Voice: Li Huan
Today is Friday, 23rd of January.
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and for ever.
Amen.
Psalm 18:1-6
I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
4 The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of destruction assailed me;[a]
5 the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as It was in the beginning, is
now, and shall be forever. Amen.
Matthew 25:14-30
14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
The Parable of the Talents forms part of Jesus’ Olivet Discourse on the last days. Together with the Parable of the Ten Virgins and the judgment of the Sheep and the Goats, it addresses watchfulness and accountability at the coming of the Son of Man. Read in this context, the parable is less about productivity or success, and more about faithfulness while we wait.
A talent in Jesus’ day was an enormous sum — roughly twenty years’ wages, representing a lifetime of labour. In this sense, the parable is about how a person uses his or her life.
Life itself is a gift. It comes as a complex mix of abilities and limitations, time and responsibilities, relationships and calling. Some are entrusted with more, some with less, each “according to his ability.” Whether one, two, or five talents, each servant receives a trust of immense value — a life entrusted for a season.
The first two servants act immediately on what they have received. They risk it, invest it, and multiply it for their master. They are commended not for the size of their return, but for their faithfulness.
The failure of the third servant has nothing to do with how much he was given. Nor is he accused of theft or betrayal. His failure is simpler — and more sobering: he did nothing. What was entrusted to him was buried, unused.
This fits a wider pattern in Gospel of Matthew. Trees that bear no fruit are cut down (Matthew 7). Salt that loses its saltiness is discarded (Matthew 5). Lamps without oil are shut out (Matthew 25). In Matthew’s Gospel, inaction is not neutral. It is a form of unfaithfulness.
So the parable presses a personal question upon us:
What will we do with the life we have been given?
Your life is uniquely yours, just as mine is uniquely mine. Do you know God’s call upon your life? Are there gifts, opportunities, and responsibilities he has entrusted to you? Are they being exercised for the blessing of others and the glory of God — or are they quietly rusting away?
The warning Jesus gives is real: there is such a thing as painful regret, described as “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Yet there is also hope.
As long as you have breath, it is never too late. The call of this parable is not despair, but invitation. As a new year has started, ask the Lord to help you be faithful with this precious life he has given you — and to enter, in time, into the joy of your Master.
We pray this prayer which you may have said in the Covenant Service:
Christ has many services to be done:
some are easy, others are difficult;
some bring honour, others bring reproach;
some are suitable to our natural inclinations and material interests,
others are contrary to both;
in some we may please Christ and please ourselves;
in others we cannot please Christ except by denying ourselves.
Yet the power to do all these things is given to us in Christ,
who strengthens us.
Amen.
Be blessed by this song, The Called, by Matt and Josie Minikus
Sometime i think i have to be perfect for God to use me.
I think i have to know it all, never stumble, never fall.
I focus on all my inadequacies, instead of what Christ can do through me.
I forget to trust and i can’t quite see.
That God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called
and he’ll supply your every need, we choose to give him all.
You can be too big for God to use but you’ll never be too small,
’cause God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies his called.
There is no one too young to serve, no one too old
no clay too hardend for our father to mold
He has a place designed for you, that no one else can fill
and he will give you what you need, when you choose to do his will.
So don’t hinder God with what you say you can’t do.
Just be willing and ready to be used.
Go where he leads with a heart that is willing.
No telling what he’ll do through you.
@Matt and Josie Minikus: / @mattandjosieminikus
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6HtNr… Website: https://www.mattandjosieminikus.com/
Link to today’s Morning Office
About This Daily Devotion
This weekday devotion is drawn from the Morning Office and is part of a project initiated by Revd Canon Terry Wong, with contributions from clergy and members across various parishes. Each entry includes selected readings from the appointed Psalm and another Scripture passage, accompanied by a reflection and prayer. An audio option is also available, often ending with a hymn or song. We encourage you to both read and listen.
Our aim is to help Anglicans engage more deeply with our rich liturgical tradition, while meeting the devotional needs of today’s believers. This project began on Ash Wednesday 2025 and is offered on weekdays only.
For feedback, please write to us at terrywong@anglican.org.sg
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