There’s something about this story that rubs us the wrong way. We’ve just heard the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus reminds us that blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. In this story, the meek get thrown out into the darkness and the rich seem to get richer. This master who goes away on a journey doesn’t seem to work very hard. He seems to have people who do all the work for him. He reaps where he doesn’t sow and gathers where he doesn’t scatter. He’s the 1%! What can we possibly learn from this cruel and selfish master?
The rich master goes away and entrusts his wealth to his servants. To one he gives five talents (a talent is a large bar of silver worth a considerable amount of money.) To another servant he gives two talents and to another he gives one. The servants who were given five and two talents invest the money and double it. The servant who was given one talent buries it in a field and keeps it safe but earns no interest. The master deals harshly with him. What gives? I think this story describes business to this day. Any investment firm would do the same with its money managers if they did nothing with the resources entrusted to them.
The hard word comes when Jesus says, “to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have in abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” This sounds odd coming from the mouth of Jesus. We have come to expect him to stand up for the poor and the weak. He is always removing burdens from the backs of the poor and unsettling the rich in their place of privilege.
Maybe we have to set aside the story about money and look at what the servant is being chastised for. Nobody lost any money. There’s plenty of money at the end of the story. The servant hid the money because he was afraid of what might happen if it were lost. It never really was his. He would never enjoy what it could buy. It would mean nothing to him for his master to have more or less money. The servant is called worthless and lazy and wicked because of his fear. He is more anxious about failure than he is about success. He is only thinking about what might happen to him, rather than thinking about how to obey his master.
This is the message of the story for us. It’s not about the money. We are anxious about money. I think this is why Jesus talks about money so much. The parable isn’t about money so much as our anxiety. Jesus is warning us what happens when we let our worries dictate our actions. Instead, we should be letting our faith guide our actions. This story reminds us that the good news is more than comfort. The good news compels us to take risks. In fact, we are led to take risks that are bound to make us uncomfortable. This goes against many of the motivations that draw us to Christian community. We join a church to hear words of comfort. We want to raise our families the right way. We want to hear words that will help us make sense of the confusing world around us. The last thing we want is to find more unease and tension and stress.
The comfortable lie we tell ourselves is that God loves us and protects us. God wouldn’t do anything to harm us or burden us. The words of Jesus make us sit up! Surely we won’t be cast into the darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth! In truth God does love us and sometimes God’s love compels us to follow uncomfortable paths and uncertain outcomes.
The fault of the lazy servant was his unwillingness to risk. He took the safe route with his master’s money. In those days, if you hid something by burying it, you would not be at fault if it were lost. The servant took the safest route he could. He risked nothing of himself (even if it meant a loss or lack of gain by his master.) This is where we have to stretch ourselves a little further. What are we willing to risk of ourselves?
Many of the sacrifices we make are for others or for our work. We may risk looking foolish to others. We make sacrifices for our children we might not dare for ourselves (but in a way those sacrifices can still be self-serving.)
Jesus challenges us to think bigger. Jesus challenges us to think about God’s will for the whole world. God wants to reconcile the whole world to God and to reconcile us all to one another. It is a big job. It will take everything we have to give. It was worth everything to Jesus. It was worth everything to the disciples. In this day and at this time we are being called to think about our own commitment to God’s work. What are we willing to risk? What do we have to learn to risk? What are we afraid to lose?
We know what happens when we live in fear. We become hemmed in and isolated from our neighbors and our best selves. Our lives become less. We are in darkness. When we take that frightening step to welcome the stranger or reach out to someone in need – we may fail – and we may discover new friends and new strength. When we have courage our lives grow larger. Jesus is always inviting us into a newer, larger life. We are being invited to enter in God’s joy at the work of loving the world.
The rich master goes away and entrusts his wealth to his servants. To one he gives five talents (a talent is a large bar of silver worth a considerable amount of money.) To another servant he gives two talents and to another he gives one. The servants who were given five and two talents invest the money and double it. The servant who was given one talent buries it in a field and keeps it safe but earns no interest. The master deals harshly with him. What gives? I think this story describes business to this day. Any investment firm would do the same with its money managers if they did nothing with the resources entrusted to them.
The hard word comes when Jesus says, “to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have in abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” This sounds odd coming from the mouth of Jesus. We have come to expect him to stand up for the poor and the weak. He is always removing burdens from the backs of the poor and unsettling the rich in their place of privilege.
Maybe we have to set aside the story about money and look at what the servant is being chastised for. Nobody lost any money. There’s plenty of money at the end of the story. The servant hid the money because he was afraid of what might happen if it were lost. It never really was his. He would never enjoy what it could buy. It would mean nothing to him for his master to have more or less money. The servant is called worthless and lazy and wicked because of his fear. He is more anxious about failure than he is about success. He is only thinking about what might happen to him, rather than thinking about how to obey his master.
This is the message of the story for us. It’s not about the money. We are anxious about money. I think this is why Jesus talks about money so much. The parable isn’t about money so much as our anxiety. Jesus is warning us what happens when we let our worries dictate our actions. Instead, we should be letting our faith guide our actions. This story reminds us that the good news is more than comfort. The good news compels us to take risks. In fact, we are led to take risks that are bound to make us uncomfortable. This goes against many of the motivations that draw us to Christian community. We join a church to hear words of comfort. We want to raise our families the right way. We want to hear words that will help us make sense of the confusing world around us. The last thing we want is to find more unease and tension and stress.
The comfortable lie we tell ourselves is that God loves us and protects us. God wouldn’t do anything to harm us or burden us. The words of Jesus make us sit up! Surely we won’t be cast into the darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth! In truth God does love us and sometimes God’s love compels us to follow uncomfortable paths and uncertain outcomes.
The fault of the lazy servant was his unwillingness to risk. He took the safe route with his master’s money. In those days, if you hid something by burying it, you would not be at fault if it were lost. The servant took the safest route he could. He risked nothing of himself (even if it meant a loss or lack of gain by his master.) This is where we have to stretch ourselves a little further. What are we willing to risk of ourselves?
Many of the sacrifices we make are for others or for our work. We may risk looking foolish to others. We make sacrifices for our children we might not dare for ourselves (but in a way those sacrifices can still be self-serving.)
Jesus challenges us to think bigger. Jesus challenges us to think about God’s will for the whole world. God wants to reconcile the whole world to God and to reconcile us all to one another. It is a big job. It will take everything we have to give. It was worth everything to Jesus. It was worth everything to the disciples. In this day and at this time we are being called to think about our own commitment to God’s work. What are we willing to risk? What do we have to learn to risk? What are we afraid to lose?
We know what happens when we live in fear. We become hemmed in and isolated from our neighbors and our best selves. Our lives become less. We are in darkness. When we take that frightening step to welcome the stranger or reach out to someone in need – we may fail – and we may discover new friends and new strength. When we have courage our lives grow larger. Jesus is always inviting us into a newer, larger life. We are being invited to enter in God’s joy at the work of loving the world.
RSS Feed