Matthew 25:14-30
Grace peace and mercy from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Well here we are in the middle of November. As all good Lutherans know, in many congregations its time for the annual stewardship drive. Stewardship drives compile lists of member talents or gifts and gather financial pledges for the next years giving. The parable of the talents is often used as a basis for the message to reflect on stewardship.
I'm going to do the same but put a much different emphasis on the interpretation of the parable.
Talents were a measure of monetary value. Precious metals, in particular gold, were measured in talents. We know from ancient records that a talent was a significant amount of monetary value. Taxation of a vassal state by a conquering empire was typically just a few talents for an entire year. That puts the value of a talent on par with what we would say is the national debt. I once read the weight of a talent was approximately 22 lbs, or the amount of weight a slave could carry for a day's journey. Imagine if you had 22 lbs. of gold, at current prices that would be $328,000.
If a talent is so valuable maybe Jesus wasn't talking about a monetary value. Maybe a talent symbolizes something else that is more valuable than money. Maybe talents really symbolize forgiveness. As He spoke it would be unconditional forgiveness about to be purchased, at a terrible price. Jesus would be talking about the purchase He was about to make by a disfiguring scourging followed by a cruel death on the cross so that we could gaze in awe at the most valuable gift in all eternity.
If you think it's hard for people today to accept unconditional love, think how much harder it was for people raised under a hard legalistic system that emphasized following rules to earn their way into heaven. Without that wonderful sacrifice to save all people from the wrath of God we would never go any farther than the grave.
If we follow through with talents symbolizing forgiveness what does that tell us about the three servants in the parable?
The master gave the three talents with the intention of investing what they were given. Our first servant takes the talents, works diligently and faithfully to give a good return. The master is very pleased with the results of the first servant. He has done so well that the master says that he was trustworthy with little so he will be trusted with much more.
Similarly the second servant works diligently and faithful and the master reward him as well trusting him with much more. As we think about this we could equate the sinfulness of the servant to the number of talents received. Maybe the five talent sinner was a murderer while the two talent sinner was a thief. Regardless both saw the enormous value of God's mercy and returned 100 percent to the master. I think the 100 percent is significant because it says they put the master first in their lives.
If we were to apply what these servants have done to our daily lives what would that mean? Perhaps we would be volunteering to stock shelves in a food bank. Maybe we would be visiting people in hospitals or shut-ins. Maybe it's handing a homeless person a sandwich. I could give you a long list of things that may look like.
You may be wondering what the return on the investment looks like. Your first and most obvious thought might be those souls that would accept Jesus Christ because our actions lead the way for the Holy Spirit. A less obvious thought would be our sharing with the body of Christ. What ever we do for the least of these we do for Him. And perhaps you would recognize the return as the uplifting feeling we receive from simply helping someone in need.
That leaves us with the last servant. What can we say about him?
The last servant buried the talent in the ground. He says he knew the master was a hard man and was fearful of loosing the talent entrusted to him. The wording here is very interesting, "I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you." Notice he doesn't take ownership of the talent. Perhaps this servant is like so many in this world who here the good news of forgiveness and don't believe it. They don't own it so they don't act on it.
The other servants understood how precious the gift was and took ownership. Out of their belief in this very valuable gift they acted on it working to return what little they could to the master in thanksgiving.
People that take forgiveness to heart can also forgive. They can walk the path of reconciliation. In reality not forgiving allows us to be controlled by the bitterness we feel. We end up covered with the dirt of the buried talent instead of shining like clean precious metal. In our life times we have witnessed some amazing acts of forgiveness and reconciliation.
Not that far from us young Amish girls were imprisoned in their school, tied up, and killed. The perpetrator, obviously a very confused individual, was forgiven by the Amish community further they reached out to his family to comfort them for the terrible grief they suffered as a result of this horrific event.
When apartheid ended in South Africa many expected the black population to rise up and take retribution for the years of oppression. The bloodshed could have been horrendous but there wasn't an outbreak of violence. Bishop Desmond Tutu preached forgiveness and reconciliation throughout the country. Thankfully the message was received and the two peoples came together rather than went to war.
That is only two examples there are many more.
Our one talent sinner may be the average Joe doing what is right in this world so the precious gift of forgiveness doesn't seem to be that remarkable. He may even put himself above the other sinners who have done much worse things as we measure them in this world. The truth is we all have blood on our hands we have thoughts just as bad as any other person but haven't acted on them. That may save us from punishment in this world but it's all the same to God.
Each Sunday we are reminded we are all the same in confession and absolution.
Jesus did pay the price for our sin. As we approach the rail this morning let our eyes be opened to the true value of the body and blood put before us. The gift that is more precious than any worldly gift we can possibly imagine. Let us own that gift and return it 100 percent.
In the name of our Risen Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
