INTRODUCTION:
Today’s Scripture reading is set by the lectionary. It is a parable that Jesus told, and one writer, describing it, says, “Once more, Jesus has told a story…to shake us out of our lethargy.”* One way he shakes the modern reader is by using the imagery of a master and slaves. Slavery is an anathema in a free world, and to our ears, it is hard to hear anything positive coming out of this image. Our assumption would be that the master, by definition, would be exactly as the third slave sees him: a harsh man doling out impossible tasks with the goal of punishing those who toiled on his behalf.
However, for our understanding of this parable, it is important to note that in Jesus’ day, the people listening to his parable would have understood that this characterization of the master was too simplistic. In Jesus’ day, there were different types of slavery. Some slaves had managerial responsibilities of the master’s estate, and after a certain number of years of service, they were granted their freedom-- and even given a share of the master’s estate.** In this parable, the slaves depicted here are the managerial type, and the master is portrayed as very wealthy--and generous.
Keeping in mind this historical context, let us listen for the Spirit speaking through these words.
Scripture: Matthew 25:14-30
14“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20Then 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.” 21His 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.” 22And 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.” 23His 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.” 24Then 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; 25so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.” 26But 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? 27Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29For 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. 30As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Sermon: “Using our Talents for the Kingdom of God”
In my second church, there was a man who was originally from Chelsea, Massachusetts. This man told me a story about his father, whom I shall refer to as “Mr. Smith,” which is not his real name. Mr. Smith was a donut maker, and he made a darn good donut. Everyone thought so. Mr. Smith had a little bakery shop in Chelsea, where he made and sold his donuts. Mr. Smith wasn’t wealthy, but he made enough to get by; he was able to support his family. One day, a friend approached Mr. Smith. The friend was a coffee maker. The friend said to Mr. Smith something like this: “I have an idea. An investment opportunity. You make the best donuts around. I make the best coffee. I’m thinking we combine our operations--we make coffee and donuts in one shop. It will take some cash to get started; it will be a bit of a risk, but I think it’s gonna be worth it. I really see this business taking off. We’ll start with one shop, but with our quality products, we’ll expand in no time. Pretty soon everyone around will be enjoying our coffee and donuts—it will be great! Can I count you in?”
Mr. Smith looked at his friend the coffee maker and said something like this: “Thanks for thinking of me; I’m flattered, but I’m not interested. I’m happy with my one little shop. I’m not wealthy, but I make enough to get by. I don’t really want to do anything more.” The coffee maker was disappointed, but he accepted his friend’s decision. “I’m sorry you feel that way; I guess I’ll have to find another donut maker.” And he did. And Dunkin Donuts was born. And Mr. Smith, who had chosen not to take part in the investment opportunity, kicked himself for the rest of his life. Sad!
Mr. Smith is a bit like one of the characters in today’s parable—the slave who had received the one talent from his master. Rather than taking a risk to use the talent, the slave with the one talent opted for security—he went and hid his talent in the ground. Like Mr. Smith the donut maker, he had very little vision for what he could accomplish with his talent. He was satisfied with doing the least he could do to get by.
Let’s look more closely at the parable. First of all, the word “talent,” as we know it, came into the English language through this parable. (In Quest of a Kingdom, by Leslie Weatherhead, p. 152.) The word “talent” in Jesus day referred to a sum of money. A large sum. It represented 20 years worth of wages for a day laborer. (Interpretation Commentary, Matthew, by Douglas R.A.Hare, p. 286.) So for a master to entrust his slaves with such large sums, it was clear the master would have high expectations and would want the slaves to do something important with the money, to use it wisely. The master was making a large investment, and he expected a large return.
Further, one well-respected Biblical scholar that I read--Professor Eugene Boring--looking closely at the wording in this parable, makes a strong case that the master in this story wasn’t simply asking the slaves to invest the money--or put it to use--on his own behalf. Rather, the master gave the money to the slaves as a gift, as an investment in them, if you will, with the understanding that all the money--the initial investment plus the earnings-- would become the property of the slaves-- if they demonstrated that they were responsible with what they had been given and had used the investment well. (New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, Vol. VIII, p. 453, footnote 536.) Notice, also, that the scripture is clear that each slave was given an amount “according to his ability”; the master was not being imprudent or Machiavellian--setting his slaves up to fail--no one was given more than he could handle.
The sad thing about this parable is that the slave who received the one talent completely misunderstood the nature of his master and what his master expected of him. This slave saw his master as harsh and unfairly demanding. He saw the talent not as gift from the master, not as an opportunity to do something worthwhile and life-changing; he saw it as a burden to bear, a risk that was too scary to take. And here’s the saddest part: because his vision was too small to see his talent for what it really was--a doorway to opportunity, a chance to share in the life-changing work of his master, he missed out. He missed out on what his fellow slaves experienced—a chance to be in partnership with the master, sharing in his joy.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, this is what God offers to each one of us. We are like the slaves in the story. God has invested in each of us. Each of us is entrusted with talents—skills and resources and gifts from God, and we are each called to use them wisely, to do something worthwhile and life-changing and joyful with them. We are not called to play it safe, to bury what we have been given in the ground. We are called to get out there and take risks and use what we’ve got to build God’s kingdom. In fact, God is counting on us! All of us. Each of us. God is counting on us to shine the light of God’s love in the world. Like the slaves in the parable, each of us was given various talents, and the ability to use them, and God expects us to do just that.
Now, some of you listening to this may be feeling a little discouraged about now, thinking something like this, “Maybe some people were given talents by God, but not me. God must have skipped over me in the talent line.” If you are thinking that, let me assure you, it’s not true. Let me read a couple of paragraphs from a book written by Leslie Weatherhead (one of my favorite authors), a minister who was serving a church in England during World War II. His words may be over 70 years old, but they are still applicable today:
…we must have a wide view of the meaning of the word “talent.” It is really a misfortune that the word has come to be used in such a limited connotation. Those people who are my age and older will remember that in our youth the word “talent” was limited to being able to sing when friends came to tea, or being able to embroider … a nice cushion, or to recite a little poem. But would you rather live with [someone] who can sing, or with [someone] who has a talent for cheerfulness? Would you rather live with somebody who is a brilliant reciter of somebody else’s poems, or with somebody who can make life itself a poem with love and kindness and cheerfulness.
Sympathy is a talent. Can you write a kind letter to somebody in distress? Or do you say, “Well, of course, I am not gifted. I can’t do anything to help”? Tenacity of purpose, tenderness, lovableness, kindness, running a business or an office so that the atmosphere is conducive to the growth of the best things, running a home—a hard task in these days—so that there is joy in it and peace in it and serenity, with none of that noisy, hectic tumult that spells nervous tension for everyone in the house—yes, that is a talent indeed… There are all kinds of abilities beyond the things that the world has labeled talent. There is no one who has no talent.
And then he quotes a verse of poetry by Rudyard Kipling:
There’s not a pair of legs so thin, there’s not a head so thick,
There’s not a hand so weak and white, nor yet a heart so sick,
But it can find some needful job that’s crying to be done,
For the Glory of [God’s] Garden glorifieth every one.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, out in our community and in our world, there are a multitude of “needful jobs…crying to be done.” And God has entrusted us with talents so that we can do these jobs for the glory of God. Will we rise to the occasion? I know that in many ways, we already are. This church shines the light of God’s love to the people around us in ways large and small. But are there opportunities for service—maybe some simple ones—that we are missing?
o Maybe a neighbor is going through a hard time, and we need to be brave enough to say (if we haven’t said already), “My church has a prayer ministry; would you like me to add your name to the list of people we are praying for?”
o Or, maybe an elderly person, who is not adept with technology, would appreciate a phone call to check in.
This week, I invite you to think about ways you could use your talents to share God’s love in our community, and next Sunday, at our zoom fellowship time, I invite each of us to share a brief story of how we’ve put our talents to use. God has invested in each one of us. May we use that investment well, may we use our talents and enter into the joy of our master. Amen.
An earlier version of this sermon was first written and preached in York, ME on November 13, 2011.