Talent and Accountability
“To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one – to each according to his ability. Then he went away (on a journey.)” Matthew 25:15
Because a talent was a large denomination of ancient money, it would be reasonable to assume that today’s gospel parable is primarily about money and its use. That assumption, however, would be wrong.
We’re told in the story that a master gave varying amounts of money to three of his servants and went off on a long journey. He “entrusted” them with it, so he expected the money to be returned. It wasn’t a gift or even a loan, since there’s no indication the servants were in need. And since the amounts were given to each “according to his ability,” it follows logically that the master intended his money to be managed, not put under a mattress. Not only were the servants not given equal amounts, but, apparently, their ability to manage wasn’t equal either. That each didn’t start out with the same amount or with the same ability are crucial plot details.
We know what each did with the money. When the master returned to settle accounts, the first servant had invested his five talents and got five more, giving back ten. The second servant did the same with his two, giving back four. The third, on the other hand, fearing his master and being a cautious soul, buried his one talent and returned exactly what he had been given -- one.
How did the master respond to the different results? For their enterprise, Servants One and Two – applauded and rewarded; for being such a wuss, Servant Three – voted off the island!
In an attempt to make sense of this admittedly disturbing text, biblical scholars have concluded that this parable is less about money and much more about time. Not just any time, but about our limited time on earth, our life spans, however short or long.
As in last Sunday’s gospel parable about the ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom, Jesus repeatedly warns us that the end time will come like a thief in the night, unexpectedly and without warning, so we need to be watchful. But some of our ancestors in faith were so anxious about being watchful, that that’s just about all they did…watch. Taking his warning literally and to the extreme, they gave up important responsibilities of their everyday lives. Consumed with waiting for the end and the next life, they neglected the affairs of this life. Why, they reasoned, feed the hungry or even bury the dead? Why bother getting married and having children? The messiah is coming soon. Why plant crops and weed the fields? Why worry about the harvest at all? The end is in sight.
St. Francis of Assisi, while hoeing in his garden was once asked what he would do if he knew that Christ was coming back that very day. He answered, “I’d keep right on hoeing.” St. Francis understood well the lesson of today’s gospel
In his parables about time, Jesus warns that what counts in the divine scheme of things isn’t so much how we anticipate the future, but what we do in the meantime. The parable of the talents, therefore, isn’t just about making the best use of our time and money, but also about making the best use of our abilities, however few or many; however ordinary or extraordinary. Because the master in the story knew that his servants were not equally gifted managers, he didn’t expect them to achieve the same results, which is why he gave them different amounts to manage. That you’re smarter than I am, or more skillful than I am, for example, doesn’t relieve me of my obligation to do the best I can with what I’ve got. Burying my talents, my abilities, metaphorically speaking, by doing nothing or by doing less than I am able to do simply won’t cut it on Judgment Day
In addition to common everyday activities, what else does Jesus expect us to do wisely and well in the meantime? The answer is obvious. He tells us in the verses that follow today’s parable: “I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed me; I was naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to me.” In other words, he expects us to live our faith: to love others as he did during his time on earth.
Paradoxically, when you and I render our final accounts on the last day, the standard by which we will be judged won’t be nearly so much the evil we have done as the good we have done or have failed to do. And, thankfully, since God grades on a curve, the standard won’t be someone extraordinary like St. Francis or Mother Teresa, but the best person you and I were capable of being. If we have been good stewards of all God has granted us, then, like St. Francis or Mother Teresa, we too will be well prepared for Christ’s return whenever it happens because we too will have done our part to help build the kingdom on earth.
Ultimately then, today’s parable is about stewardship, the ongoing process in which we acknowledge that all we have, our Time, Talent and Treasure, are gifts for which we are accountable. They don’t belong to us in a strictly proprietary sense, we haven’t merited them; they’re certainly not for our self-aggrandizement, but they are for us to use, improve, nurture, and, most importantly, share generously with others. Our debt to God, you see, is repayable to our neighbor -- with interest. The third servant in today’s gospel, in effect, cheated his master by not giving back full value for what he was given
Jesus’ entire life was an unending demonstration of love for God by loving service to others. Recall that on the night before he died at the Last Supper he washed the disciples’ feet to impress on them in dramatic fashion the centrality of service to his gospel message. If everyone who professed to love God were to demonstrate that love as he did, is there any doubt that the kingdom would be closer to reality? Just imagine, for example, no more killing on the streets of Baghdad, Kabul, Tel Aviv, Amman, Rochester or anywhere else. No more starving children. No more poverty, illiteracy, homelessness, or inhumanity of any sort. Pipe dream? No, I’d prefer to call it “heaven on earth.”
And, let’s not forget that also found in scripture is this warning -- to whom much is given, like most of us, much is expected! So why not take a moment today to do a quick mental accounting, a sort of trial balance sheet: assets/talents in one column; credits/acts of kindness in a second; debits/missed opportunities in a third. Advent, which begins in two weeks, will invite us to do a more in depth accounting. (Pause) On Judgment Day, how will you fare with the Master? How will I? Like Servants One and Two… or like Servant Three?
Anthony J. Sciolino
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
November 13, 2005. (Cycle A)
Jeremiah 29:11, 12, 14
Thessalonians 5:1-6
Matthew 25: 14-30. 3.