There is a typical way of preaching the parable of the talents – the talents are those natural endowments we have received – and we are not to bury them but use them for the Kingdom of God – This is often part of a homily calling for volunteers in the parish – calling people to donate their talents.
That is a valid reading of the parable – and parishes do depend on volunteers, from choir members, cantors, lectors, sacristans, to some of the men who do work fixing stuck doors or broken kneelers around the parish, to counters who do all the work to count the offertory, and those who help at St Brigid’s. Sometimes, someone asks why there is no longer this or that event at the parish, and the answer is usually the same – no one is volunteering to do it. A parish needs many volunteers and parishioners to donate their talents. However, as valid of a reading of parable that it is, every parable can be turned around in several ways for a multitude of good readings – that reading is not the literal reading that Jesus is directly considering - For this parable is considering Christ coming again in glory – Christ is the master who will come again in glory - it follows after last week’s parable of the wise and foolish virgins: waiting and watching – and it is followed by teaching about the last judgment, which we will hear next week.
Let us think historically and how this parable would have been heard back in the 1st Century – talents were not skills or abilities of a given person – that meaning would come later from this parable - it was a unit of weight – typically of a precious metal. There was no modern banking system – no Securities and Exchange Commission – no bank safe deposit boxes, no FDIC deposit insurance. Banks and money changers were not always considered the most trustworthy – if someone were going on a journey, he would need to entrust someone to protect his things – hence handing out the talents. – the servants are entrusted to with them – with the expectation that they are returned when the master returns – trading with the talents or putting it in a bank is risky – for if anything is lost, a genuine risk, the servant must answer – in ancient Rome, possibly with one’s life.
Under ancient thinking – the smart thing to do is what the third servant did – the task was preservation: bury it, make sure it is not lost – take no unnecessary risks – Under this thinking, it is the third servant who is good and wise, the first two have taken foolish unnecessary risks – … - yet here is the key to the parable – for it is just the opposite –the master commends the two who took risks, and not only disapproves of the one who played it safe burying the talent – but calls him a worthless servant – tossing him out “where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth." – a reversal from expectations – those who take risks, trading and using the talents? – they are commended –good and faithful servants, welcomed into their master’s joy - but avoiding risk? Taking the safe route? - it leads to damnation.
Here is the literal point of the parable – that point that the initial audience would have heard – when it comes to the kingdom of God – the cautious route? the safe route? avoiding challenges and risks? – it is not an option – only death can result – cast into the darkness outside - As Christ puts it elsewhere - “whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Surprising? Perhaps, but also consistent with experience – What is the most dangerous thing most of us do daily? – Get in our car and drive – there were almost 43,000 killed in car crashes last year – yet would anyone play it safe by never getting in a car? – no, we take the risk for something greater than avoiding the risk of death. – The ability to travel lets us accomplish so much, including visiting friends and family.
Another example: in fear of illness and disease, it is possible to hide at home, never go out, avoid everyone else – having everything delivered to one's door, wearing masks every chance one gets. Will this work? I am no doctor, but perhaps – yet it leads to separation from all other people – isolation – loneliness – loss of relationships – loss of humanity – separation from everyone and everything else – in a very real way, a living hell. One can be prudent, taking precautions when they make sense – but one cannot live playing it safe and avoid all dangers.
And what are those talents in the parable? – One reading is that the talents are those natural endowments that we have received from God as used in the most common reading – not necessarily wrong - but the early Church fathers saw something different – the talents are the mysteries of faith which we have received by revelation – they are the grace of the sacraments which we have received – the gifts of baptism, confirmation, marriage, holy orders – what do we do with that grace? One option is to bury it - take no action, avoid risks, get baptized, but then do nothing – live as if faith did not matter – but ignore one's faith – to neglect the sacraments? – that is burying the talent – it really does kill the soul.
Faith is a verb – the Christian life is a verb - we cooperate with grace – those gifts of the sacraments? They must be lived – to bury them is to be cast out into darkness – What question does this parable ask of us? – not only do we offer our skills and abilities – but do we live the mysteries of faith? Do we live the grace we have received? – Yes, this involves risks and costs – but cooperating with God’s grace? That is how one hears – “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.”