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Parables have a way of involving us, drawing us in, and
then catch us off guard. Today’s parable, The Parable of
the Talents, has an edge to it that makes us feel
uncomfortable. The word talent is misleading, when we
think of talent we think of a special ability in music
or art. She is a talented musician, he is a great
artist. However, in this parable a talent is a large
sum of money. A talent is so much money that it is hard
for us to comprehend. In recent weeks we have heard
about a trillion dollars, that’s a 1 followed by nine
zeros. For most of us it is an amount that we cannot
even fathom, it is so large. In Jesus’ day a talent was
the largest sum of money.
A
wealthy landowner was “going on a journey.” He summoned
his trusted managers giving them the responsibility to
care for his assets and property in his absence. One
manager received five talents, the second two, and the
third one. We need not feel sorry for the third servant
who only received one talent. A talent was a boat load
of money, representing ten or more years’ wages. It was
more money then they could comprehend.
Imagine being given a suitcase of gold bullion,
weighting seventy-pounds, and have the responsibility to
invest it. Again let’s face it-it would be very
difficult for most if not all of us, to care for such a
huge sum. We are not told what the first two servants
did with their “talents” only that somehow they were
able to double the amount entrusted to them. The one
given five talents doubled the amount to ten; the second
servant doubled two to four. If only it was that easy.
The third servant, the one with the single talent, did
the sensible thing and buried the treasure in the
ground. It was such a large amount he wanted to be sure
that when the landowner returned he would be able to
return every last cent. Burying wealth in the ground
may strike us as odd, but in Jesus’ day it was
considered the safe and sensible thing to do.
Considerable time had past when the landowner returned
from his extended holiday. One by one he calls his
managers to give an account of what they’ve done with
the money he entrusted them with. The first two told of
doubling the original investment. The landowner
commended them, “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.” Each had additional responsibilities added to
their job description as a result of their success.
We
are not sure what will happen to the third manager, the
one who dug a hole and buried his treasure. In another
parable the third person becomes the hero. The Parable
of the Good Samaritan, it is the third person who stops
to assist the wounded person along the side of the
road. Not this time! Listen carefully to his
explanation, “Master, I knew that you were a harsh
man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where
you did not scatter seed.” We quickly discover that the
third servant did not have a positive view of the
landowner. He was afraid and acted out of fear.
While the landowner commended the other two managers the
third one he calls, “you wicked and lazy slave!” The
manager should have invested with bankers and at least
have been able to earn some interest on his investment.
But he did not. He did nothing. He buried his talent
in the ground. His talent was given to the manager with
the most. The landowner calls him a “worthless slave.”
It gets worse, there are consequences to his lack of
action, “throw him into the outer darkness, where there
will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Our natural inclination is to want to defend the third
manager; after all he was never given any clear
directions. If only the landowner would have told him
what to do then he might very well have done it.
Without clear instructions he took what he thought was
the best course of action. No one told him any
differently. He obviously did not have a good
relationship with the landowner viewing him a “harsh
man” and his fellow managers to ask for their
assistance.
What can we take from this parable? Could it be that we
are supposed to identify with the third manager? Is our
naturally tendency to bury our treasure rather than use
it? Are we like the third servant who sat on his
treasure, keeping it safe and not risking? Are we
fearful and afraid of what the future might hold?
We
have the greatest treasure, Jesus Christ. We are
charged to share the good news of Jesus with others.
Whenever we step out in faith there is always risk
involved. When we bury our treasure, we miss out on the
joy of discipleship.
Maybe what we need to change is our attitude. We look
to the larger churches, noting their numerous programs
and their abundance of young families and feel bad about
ourselves. We claim that we are just a small church.
So we do nothing—we bury our talent in the ground never
to be seen again! Maybe we need to raise our self
esteem, to feel good about ourselves and our ministry.
It is time for us to go out and talk with our neighbors
and friends, to share the good news of our faith.
We
have so much to offer. While we do not have all the
programs that larger churches have we do have much to
offer people. In a day and age when people do not know
other people we can invite people into relationship with
Jesus and the church. We go out of our way to make
people feel welcome and accepted in our church. We care
about people who come to our church. An advantage of a
smaller church is that we can just about know everyone.
Maybe we are like the third manager, frighten and afraid
to act. Jesus is telling us we should be more like the
first two mangers, not afraid to take risks. While not
all of our efforts will yield large results, some very
well might. We share our faith with others knowing that
not everyone will respond, but some will.
Clearly the third manager did not have a good
relationship with the landowner; he viewed him in
negative terms as a harsh person. We are able to step
out in faith because of our relationship with Jesus. We
know Jesus loves us and wants the very best for each one
of us. While others may let us down from time to time
Jesus never will!
Radio host Delilah is known for her compassion. One
evening while she was on the air, taking requests,
chatting with listeners, she noticed an email from a
woman in Ghana. The woman said she needed money to care
for her three small children. Delilah was ready to hit
the delete button thinking this was some kind of a scam
when something stopped her. She wrote back asking for
additional information. It turned out that it was the
woman’s cousin who was writing because the woman was
illiterate.
That night Delilah had difficulty sleeping. “About
three in the morning, I bolted straight up in bed,” at
that moment she recalled the name of a man who worked
for a Christian relief organization that helped people
around the world. She got up out of bed and emailed
him.
Eventually the family was found and Delilah was able to
send them aid. Someone from the relief organization
told her, “You’ve helped five people. What are you
going to do about the other forty-two thousand?”
“Not my problem” Delilah replied. A minute later in her
office she heard the voice of God ask, “What did you
just say?” Delilah would travel to Africa to see for
herself the tremendous need. “The tragedy was on a
scale I’d never witnessed,” she said of her experience.
Delilah began a ministry, “Point of Hope” which would
bring water and more to the people. Today there are
twelve pumping stations at the camp. (1)
One person used her talents to help others and in the
process discovered the joy of discipleship.
The “Parable of the Talents” calls us to reexamine our
attitude. And also serves to remind us of the
importance of stepping out in faith, not afraid to try
new things. On that day when each one of us will stand
before Jesus we want to hear those words, “Well done,
good and trustworthy slave… enter into the joy of your
master.”
Amen.
1. “A Drop of
Hope” Delilah, Guidepost, October 2008, pp. 34-38
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