The story of the servants given "talents" to use while their master was away is one of the best-known parables of Jesus NOTE 1 . But have you ever felt sorry for the servant who buried his single talent in the ground? I have. When the gifts were given out, he was the least favoured, and when he gave it back to his master he was harshly treated. His single talent was given to the servant who by then had ten, and his master threw him out. It seems that the people who first heard the story also felt that the outcome was unfair, punishing the poor and rewarding the rich (they protested, "Lord he has ten"). But think again. Because we've been taught that a talent was a coin (which is true) and one version of the parable talks even more clearly about money NOTE 2, we tend to be misled into seeing this parable in purely monetary terms, but that's the genius of parables. Yes, Jesus was telling a story about money, but read behind that smokescreen and see what the real issue is. It's not money, it's not greed, it's not really about skills (which we often call talents). It's about gifts.
Audience
Jesus famously drove the money
changers out of the temple, so would he encourage people to profit by dealing with money lenders? Is that consistent
with his warning against laying up treasures on earth? How does this parable stand comparison with the "Sermon on the
Mount"? The significant difference is the audience Jesus was addressing. He preached the Sermon on the Mount to a
large and diverse crowd of people somewhere in Galilee. Look back in the narrative of which this parable forms one
part, and we can see that Jesus was speaking to his close disciples NOTE 3.
Sniping
Parables are enigmatic, holding
meaning, but also hiding it. A parable may be told to illustrate a point and make it more memorable. Or it can be
related parable.
Extra
Each member of the Church is of equal
value before God. Each of us has been redeemed by the same Saviour at the same enormous cost. But we don't all have
the same gifts and callings. Some are chosen to serve in more prominent roles and have been appropriately gifted.
That doesn't mean, however, that the rest of us have nothing to offer. "Now to each one the manifestation of the
Spirit is given for the common good" NOTE 4 . We may be like the one talent man, looking at those who are more gifted
and more prominent than us, and tempted to think "I'm not important, so I'll just sit by and watch". Don't do it.
Don't count yourself out. To do that is false humility, and you would be denying the church the benefit of what you
do have to offer. 'Now if the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not
for that reason stop being part of the body.' NOTE 5 Each of us owes to the church the benefit of what we CAN do, however
small and humble that may be. If we use our single gift, maybe the Lord will add an extra talent.