Theology
Matters!
Matthew 25:14-30
The
Parables of the Talents is an odd parable. It
is something of an outlier in Jesus’ story telling. It
seems out of place. It
is odd because it appears to run counter to most of what Jesus
teaches elsewhere. The
conclusion seems particularly troublesome:
For
to 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.
This
does seem to be the very opposite of the great turning over which
Jesus’ picture of the Kingdom of God proposes. More
often we would expect Jesus to say something like:
He
has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty
(Lk. 2:53)
Or
Blessed
are the poor (in spirit) (Mt.
5:3)
Over
all Jesus seems much more a “take from the rich to give to the
poor” sort of a guy, rather than the reverse which is what he
appears to be proposing here. The
parable itself does seem to endorse a kind of what we might call
entrepreneurial acquisitiveness. The
first two slaves are commended for taking the money and using it to
make more money. So
that Jesus can be seen to endorse capitalism, which is by definition
making money out of money. Or
at the very least he appears to be endorsing a king of meritocracy,
where those who try hardest get the greatest rewards. Where
those who have most deserve what they have because they earned it. Which
again seems to run counter to the message of universal grace or
unmerited love which we might more normally associate with the
Kingdom of God. This
does seem
to be a much more conventional message, in the world’s terms than
we would normally expect from Jesus. The
one thing perhaps to note is that Jesus’ parable is realistic on
one sense, he doesn’t pretend that the world is a level playing
field. Those
who succeed in his parable, like those who succeed in the real world
are those who head start. The
two successful slave are the ones who given most to begin with, five
times and twice as much as the unsuccessful slave. So
taken alongside all the rest of Jesus’ teaching this is an odd
parable it is troublesome.
That
it makes us feel odd is probably intentional. Jesus
tells his story in a way that provokes our sympathy for the third
slave. As
he often does Jesus tells a story that repeats an idea or image one
and half times. The
man going on a journey has three slaves, with who he divides his
property.
To
one he gave five talents, to another two and to another one.
We
love an underdog. We
do in part because Jesus and the whole bible have taught us to love
the underdog. Time
and again in the Bible God sides with the younger son, the unloved
wife and always with the poor, the dispossessed and the outcast, with
the widow and the orphan. We
know we’re supposed to be on the third slave’s side. The
first slave takes the money and uses it to gain more money. Jesus
repeats the scene once: the second slave takes the money and uses it
to gain more money. Jesus
begins to repeat the scene a second time, but then veers off in
another, unexpected direction:
But
the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in
the ground and hid his masters money.
In
Jesus’ stories we are normally expected to identify or sympathise
with the third character to appear: think of the sequence “priest, Levite, Samaritan.” It’s
not an accident that that parable is called “The Good Samaritan.” And
here far more attention is paid to the third slave who fails, than to
the others who succeed. We
are given that detailed picture of what he does with the money. Which
itself would have greeted by Jesus’ listeners with a knowing nod. By
burying it in the ground the slave had done the prudent thing, it was
a widely accepted principle that one couldn’t be held responsible
for the loss of money which had been secured by burying it. We
hear
in detail this
slave’s
interaction with his Master when the accounts are settled. And
his fate is clearly announced. We
have been set up to side with the third slave. So
that when he is condemned:
As
for this worthless slave throw him into the outer darkness where
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
We
are shocked and outraged. And
in fact Jesus has set us up to feel that way! This
is an odd parable, which it would seem is meant to trouble us.
But
what is the message for us? Why
has Jesus set us up like this, to feel dismayed when he condemns
someone he has led us to sympathise with? Often
when talking about the Parable of the Talents preachers begin be
figuring out how much a talent is worth. (I’m
pretty sure I’ve done that myself in the past.) A
talent is a considerable amount of money. So
one thing should be noted from the start, whilst five and two talents
are clearly more than one; one talent is still a large sum. The
third slave is not poor. He
is very far, at least at the outset, from being dispossessed. He
is not the usual object of sympathy in the Bible or in Jesus’ story
telling. But
worrying about the value of a talent somewhat misses the point. Just
for once Jesus isn’t talking about real money. One
thing we should always remember about Jesus’ stories; they are
fiction. They
are indeed “parables.” They
are metaphorical, figurative. The
elements of the story stand for something else. The
pattern and the logic of the story show us something of the pattern
and the logic of God’s work and God’s reign.
Historically
the English language has actually grasped this. Whilst
in Greek a “talent” is a certain (considerable) weight of silver. In
English, under the influence of interpreting this parable, “talent”
has come to mean something else. It
means “natural aptitude or skill.” It
is perhaps rather revealing also that in this context the word “gift”
is more or less synonymous with the word talent. The
association with money is perhaps unfortunate and misleading. Jesus
actually says that the talents were given to the slave
To
each according to his ability.
Jesus
does see that different people have different gifts and aptitudes,
and is realistic to recognise that often these gifts have a different
economic value. St.
Paul finds a different way of expressing the same sort of idea. He
pictures a body with each of the members, mouth, eye, hands and feet,
having a different purpose. He
pictures diversity without emphasising so much different values. Jesus' story sets up a test. This
is the normal pattern for his story telling But
at this late stage of his ministry, within a day or two of his arrest
and execution, with things so urgent, he sets up the test to give a
warning. The
test will be passed or failed by the slaves according to what they
had done with what they had been given. The
first two succeed but the third fails. The
first two had taken what they were entrusted with and made use of it
and as a result it a had grown. The
third had taken what he was given and hidden it away, kept it to
himself, to make sure that there was no loss or change, as a result
it had remained as it was sterile and lifeless. When
we keep in mind that Jesus isn’t really talking about money, but
about who we are and what we do, the story takes on a quite different
complexion.
So
the story is warning to us not to be like the third slave. Jesus
uses the discomfort he causes in us, to shake us from our
complacency. Jesus
warns us not to live our lives trying to hold onto to what we have
and never taking responsibility or any kind of risk. But
the question arises why did the slaves act differently? Why
did the third slave fail? And
what was it about the first two that meant they succeeded? This
becomes clear when we examine the opinion of the master about his
slaves and the slaves about opinion about him. The
master calls the third slave:
You
wicked and lazy slave.
The
master’s opinion of the slave is every bit as negative as the
slave’s opinion is of him, who says:
I
knew you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and
gathering where you did not scatter.
This
negative opinion had left the third slave paralysed with fear. He
was more concerned with the negative possibilities of failure than
with the opportunity that his master’s trust in him had given. He
failed to take responsibility and he failed to act. Preferring
to take a secure but lifeless route he hid what he had been given
where it could do no good to anybody. In
the end the negative opinions of the slave and the master toward each
other are a reflection of each other. The
slave negative opinion of his master leads to the master’s negative
opinion of him.
But
we by no means have to accept the third slave’s opinion of his
master as accurate. The
master describes the first two slaves, he calls them:
good
and trustworthy.
What
we don’t hear directly is the first two slaves’ opinion of their
master. But
perhaps like the other slave there
would some sort of parallel between what he thinks of them and they
think of him. Perhaps
they would have said: "We knew that you were a generous and forgiving
man." Such
a view of their master set them free. It
enabled
them to take responsibility for what they had been given. They
actively used their talents which meant that they increased, for the
benefit not only of themselves, but no doubt for those around them.
Theology
matters! That
is, what we think about God makes a difference. What
we think God is like, shapes the kind of people we become. If
our picture of God is of an angry old man in the sky, then we are
likely to be fearful. We
will certainly take no generous risks with our lives. We
will tend to hang onto to what we have got, try keep it intact and
keep it for ourselves. But
that picture of God is in no way the true picture of God which Jesus
presents to us. Jesus’
portrayal of God from beginning to end is one of kindness and
generosity, love and forgiveness. That
true picture of God is what sets us free. Jesus’
invitation is to take responsibility for what each of has been given. We
recognise its diversity, and sometimes have to accept that the world
at least puts a different financial value on our abilities and
aptitudes. But
we are called to be open and expansive, to use what we have for the
good of ourselves, for our neighbours, for the world and for God’s
kingdom.
Jesus’
promises always go with a warning But
his warnings also always come with a promise. The
promise of a life lived in the knowledge that God is generous and
forgiving is to hear at its end:
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.
Amen.
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