www.HopeandHelpCenter.org
Daily Advent Meditation
By Kelly Durbin
Matthew 25:14-30
"For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' But his master replied, 'You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 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. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'" New Revised Standard Version
Today we have yet a third parable about waiting. This story has a different twist to it though. Before the master leaves, he entrusts each of his servants with a portion of his property. To put it simply, he gives them money. No instructions are given in the text, but there is clearly an expectation that the handling or managing of the master's money requires some action on the part of the servants, otherwise the master could "hold" the money for himself. Without any knowledge of when the master would return, each servant set out to manage the money entrusted to him/her. As the story goes, two of the three servants invest the money so well that they double what they were given. The third servant didn't fare so well; fearful of losing what s/he had been given, the servant hides the money with no return on investment. This servant played it safe and missed the call.
When I've heard this story in the past, I've always been taught that it means we are to be good stewards of what we have, that we are to use our resources, talents, skills and abilities wisely and for the glory of God, for if we neglect to use them, they will be taken from us or at the very least be of no use to anyone if left idle. I think this is a reasonable interpretation, but I also believe there is more to the story if we look a little closer. The placement of this parable in the book of Matthew is shortly before Jesus' death, before the time when he would be leaving the disciples. It would seem Jesus was trying to use this story metaphorically to prepare the disciples for his death and departure. He was trying to provide some direction for what they should "do" while they wait for his return, for he would surely return just as the master does in the story.
So what were they to do? At first glance, it would seem they should invest and make money for an earthly kingdom to be established. But again, the money is a metaphor for something far greater...some scholars believe the investment is in people, in the mission of making disciples of all nations. This would make sense as a mere 3 chapters later, Jesus has died, been resurrected and now commissions the disciples in Matthew 28:18-20 when he says, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of God the Creator, of the Son our Redeemer, and of the Holy Spirit our Sustainer, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." New Revised Standard Version
So what is the lesson from this parable? RISK is involved in making disciples. We must do more than accept the gift of love we have received in Christ. We are not to take that precious gift and bury it in the ground! We must take risks as the two servants did to "come out" into the world with the good news of Christ and invest in the lives of others. We are to invest our time, our talents and our abilities in loving people as Christ loved us. But there is indeed RISK. Anytime we put ourselves out there, we take the chance that we may not be received; we may even be ridiculed or persecuted. Sometimes I think we can handle those harsh realities more readily than the fact that we may be "uncomfortable" as we are called to love those who are not like us. Notice the call is to make disciples of ALL nations, not just of those we identify as "our people." RISK, RISK, RISK...While we wait...May we answer the call to go and make disciples of all nations. May we take the risk to love; and lest we forget, we are not alone for Christ is with us always, to the end of the age (even while we wait).
communications@mccgsl.org
No comments:
Post a Comment