Today's reading from Matthew is the penultimate parable before the Passion Narrative. This - together with the last parable of the sheep and goats - brings to a climax the Lord's teaching on vigilance. Today we are told that whatever is given to us, for the short space of our earthly existence, is given to us on trust according to our respective abilities and needs. We do not despair that we might seem to have received little in comparison with others, like the servant who received only one talent. This 'little' is enough for the individual concerned, and it is quite capable of being nurtured. It does not matter, as Paul points out to the Corinthians, that we are not all graced with human wisdom, power or nobility. What counts is acknowledging that what we do have comes from the Lord, and it is to be built up for Him, "Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord."