From: Luke 19:11-28
Parable of the Pounds
[20] Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your pound, which I kept laid a-
way in a napkin; [21] for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man; you
take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.’ [22] He said
to him, ‘I will condemn you out of your own mouth, you wicked servant! You knew
that I was a severe man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did
not sow? [23] Why then did you not put my money into the bank, and at my co-
ming I should have collected it with interest?’ [24] And he said to those who stood
by, ‘Take the pound from him, and give it to him who has the ten pounds.’ [25]
(And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten pounds!’) [26] ‘I tell you, that to every one
who has will more be given; but from him who has not, even what he has will be
taken away. [27] But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign
over them, bring them here and slay them before me.’”
The Messiah Enters the Holy City
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Commentary:
11. The disciples had a wrong concept of the Kingdom of Heaven: they thought it
was about to happen and they saw it in earthly terms: they envisaged Jesus con-
quering the Roman tyrant and immediately establishing the Kingdom in the holy
city of Jerusalem, and that when that happened they would hold privileged posi-
tions in the Kingdom. There is always a danger of Christians failing to grasp the
transcendent, supernatural character of the Kingdom of God in this world, that
is, the Church, which “has but one sole purpose—that the Kingdom of God may
come and the salvation of the human race may be accomplished.” (Vatican II,
“Gaudium Et Spes”, 45).
Through this parable our Lord teaches us that, although His reign has begun, it
will only be fully manifested later on. In the time left to us we should use all the
resources and graces God gives us, in order to merit the reward.
13. The “mina”, here translated as “pound”, was worth about 35 grams of gold.
This parable is very like the parable of the talents reported in St. Matthew (cf.
25:14-30).
14. The last part of this verse, although it has a very specific context, reflects
the attitude of many people who do not want to bear the sweet yoke of our Lord
and who reject Him as king. “There are millions of people in the world who reject
Jesus Christ in this way; or rather they reject His shadow, for they do not know
Christ. They have not seen the beauty of His face; they do not realize how won-
derful His teaching is. This sad state of affairs makes me want to atone to our
Lord. When I hear that endless clamor—expressed more in ignoble actions than
in words—I feel the need to cry out, ‘He must reign!’ (1 Corinthians 15:25)” (St. J.
Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 179).
17. God counts on our fidelity in little things, and the greater our effort in this re-
gard the greater the reward we will receive: “Because you have been ‘in pauca
fidelis’, faithful in small things, come and join in your Master’s happiness. The
words are Christ’s. ‘In pauca fidelis!...Now will you neglect little things, if Heaven
itself is promised to those who mind them?” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 819).
24-26. God expects us to strive to put to good use the gifts we have received —
and He lavishly rewards those who respond to His grace. The king in the parable
is shown to be very generous towards his servants—and generous in rewarding
those who managed to increase the money they were given. But he is very se-
vere towards the lazy servant who was also the recipient of a gift from his Lord,
who did not let it erode but guarded it carefully—and for this his king criticizes
him: he failed to fulfill the just command the king gave him when he gave him
the money: “Trade till I come.” If we appreciate the treasures the Lord has given
us — life, the gift of faith, grace — we will make a special effort to make them bear
fruit — by fulfilling our duties, working hard and doing apostolate. “Don’t let your
life be barren. Be useful. Make yourself felt. Shine forth with the torch of your
faith and your love. With your apostolic life, wipe out the trail of filth and slime left
by the corrupt sowers of hatred. And set aflame all the ways of the earth with the
fire of Christ that you bear in your heart” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 1).
28. Normally in the Gospels when there is mention of going to the Holy City it is
in terms of “going up” to Jerusalem (cf. Matthew 20:18; John 7:8), probably be-
cause geographically the city is located on Mount Zion. Besides, since the tem-
ple was the religious and political center, going up to Jerusalem had also a sa-
cred meaning of ascending to the holy place, where sacrifices were offered to
God.
Particularly in the Gospel of St. Luke, our Lord’s whole life is seen in terms of a
continuous ascent towards Jerusalem, where His self-surrender reaches its high
point in the redemptive sacrifice of the Cross. Here Jesus is on the point of ente-
ring the city, conscious of the fact that His passion and death are imminent.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
First reading | Apocalypse 4:1-11 © |
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Psalm | Psalm 150:1-6 © |
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Gospel Acclamation | 1Jn2:5 |
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Or | cf.Jn15:16 |
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Gospel | Luke 19:11-28 © |
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