In the Gospel of Matthew, right near the end of his ministry, Jesus talks about being ready for what’s ahead, for the “end of the age” and his eventual return. Like I’ve said before, we have a lot of different thoughts about what that “second coming” means, when it’s happening and how.
I don’t want to get sidetracked on that just now because I want to look at how he talks about it. But I will say, you’re welcome to your interpretation of what “the second coming” is all about. Please just remember it’s not about fear, destruction and judgement, it’s really about the new beginning. So, like Jesus would say, don’t be afraid.
Back to Matthew. In the last week of his life, at the very end of his ministry, Jesus tells three parables to illustrate how we should make ready for that “second coming.” The second is the Parable of the Talents (Matt. 25:14-30).
It's the story of a very wealthy man, going on a journey, who entrusts his wealth to three servants, each, it says, according to their ability. So he gives them "talents," a measured weight of gold or silver equivalent, we think, to about 15-20 years worth of wages for a common labourer in those days. So it’s a lot.
To the first he gives five talents, the second gets two and the third, one. When he returns, the first two have used their talents to double the amount they were given and are congratulated by the man. The third, however, was afraid of what the man would do if he lost it, so he buried it in a field. He returned only the single talent he was given. The man was angry at the third servant and, after rewarding the first two, cast the third one out "into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Yikes. That sounds like something to be afraid of.
We’ve often used this parable as a stewardship story: we have talents - both money and, literally, talents - that we should invest in the work of the church. Why, yes you do and you should. But others might flip things and suggest that the third servant is Jesus, the one who stands up to the expectations of a greedy, wealth dominated society and looses his life. Fair enough. And there's more, so much more in this parable. Read it and see how it speaks to you.
Today, the voice I'm hearing is the one that says "don't be afraid."
At the heart of this parable I find risk. And I'm reminded of how frequently Jesus said "don't be afraid." Whether you engage your talents to build up or to challenge, you do so with an element of risk and risk is required for living.
Look at the behaviours in the story for a moment. In the first interpretation, the third servant is afraid of the master and his fear paralyzes him. The others have no fear and are willing to take risks and, as a result, gain. In the second, one might consider that the third servant names the wrongful behaviour of the master, that's emulated by the other servants, and is punished. The other servants, however, may not simply be copying the master, they may only be doing what was expected of them, fearful of doing anything different.
But the very idea of the "talents" inspires me to want to go so much deeper than just behaviour. To the average person hearing Jesus speak, even a single talent was a lifetime's worth of work. So maybe we're talking about something of more value than money or things.
Our behaviours will sometimes fail us, risks will not always be successful, but God will always be with us. That belief is sustaining, life giving, risk following and fear defeating. Jesus so frequently reminds us to not be afraid because it is the presence of fear that puts us in the "outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
This isn't about behaviour, it's about something deeper. It's about our relationship with God and how we take Jesus' teaching to heart. True transformation doesn't come from changed behaviour, it comes from going into the depths of ourselves and finding God there, present in our lives. And with God's presence, we are not afraid to live out what Jesus teaches us, from heart into action, fearlessly risking new life.
