25:14 "For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and
entrusted his property to them;
25:15 to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each
according to his ability. Then he went away.
25:16 The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded
with them, and made five more talents.
25:17 In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents.
25:18 But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in
the ground and hid his master's money.
25:19 After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts
with them.
25:20 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.'
25:21 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.'
25:22 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.'
25:23 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.'
25:24 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;
25:25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you
have what is yours.'
25:26 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?
25:27 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.
25:28 So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents.
25:29 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.
25:30 As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
It seems to me that the most precious gift God has entrusted to us is the life, death, and resurrection of his son, Jesus Christ. The parable of the talents somehow brings to mind for me the lyrics of Twila Paris' song, What Did He Die For? She expounds on the death of a 20-year-old soldier in WWII, and then on the death of Jesus in AD 33. The chorus says,
What did he die for when he died for you and me,
Made the sacrifice, so that we could all be free?
I believe we will answer each to heaven
For the way we spend a priceless liberty.
Look inside and ask the question:
What did he die for when he died for you and me?
Also brings to mind some of the final words of Private Ryan: Make it count.
Let your life show that God's precious investment in us counts for something.
MBG in California
The master was gone for "a long time." How long is a long time? If "a long time" is a working lifetime, then the 100% return of the good and faithful servants is not such a great return at all by our standards, and also the standards of the day, and perhaps the "interest in the bank return" the lazy slave might have achieved would have been greater than a doubling. There is also a hint that any return at all is satisfactory (although I like the former better than the latter.)
This suggests that Jesus is concerned with with the quality of the investment and the investor's effort rather than the rate of return. If the master is gone for a lifetime, then perhaps the talents (and the abilities of the slaves) are the stuff that the master has given for a lifetime of sustenance for the slave and those in his/her keeping and the master's desired investment return. The master says make a living and pay me back in the end. And the payment the master seeks is most to have participated in risks and the righteousness of life lived intentionally for the master.
Sandra, God's bean counter in NJ
I'm preaching at a different church - well, two churches - where a lay pastor usually preaches.
Not being ordained, he cannot serve communion, so that's what I'll do. Any ideas on obvious tie-ins to the Eucharist in any of these passages?
One thing that bothers me is the use of shameing in sermons (Aren't you ashamed of yourself for wasting your life when the Lord paid such a price for it ... ). I keep thinking of Isaiah's vision: nobody told him he was unclean, he just caught a glimpse of the greatness of God. Can we just preach the greatness of God without scolding ourselves and our people?
kbc in sc
kbc You remind us that if we don't bring God's grace, then we fail in our task. Where is grace in the talents? The master reaps where he has not sown and gathers where he hasn't strewn, just as the Joshua passage--if we include vs. 24:13--reminds us that we live in cities we haven't built and harvest from trees we didn't plant. We all rely on that which we cannot provide for ourselves--we all rely on God's grace and gracious provenance.
The eucharist is God's grace poured out beyond measure--the abilities great or modest that we "possess" and the talents that come to us in the way of opportunity to do our master's will are also God's grace. We should not be ashamed to admit that we are needy in every way, that we need God's grace in order to live, especially to have life and to have it abundantly.
Sandra in NJ
There is an interesting parallel between Judges and Matthew:
Deborah embraces a wrathful God - one who defends his people.
The Man with One Talent runs from a wrathful God - who judges him for not investing his talent.
What does this suggest? Is there a difference between a "royal" person (a war-lord) and a common person?
Is it possible for us to embrace a Holy and Just God who stands against us and yet is tenderly near?
tom in ga
I think sometimes we emphasis the talents here. It's not the Number of Talents. We can reverse it, you ever did that? One Talent person goes and gets 10 more 5 talents makes 2 and 10 talents does nothing.... the one with 10 will loose them and be given to the 1! The least shall be first and the first least, right? Those who stand by doing nothing will be 'rewarded' but not like they think?!?! I can't help think about the trial that took place when I was in college. They made a TV movie about it , with Jodi Fostor...I woman was raped in a public place and the standers by did nothing...some cheered the rapist on! Then Rapist were obviously criminals...but the stander by was he/she not worse??? We may think we are sinning, but if we stand by and do nothing for our fellow man and his/her search for God...redemption...WOE TO US! Pastor Mary in OH
Isn't it interesting that these three men respond not to the master (God) but to their image of the master.
There is no doubt that this is exactly how we behave before God - if we see him as gracious, loving, and tender we will respond to him one way; and if we experience him as harsh and unforgiving we will respond another way.
How do we, the community of faith, give strength to people so that they may learn the mystery of God who calls us into life?
tom in ga
As I look at that third "talented one' and wonder of his fear I think of a quote from Nelson Mandela. It speaks of a fear to offer oneself and what one has to offer.
Bill in Austin
Our Deepest Fears
By Nelson Mandela (from 1994 presidential inaugural address)
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel
insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
As I look at that third "talented one' and wonder of his fear I think of a quote from Nelson Mandela. It speaks of a fear to offer oneself and what one has to offer.
Bill in Austin
Our Deepest Fears
By Nelson Mandela (from 1994 presidential inaugural address)
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel
insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Do we mistakenly call not using our talent "humility?" Do we mistakenly call not using our talent "Being humble?" Why do we find ourselves calling some who use their talent "show-offs?" while we ourelves hold back on our own talent?
Our talents - who does it really benefit? Us? Those around us? Or God? Who should it really benefit? The story seem to indicate our talents are really for God. We are created for God...
Phil in the north
Hi, everybody, I'm back!
After both a kidney stone and a perforated appendix, I believe I will finally be getting back to the pulpit this Sunday!
This text is not my favorite one for a number of reasons. I, also, do not feel good about shaming tactics, but that seems to be the way the focus of the pericope leads us.
Could we possibly encourage the people to believe that they (and we) are among those to whom God has given multitudes of talents, and uplift those ways in which we are all using those talents to increase the kingdom?
More work needed, but it feels like the direction we'll be moving in this corner of the kingdom.
Michelle
Two weeks ago, I preached on the absolute necessity of being humble. Last week, it was the absolute necessity of being spiritually disciplined. This week, it seems that there is an absolute need to take risks for the kingdom of
God. How do we manage these "absolute necessities"? It's like riding a bike -- when we find ourselves leaning too far in any one direction (being humble, practicing private disciplines, taking risks) we either fall over or we find balance and keep moving forward in the Way.
OLAS
It seems to me this parable (in the light of Judges) moves us between the dynamics of our lives from despair to hope.
These men with one, two, or three talents live in us. At times we have faith and take risks and at other times we are afraid. Sometimes God seems gracious to us and at other times he seems harsh. Is not this the experience of the Israelities under the oversight of the Judges (Deborah). When the Israelites were faithful God blessed them and when they moved away from God and worshipped other gods God punished them.
Does this make any sense?
tom in ga
kbc in sc - to tie in Communion; the talent we receive every Communion service is the body and blood of Jesus Christ. We become one with Christ. That's one tie in.
On a different note, as I made my way through the 1999 postings and the NewInterpBible commentary on this parable I found something I'd never seen before. What I found was the two very different images which were presented of "the master." One of these portraits came from the words of "wicked and lazy slave" and from the master's response to him. This portrait is that of a master who reaps where he did not sow and gathered where he did not scatter. The other portrait is presented by the masters actions. Those actions were that the master trusted his slaves/servants with huge amounts of money, 5 talents, 2 talents, and 1 talent. (1 talent is equal to 15 years wages for a day laborer). Then when the master returned from the journey he rewarded just as lavishly.
Two very different pictures of the same master. Did the 5 and 2 talent recipients act out of fear or out of love? The 1 talent recipient acted out of fear and got nothing out of it.
Mark in WI
I'm wondering about looking at the third slave not as acting out of fear, but as not acting at all (possibly out of fear).
The third slave did not set out to do anything wrong, just failed to do anything right. We, also, do not often set out to do wrong, but sometimes fail to do right. We leave the litter on the ground, after all, we didn't drop it there. We walk on by rather than offering assistance (as in the parable of the Good Samaritan). How often do we hear someone put down by those who deride, and not even attempt to "explain actions in the kindest way" or "put the best construction on everything"?
Now, how to encourage "works" for the kingdom, without making it sound as if works are the payment for salvation...
Michelle
I think our focus should not be on the slaves' actions, but on the masters' actions. The master freely gave these talents, which are very generous, considering that one talent alone is worth over 15 years' wages. Through the death and resurrection of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit, we are able to react to the master's giving. It is because of what has been first given to the slaves that they are able to "trade" or give or whatever with their talents. But it would not be possible without the master's first gift.
The passivity of the man with the one talent:
What causes this passivity? Why would a man (with only one talent) fail to invest his gift? Is he afraid the market will crash?
Some say it is because of his own image of God as wrathful. And others agree saying that what we fear the most will come true. But can we give it this psychological twist some 2000 years later?
Why doesn't this one respond? The early church fathers would suggest simply this reflects a mystery of iniquity?
After all what would have God said if the other two who did invest their talents lost everything? What then .... I don't think it would have been "those who lose their life for my sake will have found it." It has nothing to do with that ... it has to do with taking what is God's and putting it to use. But the meaning of this parable is not all that clear!
tom in ga
Hmmm .... a few dilemmas here from the conversation thus far ... to scold or not to scold the congregation, to invest or not to invest our resources, to view ourselves as capable and entrusted or as sinners in the hands of an angry God. Are we afraid of our power or of a powerful master?
I'm trying to get this reconciled somehow, and I'm thinking Tom in GA has offered a clue: that it's our image of God that drives our actions, by way of influencing our image of ourselves, our image of ministry, our image of others, our image of leaders, our image of church ...
I think of Deborah - her nonanxious presence (good description, whoever said it) seems to indicate that she wasn't as impressed with God's fearsomeness as she was with his faithfulness.
I'm hoping to talk about the human end of things without scolding. But, parables were meant to instruct people on faith matters, and to hold accountable.
What we're afraid of is that God's power is going to work through us and make us into something/someone we don't recognize - one who may not be well-liked by society - and to call us into the unknown future.
Sally in GA (starting too late, forgive the rambling)
