In the Parable of the Talents, Christ tells of a master who gives his servants different amounts according to their abilities. One receives five talents, another two, and another one. The servant with one talent is not judged because he received less than the others, but because he buried what he had been given. This sermon considers what this parable teaches about our God-given gifts and the Orthodox Christian spiritual life. God calls us to faithfulness with what He has actually placed in our hands.

It can be tempting to compare our spiritual lives with the apostles, martyrs, monastics, and other saints of the Orthodox Church. Their lives can seem far removed from our ordinary responsibilities and struggles. Yet God does not ask every Christian to live the same outward life. Through the Holy Spirit, we are given what we need to seek the K ...