Those who do not know how or do not dare to look into themselves and get down to work in the internal, main field of their human existence fight for external equality.

God does not look at what a person works in this world, what he has, how he is dressed, fed, educated, whether people respect him - God looks at the heart of man. In other words: God does not look at the external state and position of man, but at his inner development, growth, and enrichment in spirit and truth. This is evidenced by today's Gospel reading. The parable of the talents, or spiritual gifts, which God puts into the soul of each person, shows the great inner inequality of people by their very nature. But it also shows much more. With its eagle's eye, this parable embraces the entire history of the human soul, from beginning to end. Whoever fully understood this one parable of the Savior and fulfilled the mandate contained in it with his life, would gain eternal salvation in the Kingdom of God.

For He will act as a man who, going to a foreign country, called his servants, and entrusted to them his possessions: and to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability; and immediately departed. Man should be understood as the Most High God, the Giver of all good gifts. Slaves mean angels and people. A journey to a foreign land signifies God's long-suffering. Talents are spiritual gifts that God bestows upon His intelligent creatures. The greatness of all these gifts is shown by the fact that they are deliberately called talents. For one talent was a large coin, the value of which was equal to five hundred gold chervonets. As has been said, the Lord deliberately called the gifts of God talents, in order to show the greatness of these gifts; to show how generously the Most Gracious Creator endowed His creations. So great are these gifts, that even he who has received one talent has received quite enough. By man is also meant our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, which is evident from the words of the Evangelist Luke: a certain man of high birth. This Man of high birth is our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the Only-begotten Son of God, the Son of the Most High. And this is also clearly seen from the following words of the same Evangelist: "He went to a far country, that he might receive for himself a kingdom and return" (Luke 19:12). After His ascension, our Lord Jesus Christ went to heaven to receive His Kingdom, giving the world the promise to come once more to earth as Judge. Since by man is understood our Lord Jesus Christ, it means that by His servants are the apostles, bishops, priests and all the faithful. On each of them the Holy Spirit poured out many gifts - good, but different and unequal, so that the faithful, complementing each other, thus all together would be morally perfected and spiritually grow. The gifts are different, but the Spirit is the same; and the ministries are different, but the Lord is one and the same; and the actions are different, but God is one and the same, working all things in all. But everyone is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the benefit of... Yet all this is done by one and the same Spirit, dividing to each individually as He pleases (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). In the sacrament of baptism, all the faithful receive an abundance of these gifts, and in the other sacraments of the Church, God strengthens and multiplies these gifts. By the five talents some interpreters understand the five senses of man, by two the soul and body, and by one the unity of human nature. The five bodily senses are given to man to serve the spirit and salvation. With body and soul, a person must diligently work for God, be enriched by the knowledge of God and good works. And a person must devote himself entirely to serving God. In childhood, a person lives with five senses, a full sensual life. In adulthood, he feels in himself a duality and a struggle between the flesh and the spirit. And in the mature spiritual age, a person realizes himself as a single spirit, overcoming the inner division into five and two. But it is precisely at this mature age, when a person considers himself a conqueror, that he is in the greatest danger of disobeying God. Having reached the greatest heights, he then falls into the deepest abyss and buries his talent.

God gives gifts to everyone according to his strength, that is, according to how much a person can carry and use. Of course, God also gives people gifts according to the plan of the holy economy. Thus, those who build a house do not have the same abilities and do not do the same work: they have different abilities and different tasks, and each of them works according to his own strength!

And immediately he departed. These words signify the swiftness of God's creation. And when the Creator created the world, He created it quickly. And when our Lord Jesus Christ came to earth for the sake of a new creation, for the sake of the renewal of the world, He quickly accomplished His work: He called His servants, distributed gifts to them, and immediately departed.

So what did the slaves do with the talents they received?

He who received five talents went and used them in business and acquired the other five talents; in the same way, he who received two talents acquired the other two; And he who received one talent went and buried it in the ground, and hid his master's money. All the labor activity and all the commerce that exist among men is a picture of what is going on—or what ought to happen—in the souls of men. From everyone who inherits any property, people expect that he will increase this property. Everyone who has acquired a field is expected to cultivate this field. Anyone who has learned a trade is expected to engage in that trade, both for his own benefit and for the benefit of his neighbors. Anyone who knows any handicraft is expected to show his knowledge. Everyone who invests money in trade is expected to multiply this money. People move, work, improve things, collect, exchange, sell and buy. Everyone tries to get what is necessary for bodily life, everyone tries to improve his health, satisfy his daily needs and ensure his bodily existence for as long and as long as possible. And all this is only an image of what a person should do for his soul. For the soul is the main thing. All our external needs are images of our spiritual needs, reminders and lessons that we need to work for our soul, hungry and thirsty, naked and sick, unclean and miserable. Therefore, each of us, who has received from God five or two, or one measure of faith, wisdom, love for mankind, fear of God, meekness, obedience to God, or longing for spiritual purity and strength, is obliged to work in order to at least double this measure, as the first and second slaves did and as people who are engaged in trade and crafts usually do. He who does not multiply the talent given to him - whatever this talent is - will be cut down like a tree that does not bear good fruit, and thrown into the fire. What every farmer does with the barren fig tree, which he has dug in, grafted, and fenced in vain, but which still bears no fruit, will be done by the Supreme Householder of the universal garden, where men are His most precious trees. See for yourselves what bewilderment and contempt people evoke who, having inherited the property from his father, does nothing, but burns through the inheritance for bodily needs and pleasures! Even the lowest beggar is not so despised by people as such a selfish sloth. Such a person is the true image of a spiritual sluggard, who, having received from God only a talent of faith, wisdom, eloquence, or some other virtue, buries it, without using it, in the dirt of his body, does not multiply it by labor, and out of pride and selfishness does not benefit anyone.

After a long time, the lord of those servants comes and demands an account from them. God does not move away from people for a single moment, much less for a long time. His help to people flows like a full-flowing river from day to day, but His Judgment, His demand for people's accounting, takes place over a long period of time. God is a speedy Helper to everyone who calls upon him for help, and God is slow to repay those who insult Him and dissolutely squander His gifts. Here we are talking about the last, the Last Judgment, when the hour will come and all workers will be called to accept their wages.

And he who had received the five talents came and brought the other five talents, and said, "Lord! Five talents thou hast given me; behold, the other five talents I have gained with them. His master said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant! in a few things you have been faithful, I will set you over many; enter into the joy of your master. He who had received the two talents also came and said, "Lord! Two talents thou hast given me; behold, the other two talents I have acquired with them. His master said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant! in a few things you have been faithful, I will set you over many; enter into the joy of your master. One by one, the slaves approach their master and give an account of what they have received and what they have earned with the help of what they have received. One by one, we too will be compelled to approach the Lord of heaven and earth, and before millions of witnesses to give an account of what we have received and earned. At this hour, nothing can be hidden or corrected. For the Lord's radiance will so illuminate those present that all will know the truth about everyone. If we are able to double our talents in this life, then we will stand before the Lord with a clear face and a pure heart, like these two good and faithful servants. And let us be quickened forever by His words: Good and faithful servant! But alas for us, if we stand empty-handed before the Lord and His holy angels, like the third, evil and slothful, servant!

But what is the meaning of the words: in a few things you have been faithful, I will set you over many? They mean that all the gifts that we receive from God in this world, no matter how many of them there are, are small in comparison with the treasures that await the faithful in the other world. For it is written, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him" (1 Corinthians 2:9). The smallest labor for the sake of God's love is rewarded by God with generous royal gifts. For the little that the faithful will endure in this life out of obedience to God, and for the little that they will do in working on their souls, God will crown them with a glory such as none of the kings of this world has known or had.

And now let us see what happens to evil and unfaithful slaves:

And he who had received one talent came near, and said, "Lord! I knew thee that thou art a cruel man, that thou reapest where thou hast not sown, and that thou hast gathered where thou hast not scattered, and that thou hast gone and hid thy talent in the ground; Here's yours for you. Thus does this third servant justify his wickedness and laziness before the Master! But he is not alone in this. How many of us are there who shift the blame for their malice, negligence, idleness, and selfishness onto God! Not acknowledging their sinfulness and not knowing the humane ways of God, they murmur against God for their infirmities, illnesses, poverty, and failures. First of all, every word spoken by a lazy servant to the Master is a real lie. Does God reap where He did not sow? And does He gather where He has not scattered? Is there a good seed in this world that is not sown by God? And are there good fruits in the whole universe that are not the results of God's work? The wicked and the unfaithful complain, for example, when God takes their children away from them, saying, "What cruelty it is to take our children away from us untimely!"

Instead of murmuring against God and blaspheming Him on Whom all their breath depends, it would be better to say, as the righteous Job did: "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; as it pleased the Lord, so it was done; blessed be the name of the Lord! And how the wicked and unfaithful murmur against God, when hail breaks their bread, or when their ship with cargo sinks into the sea, or when sickness and infirmity come upon them, they murmur and accuse God of cruelty! And this happens only because they either do not remember their sins, or cannot learn from it a lesson for the salvation of their souls.

To the false justification of His servant, the Master answers: And his Master answered and said to him, 'Wicked servant and slothful!' Thou knowest that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered; therefore it behooved thee to give my money to the merchants, and when I came, I would have received it with profit. People engaged in money transactions are also called money changers. These are those who exchange one kind of money for another and thus make a profit as a result of exchange. But all this has its own figurative meaning. By those who trade should be understood those who do good, by silver - the gifts of God, and by profit - the salvation of the human soul. You see: in this world, everything that happens to people externally is only an image of what is happening – or should happen – in the spiritual realm. Even the money changers are used as an image of the spiritual reality that takes place inside, in the people themselves! The Lord wants to say to the lazy servant: "