RBWords

     Today's gospel scripture might be seen as touting the virtues of investment in contrast to hoarding one's resources!  But, as is often the case in the Gospel According to Matthew, it is the attitude of faithfulness that the parable aims at.  Faithfulness in this parable means putting God's work ahead of personal fears.  It took courage for the two enterprising servants to trade with the money given to them (a "talent" was a lot of money).  There would be a lot of "What if's...?" that could arise.  Does "wisdom" suggest holding on to the money and giving it back without any further ado?  

     What can be easily missed here is that God makes an investment first.  We are challenged to carry that "investment" forward.  God's faithfulness is meant to be shared and not hoarded as a personal possession or an object to be feared lest it be lost and God be angry with us.  The first and second servants had far more to lose than the third one, but all the amounts were huge by the standards of Jesus' time.  The first two servants saw that what the Master gave them was a challenge to advance the Master's wealth with which they were entrusted.  The third servant let fear of the Master take over and create paralysis.  

     The overall theme of ultimate accountability for our lives as Christians comes through in the series of parables at the end of the Gospel According to Matthew: the Wise Virgins, the Talents, and the Final Judgment scene are worth reading together.  The "oil" of good deeds, the courage of faithfulness, and the awareness that these are meant to serve Christ, especially in the poor, hungry, thirsty, sick, imprisoned and alien in our midst are lined up for our prayerful consideration.  What we truly want to hear in the end are the words: "Well done, good and faithful servant.....Come and share your Master's joy."  AMEN