Let’s be cautious and pause before we make today’s parable into an allegory. The rich man who goes on a journey and who entrusted his possessions to his servants is not a God figure. If we take that approach, we have a lot to deal with when we preach from this parable. For example, what shall we say about the third servant’s response to his master at reckoning time, “Master I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant, etc.” Also troubling is the punishment given to that servant, “Throw this useless servant into the darkness outside….” The master’s actions hardly fit the image of the merciful God Jesus has been proclaiming.
The master sounds like a modern, greedy business person who gains wealth at the expense of others, “… harvesting where you did not plant and gathering we you did not scatter.” In addition, “taleton” (“talent”) in Greek is a monetary unit or a weight measurement, so I would be cautious making an allegorical jump to the gifts, “talents” God has given us and how we are to “invest” them. (The “talent” in the gospel is a very large sum of money.)
Barbara E Reid, OP, (“New College Bible Commentary: The Gospel According to Matthew,” Liturgical Press, 2005) examines the details of the parable in light of the world Jesus lived in. This approach might surprise us in its analysis, but also offer another door into the parable. Jesus’ world wasn’t like our capitalistic system that increases wealth by investment. Jesus’ contemporaries had a different perspective. For them, the world had only limited goods and wealth. If someone increased their wealth they were, in effect, stealing from another. A peasant strived to have enough to care for his family and that was enough. So, the people we often admire for their success and wealth would have been considered wicked thieves among Jesus’ hearers, taking from the limited supply of the world’s resources.
In the light of the above who then might be the admirable figure in the parable? Not the master, nor the first two servants, but the third who did not cooperate with his master’s greedy venturers, but instead buried the one talent. His actions were punished as are those people who oppose the unjust and powerful who make profits at the expense of the poor.
I recently reread the story of Sr. Dorothy Stang, SSND. She served poor farmers and their families in the Brazilian rainforest from 1966 to 2005. There was lots of money to be made by taking resources from the forest. Which is what ranchers, loggers, land speculators and agribusinesses did, victimizing the poor families whose lands they stole. She won many national and international awards, not only for her tireless work among the poor, but for her attempts to preserve the vast resources of the rainforest.
In the late 90s Sister Dorothy’s name was put on a “death list” and on February 12, 2005, on a rural road in Para, two hired gunmen shot her six times and killed her. As the gunmen approached her Sr. Dorothy pulled out her Bible and began to read the Beatitudes, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice.”
If we approach the parable in its social and historical context, the way Barbara Reid, OP and other scholars do, the wise and profitable investors who worked for the rich master are like those modern corporations and speculators who push aside the powerless, invest their wealth and earn large profits off the backs of the poor and the environment. As in the parable, those employees who make big profits are amply rewarded by their bosses.
Sr. Dorothy’s attempts to preserve the small possessions of the poor would be like the steward who would not go along with the system and who buried his talent. The rich exploit the poor. Who will stop their greed and be disciples like Sr. Dorothy and others, who experience what our economic systems do to the powerless and refuse to go along with the corrupt systems.
The parables are open to many approaches, so let’s try another on today’s parable. It is the third of four about the implications of the unexpected return of someone in authority. Immediately preceding today’s parable is the one of the five wise and five foolish bridesmaids. The bridegroom returns and the foolish ones are not admitted to the festivities because they are not properly prepared. In today’s parable, like the previous ones, an accounting is required by the returning master.
The story doesn’t focus on the first two servants. They are indistinct and receive identical praise and given similar rewards. The real story picks up when the master and third servant have their exchange. It focuses on the relationship between the two. The master seems to have distributed his money according to how he perceived the stewards’ abilities. The third servant is challenged by the master. If he really thought the master was harsh, “… harvesting where you do not plant,” why didn’t he invest what he was given to gain some interest? His actions are driven by fear and his fears lead to his failure.
When the Lord comes with judgment do we fear that we will be thrown out into the darkness? Are we playing it cautious in our service to the Lord? Do we fear failure and do not take the chances our discipleship requires? It seems the parable encourages bold, even risky action.
I’m reminded of a lower middle-class family whose finances are always tight. Still, they decided to tithe and each month the family sat together to decide which charity or needy cause to donate to. Does that make common sense, our rational, practical minds might ask? Of course it doesn’t. But the parable resists overly cautious actions and invites us to risk and trust when we are doing the Master’s “business.” We trust that when he returns he will invite us to enter into his joy.
We are grateful for our faith, it has seen us through very difficult times; but the parable urges us not to get too cozy. Faith isn’t so much about believing in Jesus, as in following. Faith isn’t meant to provide intellectual answers about God and Jesus that we assent to. Instead faith can urge us to leave our personal comfort zones and venture into a more risky world where we are asked to use our faith. Risk-taking faith would urge us to invest in situations that may be beyond our usual horizon, but urgently need our presence and action.
Advent is coming in a couple of weeks, but from these eschatological parables we have been hearing in recent weeks it seems that Advent has already begun. We can already hear the Baptist warming up his vocal cords preparing to cry out in the desert, “Prepare the way of the Lord.”
Matthew is warming us up for Advent too. The parable has laid out responses disciples can make while we wait for the Lord. We have been amply gifted and trusted with responsibility by our Master. Along with the gifts comes freedom to do whatever we are best at. While the first two stewards are given responsibility, there is nothing in their responses that suggest oppressive behavior and fearful anticipation of the returning master. Instead, there is a tone of excitement and satisfaction over their course of action and its fruits.
Their service has yielded abundant riches and their labors are rewarded beyond normal expectation. “For to everyone who has, more will be given….” Like what? — we ask. We hear the answer to to that question in the master’s response, “Come, share your masters joy.”