Here's a true story: it's about pretty regular fellow, named Luigi Tarisio, [a carpenter by trade]. During most of his life, he lived alone and kept to himself. One day, his neighbor realizes that he hasn't seen Luigi today. Shortly, the neighbor and the authorities enter Luigi's house and find that he has died. Looking around, they're struck by the sparseness of the house. There are no pictures on the wall, no ornaments or figures and few shelves on which to place them anyway. And they discover something else. In the attic, they discover a fantastic collection. Put away in dingy boxes and the drawers of dreary old furniture, are 246 of some of the finest violins ever made. As the collection becomes public, folks discover that some of these instruments have been shut away and silent for as long as a 150 years. Someone said later that by their hoarding of these instruments, these collectors had failed both themselves and humanity. They'd deprived the world of incomparable and exquisite musical joys. They deprived themselves of the special joy of helping to bring it to the rest of us.[1]
Like fine violins, our talents are not museum pieces. They are not to be hoarded and stashed away. God has generously given talents, each according to his abilities. While we may wonder at the fairness of that, it’s easy to see it’s true. We are not all Leonardo da Vinci, one of the greatest painters of all time, who was also a scientist, mathematician, inventor, engineer, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician, and writer. Whew!! I don’t know where he had the time and energy to do all that!! And I’m sure we could come up with dozens or hundreds of examples of people who are greatly talented. God gives talents according to our abilities. And these talents are both our privilege and our responsibility.
IN fact, our English word “talent” comes from the Greek word talanton, which means ‘weight, or sum of money’ just as in our gospel parable. In fact, it was a large sum; altogether the very wealthy landowner gave out nearly $2 billion dollars in today’s money!! The first two servants invested wisely, and doubled the master’s money. And they were rewarded by being given more, and by sharing in the kingdom. They were both told the same thing: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness.” Even though they were both given different amounts, they both were faithful in living up to their potential and giftedness, and both share equally in the greatest reward: the joy and presence of the master.
But then there’s the 3rd servant. He was afraid of the master, afraid to take a risk, and so he buried the money in his back yard. He didn’t lose anything, but neither did he gain anything! And in today’s economy and with the great volatility of the stock market, such would seem to be a sound investment, wouldn’t it. I’m sure there are many people who wish they had buried their money in their back yard!! As we know, investment requires risk. But the landowner calls him a wicked, lazy slave. His wickedness is related to his attitude towards his master, thinking him to be a harsh man; this lead to laziness and poor stewardship. “The way he conceives of [the master] causes him to fear and then to hide away the talent and not seek to advance the master’s capital. The servant’s misperception of the master had produced alienation, mistrust, fear, and then personal sloth. Had he truly loved his master, he would not have attempted to place the blame on him but would have operated out of love.”[2] He is blamed for not even putting the money in the bank to earn interest and so the master takes the talent and gives it to one who has been faithful. “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.” Those who have a relationship with God are to be responsible stewards of their God-given abilities, using them with wisdom and diligence.
Our gospel reading skips the last verse in the story: the worthless slave is thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth—seems like harsh treatment!! But this is a parable of judgment, of the Day of the Lord and the contrast is between salvation and damnation. The first two slaves are faithful disciples, and the third is not. “A person’s faithfulness is evidence as to whether he or she is truly one of Jesus’ own. As the disciples await the return of the Son of Man, they must teach that industriousness of discipleship is a testimony of one’s love and trust of Jesus as Lord. But their perseverance should not come from a self-advancing motivation; it should be demonstrated in serving others as Jesus did.”[3]
God has given each of us many gifts and talents. We have potential to become the person God has made us to be. We have the raw materials, the “stuff,” and it is up to us to use them wisely. Peter Gomes, a chaplain at Harvard, has expressed God’s response to us in these words: "I have given you what you need. Now it’s up to you. YOU must build relationships that lead to love. YOU must do the necessary sacrificing. YOU must be truthful. YOU must forgive if necessary. YOU must communicate. YOU must care enough to want to do all those things and more. I made you a loving individual when I created you in MY image. You can become what you already are."[4]
Our faithfulness as stewards of all that God has given us depends upon having an accurate view of God. Some people think that God is mean, vindictive, and doesn’t care about our fate. The wickedness of the servant in the parable is due to having an inaccurate picture of the master, thinking him to be a hard man; and this gave him an excuse to be lazy and irresponsible. There are numerous ways we can distort God’s image. In his book, A Case for Faith, Lee Strobel looks at several objections to Christianity which distort God’s image. Here are a few of them:
· Since evil and suffering exist, a loving God cannot.
· Evolution explains life, so God isn’t needed.
· A loving God would never torture people in hell.
While each of these topics is a sermon or study by itself, I’m sure we could add to the list. There are people who blame God for their misfortunes. I’ve heard of people blaming God for their lung cancer caused by years of smoking. Then too we probably know of people who are so bogged down in grief and blaming God for the death of a loved one that they cannot see the light of God’s goodness.
The first two stewards saw God as being generous and gracious, and they were motivated to risk everything to gain a great reward. And God responds by saying “Well Done!!” Great job!! “God is that kind of God, not a policeman who almost hopes to catch men in wrongdoing. The world is that kind of world: it finally rewards the venture of faith. . . Of what nature were these men who won their lord’s approval? They were prompt: they went ‘at once’ (vs. 16). They indulged in no daydreams and entertained no fears, but set to work. They were good, a word that seems here to mean devoted. Christ was their central concern, whether he seemed near or distant. They were faithful: full of faith, persistent, and nobly adventurous.”[5]
And their reward was to share in their Lord’s joy.
I am reminded of a favorite quote, by Madeleine L’Engle: “We have to be braver than we think we can be because God is constantly calling us to be more than we are.” I pray that we too may be brave enough to risk it all, and then found to be good and faithful servants who share in the joy of the Lord. Amen.
[1] http://www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de/predigt.php?id=1279&kennung=20081116en
[2] Wilkins, Michael J. The NIV Application Commentary: Matthew, Zondervan, 807.
[3] Ibid, 808.
[4] Quoted at http://lindynuggets.blogspot.com/
[5] The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume VII., New York: Abingdon Press, 1951. P. 560
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