The advertising industry spends millions and millions of dollars every year trying to sell us products or trying to get us to do something that profits their clients. Every now and then a commercial comes along that is clever and sticks with you. The one that comes to mind today was an ad I think for the US Army: The slogan was BE all you can be. And that pretty well sums up the parable in today’s gospel reading.

Jesus tells the story of a wealthy man who has a number of servants. He is going on a journey and entrusts his servants with various amounts of money. When he returns from his travels, he asks for an accounting. HE discovers that two have been enterprising and doubled their amount while one dug a hole and buried his for safekeeping. The first two are rewarded and the last one punished.

Sometimes when we read this gospel we think Jesus is talking about specific talents that we might have, like art or music. That however would create unnecessary competition among people: who has what and who doesn’t. What Jesus is really talking about is the person that God has created each of us to be and the potential within us. And HE urges us to BE all we can be.

What is clearly implied in this parable is that becoming that person is a process that evolves over time. Some days we are at our peak; other days not so much. But we are encouraged to be the best we can be at the time.

The first reading from Proverbs talks about the value of a worthy wife. She is being praised for being the best that she can be in the direction in which her life has taken.

So too with us. Whatever paths our lives have taken, we are encouraged to be the best we can be: the most faithful, loyal, and faith-filed follower of Christ at home, in the workplace, and in social settings.

So let us strive to BE all we can be in everything we do!