Readings of the day: Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20; Philippians 4:6-9; Matthew 21:33-43
What sets the unfortunate third servant,
who received only one talent, apart from the other two servants in our Gospel
reading today? What sets him apart from the “worthy wife” in our first reading,
from Proverbs? What did the third servant in our Gospel reading do that was so
wrong in the eyes of his master?
Unlike his two fellow servants, the
third servant fails to bank the talents his master gives him, or to trade them
for more talents, but why? Maybe he is afraid of his master. The master seems
every bit the “demanding” person that the third servant makes him out to be.
The master gives the third servant only one talent, while he gives five talents
to the first servant and two to the second, so in addition to being fearful the
third servant may be somewhat jealous of the other servants. When “out of fear”
the third servant buries his talent, the master casts him “into the darkness
outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
It is no wonder that this third servant
is fearful; the master in Matthew’s Parable of the Talents is very harsh with
him. What did this servant do that was so wrong? After all, fear can be
appropriate in some situations. What are some things that we fear? Our daily
news plays on our fears of natural and human-made disasters; war and violence; diseases
like Ebola… We fear financial and job insecurity. Many, even here in our city,
fear not being able to afford shelter, food, and clothing. Some fear for the
well-being of loved ones. We fear bad weather. Ultimately, many of us fear
death.
Our Psalm speaks of a different kind of
fear. We respond to our Psalm, “Blessed are those who fear the Lord.” Here,
“fear” is the due respect and reverence that we give to God. This kind of fear of the Lord
is good for us to have.
But then there is another kind of fear;
the kind that keeps us from taking risks to build human community; to build
Church; to build the Kingdom of God in our world. This is the kind of fear that
paralyzes the third servant, who buries his one talent in the ground. This is
the kind of fear that, St. Paul says in our second reading from 1 Thessalonians,
causes us to cling to façades of “peace and security” instead of staying alert
for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the kind of fear that, as Pope
Francis has said, tempts us as Church to become closed in on ourselves and sick
instead of directing our service and works of kindness especially toward the
fringes of our Church; to those on the outside; to the poor; to the lost; to those
who are hurt; to strangers. This is the kind of fear that stops us from
listening to one another; stops us from engaging in conversation especially with
those with whom we disagree, confident that God’s truth inspires us and will
not allow us, as God’s Church, to fail. This is the kind of fear that stops us
from forgiveness and mercy; repairing the wounds of evil and sin.
This is the kind of fear that leads us
to bury our talents; our gifts from the master, God, in the ground. This is the
kind of fear, together with jealousy toward others who seem to be given more
talents; more gifts than we are, that keeps the third servant in our Gospel
reading from realizing that he, too, is gifted, and is invited to invest his
gift in the bank; to allow it to multiply in value.
And so will we allow fear to stop us? Or
will we instead know that we are gifted by God? Will we take a risk to build
the Kingdom of God in our world? Our God is not really a harsh master after
all. On the one hand, there are consequences to failing to bank and invest our
talents; to fear that stops us from building community; Church; God’s kingdom. On
the other hand, there are also more significant blessings if we use what gifts
and talents we have effectively: These gifts and talents, no matter how many we
start with, grow and multiply.
Will we take a risk to build the Kingdom
of God in our world? Are we aware, even if we are like the servant with only
one talent and not like our neighbour with more money; more gifts; more
talents, that the one talent we have that matters is the master himself, Jesus
Christ, God made human, like us in all but sin? God has taken a great risk,
sending us his Son to begin the building of the Kingdom of God among us; to
live, die, and rise among us, with the promise to return in glory. Jesus, the
master himself, is our one talent; our one gift that matters. How will we bank
on this talent; allow this talent to grow and multiply in our world? How will
we fearlessly build community; Church? Will we take this risk to build God’s
Kingdom in our world?
Jesus invites us through today’s Gospel
reading to take risks with the gift God has given all of us, the presence of
Jesus Christ, to build community; to build the Kingdom of God in our world, as
a team; as one Body of Christ; one Church. Jesus invites us to bank our talents
together; talents for the Kingdom of God, so that they may grow and multiply.
In my late teens and early twenties, one
of my favorite game shows on television was all about building up wealth while
working as a team. Does anybody here remember “The Weakest Link”? The
contestants on “The Weakest Link” would answer as many questions correctly in a
row as possible. Each correct answer in a row would increase the amount of
money that could be won by one contestant. An incorrect answer would reset the
meter to zero, but money won through a string of correct answers could be saved
by a contestant yelling “bank”! One contestant would be eliminated after each
round, either because of too many incorrect answers or for not taking
opportunities to yell “bank” and therefore costing the other contestants.
Imagine as though the people in our
readings today were contestants on “The Weakest Link.” The “worthy wife” from
Proverbs would answer enough questions correctly to advance from round to
round. She would not take chances, but wisely bank winnings even from a few
correct answers in a row. St. Paul would be a risk-taker. He would build up the
pot of winnings even more than the wife from Proverbs would before yelling, “Bank”!
And St. Paul (who was a Pharisee, remember) would answer all the religious
trivia questions correctly! The servant with five talents in our Gospel reading
would always answer correctly and always “bank” huge sums of money. The servant
with two talents would not quite be as good, but still an adequate contestant.
And then the servant with one talent would not answer many questions correctly
and would almost never yell “bank.” Out would come Anne Robinson, the host of
“The Weakest Link”; the “Queen of Mean,” with a withering insult of the servant
with one talent, whose teammates would have voted for his elimination. “Who
here has fallen from the tree of knowledge?” Anne would deliver with her
deadpan and English accent. And then would come the decisive line, “You are the
weakest link. Goodbye!” This was the game show equivalent to “wailing and grinding
of teeth.”
Fortunately for us,
our God is far more generous than and not nearly as mean as Anne Robinson!
Still, our God has given us talents; gifts. God has given us one gift that
matters, his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Will we be like the third servant,
fearful to invest his one talent; the “weakest link” who never yells “bank”? Or
will we take the risk with our talents that God asks us to take; the risk that
Jesus Christ has taken for us in becoming human, dying, rising, and promising
to return for our salvation? God invites us to invest our talents fearlessly as
a team, the Body of Christ, the Church; to be kind; to welcome; to forgive; to
build God’s kingdom on earth until it reaches its fullness at the end of time.
