How Familiar is This?

Matthew 25:14-30

Rev. Dr. Mary Alice Mulligan

            The Parable of the Talents is reported in two Gospels. We need to remember each author was putting together stories, information, and most importantly theology concerning the time Jesus was in the flesh. They wrote years after the Resurrection, after those early followers had begun forming fellowship and worship groups. One or two of Paul’s letters may even have been circulating. People were trying to figure out how to live the faith. One of the trickiest issues was the waiting. Followers believed the Resurrected Christ who ascended to God would eventually return. But like many of us, waiting was not their strong suit. So as Matthew constructed the Gospel, he gave attention to how words of Jesus could offer guidance during the between times – between the Ascension and the Return. Matthew places the telling of the Parable of the Talents in a group of three parables, from the last few days of Jesus’ life. The parables are placed in a discourse about the end times, the time of waiting and its conclusion. You might enjoy reading at least the last half of chapter 24 and all of chapter 25 to get the power of these parables as they occur together to teach us about waiting for Jesus’ return. However, for right now, here’s the Parable of the Talents from Matthew 25:1a, 14-30.

 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. “For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

            Preachers love when this parable rolls around in the lectionary, especially if it is during stewardship season. Their sermons go something like this: Each person has been given talents (musical gifts, skills to repair things, abilities like cooking, comforting others, a heart for fostering children, enjoying giving rides when needed, teaching, caring for shelter animals, but especially – more wealth than you need). Jesus entrusts talents to you, so your responsibility is to use them – or bury them. If you use them, the good coming from them will multiply around you. So, God is happy with you. Reward or punishment results from your work. Sound familiar?

            I’m convinced another interpretation of the parable of the talents is actually more accurate and helpful. To start, the parable shows us God. It’s easy to see Jesus is talking about a divine figure, not a human landowner. Our first view of this holy master is an act of extravagant generosity. A “talent” is a unit of money equaling 15 years’ wages. Three servants are entrusted with huge amounts of money, each according to their ability, from 15 years of wages to 75 years. Then the landowner goes away for a long time, which the early church would certainly identify with their long period of waiting for the return of Jesus, since his followers believed he promised to return in glory. They have been tussling with the delay of the return for what feels like a long time, so an undergirding question is what are people supposed to do during this interim. The parable paints a picture of the Chosen One allowing servants to make crucial decisions on their own while he is away. We might say God takes a “hands off” approach to what the servants do with their part of the huge treasure which has been entrusted to them. There is no yearly audit mentioned. No bank agent overseeing their activities. The landowner divvies up the cash and leaves. For a long time.

But then we catch glimpses of God’s response when the landowner finally returns. The landowner clearly seems to retain ownership of the treasure since the one talent person has his portion taken from him. But the others seem to be rewarded with receiving the cash. Those who have, he says, will receive even more, and they will have an abundance. The treasure seems now to belong to them. But most importantly, Jesus says the landowner praises those who doubled their talents and invites them “into his joy,” which the early church would have understood as the promised messianic banquet at the end of the age. To the one talent servant the landowner says, “Oh you knew about me, did you?” But clearly, he does not know the landowner who gave extravagantly, then trusted the servants with his entire fortune on their own for a long time. The parable shows a stunningly generous God.

            But what about the faithful followers? The servants show what believers are supposed to do while they wait. Although the familiar interpretation is they were rewarded because they earned a lot of money for the church, so preachers love to use this during stewardship season, let’s consider something else. The 10-talent giver and the 4-talent giver receive the same response, so the amount did not matter. So how does the one not rewarded differ? He is called lazy; he ignores the generosity of his employer; and he admits his basic feeling is fear. He does nothing because he is afraid. He is unwilling to take the risk even to invest the money in a sure return. Instead he plays it safe. Bury it. The gift brings no joy. He just hides it away until the landowner returns.

The difference is in their approaches. The other two take significant risks. One commentator even said she believes they would have been praised and called into the joyous banquet if they had risked it all and lost it. The point with Jesus is to risk everything for the sake of God’s Realm. Think of the timing of the telling of this parable. Jesus takes a huge risk leaving the safety of Galilee and traveling openly to Jerusalem. Since we know the story, we could easily say going to Jerusalem looks like a risk that got him killed. There was no doubling his 15 years of treasure; he was executed. But it was the right move, because he acted out of courage and compassion. Risking everything for God’s Realm is what matters. Jesus went to Jerusalem to continue bearing witness to the unconditional love of God. The servants in the parable risked, in spite of their fear. While they waited for his return they worked, in ways they knew would please their employer, taking risks and never being sure the outcome would be stellar, not knowing when the landowner would return, and having no idea the reward would include entering into the landowner’s joy (which the listeners would know was the messianic banquet). This was not trying to earn a place in heaven. They moved ahead, risking, it all, carrying out the landowner’s wishes now. We see the faithful followers are those who are willing to risk for God.

            So, church, what is our faithful risk? How is Jesus expecting us to live during this waiting time we call life? Here are some thoughts. Most of us probably don’t believe in a literal return of Jesus, because most of us believe the Spirit of Christ is already among us now. So, we don’t have to wait a return, even though it’s perfectly fine if God does make something happen at some undisclosed time. But we don’t have to wait because through the teachings of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit among us we have been given a holy vision (at least a glimpse) of the way God wants the world. Through Jesus’ guidance we can imagine Earth whole and at peace, with every person thriving. Such a vision is our holy treasure, as valuable as being entrusted with 75 years of wages.

If we want to live in ways which please our God now and into the future, we need to risk living into the vision Jesus taught us. Such behavior is not to win some security reward in the hereafter, since Christ is present among us now. Our task is to figure out how to move toward God’s holy vision now. Jesus did not give instructions for every decision, but he gave guidance for living in a world where people act from selflessness, compassion, and generosity, ensuring everyone has a safe and fruitful life. When we imagine such a world, we can live into the vision with boldness, bravery, generosity, and courage. We can act out of deep concern for others and make sure they flourish. But to do that, we are called to change, to risk, sometimes a big risk.

Global Ministries is our denominational organization helping people connect with partners in other countries to teach, dig wells, fight diseases. They are always searching for workers committed to Jesus’ teachings. Maybe someone here is ready to risk big with Global Ministries. But a risk can also be smaller than moving to a foreign country. It might start with sharing our understanding of God’s unconditional love with someone we don’t like but we suspect needs to know they are loved. It’s a risk worth taking. Or volunteering to be an assistant in an overcrowded schoolroom. Or making the turkey for Project 180’s Thanksgiving Dinner. Day by day, Jesus calls us to take bigger and bigger risks for God’s vision. As we participate in actualizing the vision Jesus taught, we help shape the world now according to the ways of Jesus and in ways which please God. So we each might look in a mirror and ask: Because of you, is the world drawing closer to God’s vision? Is the world more like how God wants it or less? We are each called to figure out what our faithful risk might be.

            The parable of the Talents is quite familiar to some of us, so familiar we lose the challenge it makes. The same thing can happen in our daily faith life. Our church habits can become so familiar it is almost as if we bury the treasure. We lose the challenge we receive daily from Jesus to risk more; to help God’s will for the world to move forward; to move out of our comfort zone to share the treasure of God’s unconditional love for every person with more and more people. Each of us gets to choose every day what we will do with God’s amazing treasure which has been entrusted into our care.