The parable of Jesus this morning may be most appealing to financial advisers who recommend appropriate investments to their clients. What they’re actually doing is to persuade their clients to trust their choice. “Invest in this bioenergy company I recommend. If you give me five, I’ll give you five or more in the next ten years. It’ll never be less.” For certain, they will never bury their clients’ investments in the ground but do their best to multiply.
The parable of Jesus is not about how much each servant profits from the talents their master entrusts. There are at least two things that matter. One is what to do with what’s entrusted to them, and the other is the servants’ attitudes and perceptions of the master. Let’s reflect on the issue of attitude first. The first three servants have the same attitude. They recognize the master trusts them so that they’re given the task of managing his finances. They’re serious about the trust their master shows to them. Their attitude is “good and trustworthy” according to the master. On the other hand, the last one has a peculiarly feisty and rebellious attitude toward the master. He’s afraid to lose one talent entrusted but is not afraid to share his perception of the master who is “a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed.” The master is considered the one who just wants profit without taking any risk of investment. We can imagine his behavior of entrusting his finances to the servants may have felt like a trap. In the last servant’s mind, he might wonder, “What wicked intention does he hide behind that he would entrust his talents to the servants? What if I lose his talent and am told to pay back with a penalty?” He chooses to do nothing about it and keeps it somewhere safe by burying it in the ground. So he says to his master, “...I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.” This parable can easily be interpreted as Jesus’ way of teaching how important it is to use one’s resources and abilities productively. I’m not at all convinced that Jesus is interested in productivity management. Productivity management is an academic discipline that looks at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of individuals, teams, and organizations. I don’t think it needs Jesus to prove why time management, work-life balance, or process management matters. This analogy of talents must be congruent with the gospel of Jesus. This parable may well be about the life in which one discovers and cultivates the kingdom of God present in the depth of being. What’s entrusted to the servants or Jesus' followers is not that of resources, abilities, gifts, or talents but that of the indwelling presence of God. This talent or “talanton (τάλαντον)” in Greek originally meant “pair of scales, weight, definite weight, anything weighed.” This weight or what Jesus would call “my yoke” that is light or “holy burden” that is easy is available to all. But it is intentionally entrusted to those who have decided to follow his way of life. (Matthew 11:28-30) Let’s recall that Jesus teaches this parable as well as all the other ones to his disciples, which takes up two chapters of Matthew 24 and 25. It’s not taught to all. This parable is specifically for his followers. For them, the weight of the presence of God is the weight of crucifixion and resurrection. The more one sits and sees oneself in the radiant light of God’s presence, the better one sits and sees oneself in the world, knowing what one is called to become and behave skillfully and wisely for the sake of others in the name of love and compassion. The deeper one contemplates the Presence, the deeper one is involved in the world, becoming the peaceful presence. Metaphorically, this may be what five talents bear fruit of five more, two with two more. “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.” Friends, the weight of God’s presence is entrusted to those who have chosen to follow the way of Jesus. This is never an easy way to live life but a good and trustworthy one as Jesus invites, “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” |
Paul"...life up your love to that cloud [of unknowing]...let God draw your love up to that cloud...through the help of his grace, to forget every other thing." Archives
January 2025
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