Back to Sermon Index Parable of Talents April 13, 2008 Today we read again one of the favorite parables of Jesus. Like all his parables, this one has many layers and many meanings. For us, the word talent has a double meaning. The word refers to an amount of money, weighed in gold. The word in English also refers to our abilities and gifts as we life out our lives. Both are valid as we work our way through the story. So, let's look at the story and what it teaches us. First, the gifts. Each servant receives various gifts, based on the will of the master and the ability of each servant. This is one of the guiding principles of how we see the church. Each member of the body of Christ is given various gifts from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit chooses what each one gets....based upon the Will of God, the needs of the moment, and the ability of the persons involved. Each person is gifted. Each one. Now I know some of you are saying to yourselves, well, you don't know me. Yes, God does know you. God knows you better than you know yourself. The Spirit, we are told, searches the heart and knows the mind of each person better than we know ourselves. And the Spirit does a couple of things...first, the spirit prays for us — in groanings too deep for human word. The Spirit of God prays for me, and prays for you. The Spirit who knows what we want and what we long for and what we need...better than we know ourselves. That same Spirit gives us gifts. These gifts take many forms, and they each one is made unique by who receives it. So, although God may give many the gift of speaking...each voice will be unique when it tells the story of what God has done in their lives. Each person who sings will add their unique voice and tone to the great song of the church. The Spirit is also at work in us, to help us grow into the image of Jesus. The Apostle Paul speaks of this as the spirit helping us grow fruit in our lives, as if the spirit is the sap of spring that moves within us, helping us to bud and flower and grow into the likeness of Jesus our Lord. The Fruit of the spirit are Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, and Self control. This is not an exhaustive list, but you get the idea. The Story of the talents teaches us that each person is gifted, according to their own unique abilities and personality. It also teaches that God is generous. That we have been given a huge sum of blessings. The word talent refers to a weight of gold that represents what the average person can earn in 20 years. Yes, I said 20 years. So, for some that is a huge sum of money, and for others it is a humungous sum! So, the story say that one servant received 10 talents...say 20 Million dollars. The second received 5 talents, or 10 million. The third received 1 talent...or 2 million dollars. You should not feel that anyone was slighted in this story. The Master is Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, and they are giving their key staff people some working capital before they leave for a much deserved vacation. We must be careful to not compare our gifts to one another. When the Apostle Paul speaks of the Spiritual gifts to the church in Corinth, one of their problems was that some compared themselves to others. Some said that they were so gifted that they did not need the rest of the church. They had all the gifts necessary. Paul rightly says that this is absurd. The church is a body, the body of Christ. The head can not say to the hands...I am so full of ideas that I don't need you. Or the eye saying that it is so full of light that it does not need the ears! The body is made to work by that which every part provides. Each persons gifts are unique and important to the working of the church . This is reflected in our Methodist principle of community...that we believe that the Spirit may be speaking through the voice of dissent, and so we are to never believe that we are so right as to not need to listen to the other side for a word from God. That is the way it is supposed to work anyway! Not comparing ourselves to others is hard. Just as no one is to think that they are such hot snot (a technical term) that they don't need other people's contributions or ideas...neither is anyone to think that they are unimportant because they are not like the talented person they see. Using again the image of a body, the hand can't say that because I am not an eye I am unimportant and good for nothing...let's see the eye try and feed itself! Each part is important. Not comparing yourself to others is hard, believe me, I know. It is a common problem for preachers. There are a host of seminars where you go and visit "successful" churches and learn how they grew so quickly and so large. It is hard to not compare yourself to those who are very successful, but it depends on what you qualify as success. That brings us to the rest of the story. The master gives each of the servants a huge gift, a fortune. They are not given the talents so that they can live high on the hog, nor are they given it to keep it safe. The master has bank accounts, and could have kept the money on deposit. No, each one was given the gifts to use. How well they use their gifts is really a reflection of their relationship to the master. What they believe about God, themselves and the world is the key factor. The first two knew and experienced the Father as loving, forgiving, and kind. God was generous and they were blessed. They saw the world as a place of opportunity and they immediately began to put the money to work. It seems at least, that they are unafraid of failure. As they use what God has given them, a couple of things happen. First, they are blessed. They grow as they use the gifts God has given them, and the gifts grow too. It is not only that they were able to double the talents, but they themselves grew in faith and faithfulness. Anyone who uses their God given talents to the Glory of God knows this is true. As you play or sing or teach or work...you are growing as you use your gifts...and the gifts themselves are growing too. You become a better singer, a better teacher, a better business person...whatever your gifts might be. It reminds me of the blessing I use at weddings: that the two might grow in love together, and in so doing, divide their sorrows and double their joys. The other servant is a different story. He believes that the master is one of judgment and condemnation. He is afraid. He is so afraid that he does not even put the talents into the bank to keep them safe and where they will earn interest...like the master himself would have if he had not given them to the servant...no, he buries them in a hole in the ground in his back yard. There they are really not safe. Someone else might discover them. The gardener might decide to plant a tree there or something. He could not take a vacation, for fear someone would discover it while he was gone. He was tied to this site for the whole time the master was gone. He says I knew you to be a harsh and judgmental person who harvests where he does not plant and collects where he did not scatter... Did you now? Says the master...then let it be. The talent is taken from the one and given to another. The moral of the story is two fold...God is not like the third servants believes...God is generous and merciful and kind. God is loving above all things. And that we are to try. The victory is not in how much we make on our investments, but that we — in grace — put to use what God has given us. What ever it is. If it is to sing, then we sing to the glory of God. If it is to be a construction worker, then we build to the glory of God. A gardener? To grow beautiful flowers to give God glory. A teacher or a parent, to grow beautiful children to glorify God. As the Bible says (in Galations), whatever your hand finds to do...whatever your talent or your work...do it to the glory of God. Where are you in this story? Paul says (in Ephesians) God has blessed us with ever spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. We have been given talents...fortunes...to be used to glorify God. What you do with what you have, in faith...without fear. Remember, perfect love casts out all fear. Do not be afraid, for God loves you. What will you do with what you have? We need to see the big picture. Let's get personal for a moment, can we? Sometimes bad things happen, even to good people. Sometimes we fail, despite our best efforts and most thorough plans. Just look at our Sisters and Brothers in the Central Valley. The number one place for foreclosures in the country is Stockton, the number 5 is Merced, 7 is Modesto. And they are also the place where the values have fallen the most...by some estimation by over 30%. Sometimes bad things happen, and folks get caught in economic forces beyond their control. Some would say that these bad things are a gift from God, because of what they teach us. Although it is true that good comes out of bad, that does not make bad good. Because you learn things from tragedy of all kinds does not make them any less tragic or any easier to bear. Those who talk about tragedy as a gift from God don't know the God I know — remember, Jesus wept with his friends at the loss of their brother — nor have they ever really suffered real pain or loss. If these terrible things are a gift, I want to know where the return window is...         Sometimes terrible things happen, sometimes you lose the talents you are given...and it is not your fault. You must remember that this is a parable which is designed to teach us a general lesson and it can not be stretched to cover all of life and its circumstances.         Tragedy comes, and God is there. Not as the giver, but as the comforter. God is there when we lose heart, when we feel like there is no tomorrow or that all is lost. Jesus is there to give strength and hope. Jesus was betrayed and was mocked and beaten and spat upon and was crucified...before the resurrection. He understands and can sympathize with our human longings and frailty. I know that he is with me in the midst of constant pain. In the midst of grief and loss of all kinds...God is there. Sometimes all we can do is suffer in grace and hold on. That is not in this parable. This parable is about God's generosity and grace, given to us beyond measure. And about how we will open ourselves to these gifts and use them to the Glory of God. We need not be afraid, for God is loving and kind and good...Well done, good and faithful servant. When we use what God has given us, God is well pleased and we are blessed, and the whole church is built up by that which each individual part provides. Well done, good and faithful Servant, well done. Back to Sermon Index