Loving God, you call us to be stewards of your bounty, in order to share your love with as many people as possible.  Empower us by your Holy Spirit, granting us all that is needed to be faithful, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            In most of the parables that Jesus told, there is something that would have been absolutely shocking to those who first heard the story.  In today’s parable, they would have been shocked that the third slave was punished, while the other two were rewarded.  In fact, those who first heard this parable would have assumed that the third slave did the right thing by burying the talent in the ground.

         The thing is that, at least in the Jewish Law (or Torah), they were not supposed to charge interest or make a profit off of one of their own people.  It was also understood in that time and in that culture that if one person was making a huge profit, they were taking money away from others who needed it.  However, in the parable, we have a master who has no difficulty turning a profit at the expense of others.

         Now, at least some of you are probably puzzled by this.  After all, aren’t we talking about talents and how we use them and not hiding them away?  For many years this parable has been made into an allegory that doesn’t quite make sense.  In fact, the way in which we understand the word “talent” today (as in, SLZ’s Got Talent) comes from an allegorical understanding of this parable (sundaysandseasons.com).  However, the thing that we might not understand when we hear this parable today is that a talent was a large sum of money.

         A talent was worth close to 20 years’ worth of wages for a labourer.  This means that five talents was more than an average person would make in their entire lifetime. This master was crazy rich, and entrusted all of his property to these slaves – without any clear instructions, as far as we are told.  And so, what are we to do with this parable that was and is intended to teach those who follow Jesus?

         From its setting in the gospel of Matthew, it points us to Jesus, who will return at an unexpected time.  The parable raises the question of what we are to do in the meantime, knowing that Christ will come again.  There is also the matter of the incredible abundance that is entrusted to us, for surely there is some reflection of God’s abundant grace in this parable.

         When we think about ourselves, collectively, as a congregation, we have been entrusted with abundant resources.  We have been entrusted with land, and a building, and trees and vegetation that support abundant wildlife.  We have been entrusted with people who have many different gifts and talents, and with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We have been entrusted with financial resources that can be turned into food and drink, hats and mitts, shoes and clothing for those in need.  We have been entrusted with all that is needed in order to do what God is calling us to do – for, where God guides, God provides.

         The question that is raised by today’s gospel is how we are going to respond to the abundance that God has entrusted to us.  Are we going to respond with fear, and bury our resources in the ground where nobody can steal them?  Or, are we going to respond by imitating our Lord and master, Jesus Christ?  After all, that’s what the first two slaves did in the parable.  They emulated their master’s behavior in going out, and trading, and making far more money than they had before.

         For our part, our Lord and teacher is not profit-driven, but seeks to show people what God is like and to share God’s love with all people, and especially with those who need it the most.  Our Lord is a willing servant to others, giving us an example to emulate.  Our Lord is drawn to those who are outcasts, and delights in showing them that there is a place for them in the communion of saints, and in communities that are made possible by the power of the Holy Spirit.

         This is the master that we are called to emulate, and as we put ourselves out there, more and more people will have encountered and experienced the love of Jesus.  This is the kind of profit that we are called to produce, which might involve taking some risks.  On the other hand, those who are fearful will be tempted to hang on to the resources that have been entrusted to us as tightly as possible – or even bury them for safe-keeping.  These, too, will be taken from us and passed on to those who are open to putting God’s abundance to work – who are open to sharing the love of Jesus with all people.

         Let us, then, continue to look to the Holy Spirit for all that is needed, and especially the gifts of faith, hope and love.  For, it is the Spirit who empowers us to be faithful stewards, sharing God’s abundance, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Lectionary 33(A)                              Matthew 25:14-30

November 19, 2023

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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