Our intention on Wednesday was to continue to the Gospel of Luke, but we couldn't get past the gospel reading on Sunday. The reading was the Parable of the Talents from the Gospel of Matthew. What are we to make of the master who is harsh and reaps where he does not sow? Can we blame the third servant who hides his talent? Is the master supposed to represent God?
The discussion was exciting and rich. The parables do not come across as analogies where one person or thing clearly represents another, in this case, the master representing God. The parables invite us into a story where we discover not just one truth, but many. Each time we enter the story, there are new possibilities. The parables open us up to allow God to speak through the Holy Spirit.
Certainly, the parable holds a word of judgment, but is it an ultimate judgment? The third servant is cast out into the darkness, but, as we discussed the last time, does that mean that the judgment in permanent? This parable, during the last week of Jesus, is one of many parables and statements of judgment, but all of them are tempered because they occur this side of the cross. In them I confront the hard truths of my life, but then comes God's response of the cross. I am guilty, but I am also forgiven. Such is the wonder of God's grace.
The man who received the one talent and buried it was aware of the expectations of the master. The servant was not given a small sum of money. One talent represented two years of wages. He was entrusted with a great deal of money and knew what he was supposed to do. He could have simply put the money in the bank. It's curious that he throws the guilt back on the master rather than owning his own failings. It has the same feel as a child accusing a parent of being mean when they don't do their homework.
This brought the discussion to verse 29 where it seems as though the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Is this a justification for the prosperity gospel? Again, the parable invites us to explore. What if the point is that when we share the talents we have been given, the world opens up to us in wondrous ways and when we bury those talents, the world closes in on us? How many people do we know whose world has grown smaller when they bury their talents? How many churches have literally gotten smaller when they have circled the wagons, guarded what they have, and tried to simply survive?
Going in another direction, what if the verse is about perspective? How do we view what we have been given? Do we see it as abundance or scarcity? We live in a wealthy community, yet we can hear people speak of their scarcity. We can find ourselves doing the same thing. "I do not have what some other people have..." How we view what has been given makes all the difference in the world. If we believe we have been blessed abundantly, we will live abundant lives. If we believe we live with scarcity, we will live lives of scarcity. The world would have us focus on our scarcity. The Gospel would have us focus on our abundance.
At the end of the class, we marveled at all the roads we traveled during the discussion. The parables do not lead to one answer only. We are meant to explore with others all the possibilities. We are meant to ask questions, struggle, and debate. We are meant to be open to hearing God's voice. And the wonder and promise is that the Holy Spirit is in our midst and we are blessed each and every time.
Pastor Summer
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