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. (Matthew
25:29)
Does
stuff in the Bible ever bug you? When I look at the gospel lesson assigned for
Pentecost 25 in the revised Common Lectionary (Matthew 25:14-30), I have to ask
myself just where the freak is the gospel in this parable? Where’s the
good news?[i] I wonder what Bernie
Sanders would say about this reading. You know, old Bernie is Jewish, so he may
not look at this text as an exhortation to Christian virtue. He might just see
it as an example of a rigged economic system that’s stacked against the little
guy from the start.
Jesus
tells us this story about a really rich guy who is, apparently, rapaciously
greedy. He’s a total hardass, who reaps where he doesn’t sow and gathers where
he doesn’t scatter. This probably means he’s a fat-cat owner who makes a
fortune off the work of poor people. He has three servants whom he entrusts
with crazy amounts of capital. One gets five talents or 30,000 pieces of silver—a
“talent” being equivalent to 6,000 silver coins—which is a lot of loot if you
ask me. The second servant gets 12,000 pieces of silver, and the third guy gets
a measly one talent or 6,000 coins. Obviously, the boss favors one employee
over the others. He only trusts the third guy with one lousy talent, and he
probably had it in mind to fire the guy anyway.
The
three servants or stewards have one job: look after the boss’s money. That
means, they’re supposed to make this rich guy even richer. The contest is
pretty unfair since the hot-shot investor is given the most cash to invest. I’m
reminded of David Mamet’s wonderful play about the corrupting power of greed
and competition Glengarry Glen Ross. The play’s characters are real
estate salesmen working on commission. Each is in competition to see who can
make the bosses the most money. The top seller wins a Cadillac. The second-place
winner gets a much smaller prize. All the others get fired—thrown into the
outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. [ii]
Part
of me thinks Bernie Sanders might have a point if he should understand this
parable as an indictment of runaway capitalism. After all, the third servant
didn’t do anything wrong. He protected the boss’s bankroll and didn’t lose a
penny of it. He was also scared of the guy which, if you ask me, is more
of a judgment against the boss than of the slave. It seems terribly unfair that
the boss calls this guy “wicked[iii]” just for guarding his
money. In a way, the third servant is kind of a pitiable fellow, and I wonder
if Jesus didn’t mean for us to feel a little sorry for him.
But,
for those who read or heard read this parable in Matthew’s community back in
the first century, the economics might not have been what registered. These lovers
of Christ were eagerly awaiting His return. For them, the message of the story
was pretty clear: Do the works of God while you still have time to do them. Don’t
sit on your blessings. Even the smallest resource is still a resource to be
used for God’s glory. If you don’t use it, you’ve wasted it.
The
biblical prophets and gospel writers always speak to the community at large,
and they still speak to us as a community today. If our congregations fear
closure more than we love proclaiming the gospel, we have squandered the talents
God has given us. Our faith can’t be only about institutional survival. We can’t
be like the third servant who is more afraid of losing what he has than he is
excited about entering into the joy of his master.
We
at Faith Lutheran are awaiting word about our application for an ELCA Domestic
Hunger Grant. If we’re successful, we can, in partnership with our Sevent Day
Adventist friends, open a food distribution site here at our church. We will
not only provide food for those in need, but we can reach out and provide
volunteer opportunities for anyone in the neighborhood who has a heart for
serving. Already some of our young people, by using social media and the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, have extended our reach into the local community
and produced three successful community festivals and are planning another for spring
of 2027, also in partnership with our Haitian SDA friends. And let’s not forget
that every year on Harvest Home Sunday (the Sunday before Thanksgiving) this
little congregation fills our chancel with food for the hungry in our
neighborhood. Perhaps we’ve only been given one little, itsy-bitsy talent, but
we use it to the joy of our Master.
Finally,
this parable reverberates on a personal note. The word “talent” originally, as
in the story, referred to a unit of weight, usually of some precious metal.
Today the word has come to mean a special ability. I believe God has enriched
everyone with talents, and we should each find a way to use the ones God gave
us. It’s incumbent to ask ourselves if we’re doing what we do best. You may not
make a living using your special gift, but you should find a way to use it all
the same. Think of it as keeping the “good” dishes in a cabinet and never
eating off of them. That’s an insult to the person who made them.
Maybe
my special talent is finding weird or conflicting messages in Bible stories.
This parable could possibly be about economic injustice, but it’s also an
encouragement to walk by faith and not by sight.
Do your thing, my friend. It makes God smile. Oh! And leave me a comment if you have time. God bless!
[i]
And let’s not even get started on the assigned Hebrew Scripture lesson for this
Sunday, Zephania 1:7. 12-18. Talk about a bummer!!
[ii] Mamet’s
play was first produced in 1984 and has seen several revivals on Broadway and
London and a film adaptation. It’s both funny and tragic at the same time, but
you have to get past the profanity. Every other word is a cuss word. Like all
Mamet’s plays, the dialogue sounds like the way some people really talk. These just
aren’t people you’d like to hang around with!
[iii] The
Greek word here is ponere. It can mean evil or just plain bad, like food
that’s gone bad or something substandard. It still sounds pretty harsh to me. This
boss should really be reported to HR
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