true to a certain
extent, but what does the master want you to do with it? Is the body simply for
pleasure? Is it to be neglected or protected? Is it really yours or is it to be
used for the benefit of others? We have been given both body and soul, and both
are of equal importance. We should not neglect the body and emphasize our
souls, and vice versa.
What
of your soul? How often do you even think about your soul? Our souls image God,
are connected to God, are one with God. Is your investment strategy for eternal
life one of hope, or is it based upon fear of the consequences if you fail? Do
you feed your soul or bury it in the ground? Do you look forward with joy to
the promise of salvation, or do you just fear going to hell? Do you take
advantage of all the gifts God has given you to grow your soul, such as the
sacraments, prayer, and your church community? It’s not the mind that’s a
terrible thing to waste, it’s the soul.
And
what of your mind? How aggressively do you invest in your intellect? What do
you read and how do you expand your horizons? Is your entire understanding of
the world just what you see on television? Do you think for yourself or just parrot
the ideas of others? Do you inform your conscience or do you allow society to do
it for you? Did you stop growing and thinking in high school or college? What truly
original thought have you had lately?
How
do you invest in your family, especially your children? This goes hand-in-hand
with investing in your soul. It’s not about you, after all. You grow your soul
when you grow the souls of others. How are you stewarding your spouse and your
children? We heard in the first reading from Proverbs today that the worthy
wife brings her husband good, and not evil, all the days of her life. Obviously,
that applies to the husband as well, and to both of them as parents of their
children. We have been given each other to steward, to cherish and nourish,
with the ultimate reward being eternal life in heaven. How is your family set
up to get all of you to heaven, together?
The
family is the domestic church, and cannot be separated from the church as a
whole. How do you invest in your church? We are not saved alone, but in
community. How important is your church in your life? I recall one mother, when
signing her children up for religious education classes, declared that her
children would miss about half of the classes and class Masses that year due to
all the other activities on the calendar. When the teacher commented on her
priorities, the mother said that church was about fifth on their priority list.
What number is it on your list?
The
best way we invest in our church is to come to Mass. The best way to invest our
time, in our minds, bodies and souls, is to come to Mass. The best way to
invest in our families is to come to Mass. The Mass is the source and summit of
who we are as Catholics. We are called as servants to worship our master, and
Jesus told us how to do that. Do this in memory of me. If we simply concentrate
on the Mass, learn and understand what it truly is, participate fully and
actively each and every Sunday, and truly give of ourselves as part of the
sacrifice, all our other investments will flow and increase from that. It’s a
simple strategy for success.
Jesus
said that those who have much will grow rich and those who have little will lose
what little they have. This may or may not have referred to wealth, but it does
apply to faith. It’s all about the return on investment. If we invest the
talents we have been given well they will increase, but if we bury them they
will not stay the same, they will wither and eventually die. If you are trustworthy
in little things God will entrust you with greater things. You will be that good
and faithful servant.
And you will share your Master’s joy.
