Sunday 16 November 2014

Background

Traditionally this parable has been read as a lesson in the goodstewardship of the gifts and skills (talents) we are given by God.However, a look at this parable in the broader context in whichJesus tells it can help us to discover new insights.

Jesus is sitting on the Mount of Olives, looking towardsJerusalem, where he recently entered in triumph and threwmoneylenders out of the temple (Matthew 21:1-17). Perhaps with foreboding ofhis own death, he is teaching about signs of the end of time, andthis is the third of four parables on the subject of how hisfollowers should behave while they await his return.

The focus of the parable is not the talents, but therelationship between the master and the third slave. The first twoslaves, who are included not so much as individual characters, butas stock figures to offer a contrast to the third slave, respondedto the master's trust with confidence, pursuing high-riskstrategies to turn a profit. The third, however, responded withfear. He daren't lose what had been entrusted to him, for fear ofpunishment, so he buried it and waited anxiously for the master'sreturn.

The third slave seems to exemplify what the German theologianDietrich Bonhoeffer called the sin of respectable people: runningaway from responsibility. But he discovered that being fear-driven,playing it safe, protecting himself from risk, refusing to investin anything or care passionately about anything leads to a lifethat is more like a living death, like being banished to outerdarkness.

Instead, Jesus is calling his disciples to live as fully aspossible whilst awaiting his return; to trust securely in the God'sproven generosity so that they will have the confidence to investthemselves, to expand the horizons of their responsibilities, andto be prepared to risk everything for the sake of love - in otherwords, to follow him in the way of the cross.

To Ponder

• Is there any part of your life where you are fear-driven? Whatdo you need to overcome that fear and live with confidence?

• Have you ever tried to protect yourself from pain by holdingback from loving? What was the result?

• What would living life fully mean for you?