WHO IS THE REAL HERO OF THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS?
Matthew 25:14-30
Rev. Paul Wrightman 5/29/22
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING, “THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS,"
IS MATTHEW'S VERSION OF WHAT IS CALLED
“THE PARABLE OF THE POUNDS” IN LUKE.
“POUNDS” AND “TALENTS” ARE BOTH MONETARY TERMS,
A POUND BEING THE EQUIVALENT OF WHAT WAS PAID
A DAY-LABORER FOR 100 DAYS OF WORK,
AND A TALENT BEING THE EQUIVALENT OF WHAT WAS PAID
A DAY-LABORER FOR 6000 DAYS OF WORK.
THERE HAVE BEEN TWO MAJOR APPROACHES
TO THESE PARABLES THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF
BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION.
AND BOTH OF THESE APPROACHES ARE DEAD-WRONG.
THE FIRST TACK IS TO TAKE THE PARABLE AT FACE VALUE
AND TO READ IT AS AN ENDORSEMENT FOR CAPITAL INVESTMENT,
IN OTHER WORDS, MAKING MONEY WITH MONEY.
MANY OF US HAVE HEARD STEWARDSHIP SERMONS
WITH JUST THIS ANGLE.
THOSE WHO MAKE THE MOST WITH WHAT THEY HAVE ARE PRAISED,
WHILE THOSE WHO DON’T DO AS WELL
ARE NOT-SO-SUBTLY CHASTIZED.
THIS OFTEN LEADS TO THE IMPLIED COROLLARY
THAT THOSE ON THE UPPER END OF THE GIVING TOTEM POLE
ARE HIGHER-GRADE CHRISTIANS THAN THOSE AT THE LOWER END.
THIS APPROACH, AS WE SHALL SEE, TURNS THE ORIGINAL MEANING
OF THE PARABLE INTO ITS OPPOSITE.
THE SECOND MAJOR WAY OF LOOKING AT THIS PARABLE
HAS BEEN TO SEE IT METAPHORICALLY.
THE POUNDS OR TALENTS ARE TURNED INTO SPIRITUAL GIFTS
LIKE LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND SELF-CONTROL,
GIFTS WHICH WE ARE SUPPOSED TO GROW: OR ELSE.
WHILE SPIRITUAL GIFTS ARE TO BE CELEBRATED AND DEVELOPED,
THIS APPROACH ALSO FAILS TO GRASP THE INTENDED MEANING
OF THE PARABLE.
SO WHAT IS THIS PARABLE ACTUALLY GETTING AT?
AND HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO FIGURE THIS OUT?
MATTHEW AND LUKE GIVE US THREE KEY CLUES.
THE FIRST CLUE GIVES US THE CONTEXT OF THE TEXT.
IN LUKE, THE TEXT BEGINS BY TELLING US:
“…HE WENT ON TO TELL A PARABLE,
BECAUSE HE WAS NEAR JERUSALEM…”
(Luke 19:11a)
WE ARE INFORMED THAT JESUS WAS APPROACHING JERUSALEM,
AND WE KNOW FROM WHAT HAS COME BEFORE
AND WHAT IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWS
THAT JESUS WAS WELL-AWARE THAT IN APPROACHING JERUSALEM
HE WAS APPROACHING HIS DEATH.
THIS PARABLE IS TOLD IMMEDIATELY BEFORE
JESUS’ ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM ON THE BACK OF A DONKEY
INSTEAD OF A WAR-HORSE,
WHICH WAS JESUS’ WAY OF REPUDIATING
THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR-KING,
AND DEFINING HIMSELF AS A SUFFERING SERVANT.
IN ADDITION, AS PART OF THIS IMMEDIATE CONTEXT LUKE TELLS US
“…AND BECAUSE THEY SUPPOSED THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD
WAS TO APPEAR IMMEDIATELY.” (LUKE 19:11b)
THE HUGE MAJORITY OF JEWISH PEOPLE IN THAT DAY,
INCLUDING JESUS’ OWN DISCIPLES,
EXPECTED THE KINGDOM OF GOD TO COME VIOLENTLY.
JESUS SO-CALLED “TRIUMPHAL” ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM
ON THE BACK OF A DONKEY IS ALSO A REPUDIATION
OF THIS VIOLENT WAY OF LOOKING AT THE KINGDOM.
BY ACCEPTING THE CROSS AND OFFERING FORGIVENESS
TO THOSE WHO CRUCIFIED HIM,
JESUS IS BRINGING ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD
THROUGH THE WAY OF NONVIOLENCE AND SUFFERING LOVE.
GIVEN THIS FIRST CLUE, THE CLUE OF CONTEXT,
WHAT WOULD BE MORE NATURAL THAN IMMEDIATELY BEFORE
HIS OWN PASSION AND DEATH,
JESUS WERE TO OFFER A PARABLE
CONTRASTING THE VIOLENT WAYS OF THE WORLD
WITH THE NONVIOLENT WAYS OF GOD’S KINGDOM?
THUS, IF WE FOLLOW THE LEAD OF OUR FIRST CLUE,
WE SHOULD LOOK FOR A MEANING TO THIS PARABLE
IN TERMS OF A CONTRAST BETWEEN TWO OPPOSING KINGDOMS.
THE SECOND CLUE TO SAVE US FROM
BAD BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION,
PRESENT IN BOTH MATTHEW AND LUKE,
IS THE FACT THAT WE ARE TOLD THAT THE NOBLEMAN
CONDONED THE PRACTICE OF USURY,
CHARGING INTEREST ON MONEY LENT.
THIS PRACTICE WAS CONDEMNED IN THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES
AND LOOKED UPON AS A MAJOR INJUSTICE
AND A MAJOR BREAKING-OF-FAITH-WITH-GOD
IN THE JUDAISM OF JESUS’ DAY.
CHRISTIAN INTERPRETATION OF THIS TEXT
HAS TENDED TO DRAW A PARALLEL BETWEEN THE NOBLEMAN
AND GOD,
A PARALLEL WHICH TURNS GOD INTO A RUTHLESS CAPITALIST,
AND WHICH NO JEWISH PERSON
IN THE TIME OF JESUS WOULD HAVE DRAWN.
BY FAILING TO TAKE THE JEWISHNESS OF JESUS SERIOUSLY
CHRISTIAN BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION
HAS ALL-TOO-OFTEN COME TO CONCLUSIONS
ABOUT WHAT JESUS SUPPOSEDLY MEANT
THAT COULD NOT HAVE POSSIBLY BEEN MEANT
BY A JESUS WHO WAS REALLY JEWISH.
THE MAKING MONEY BY INVESTING MONEY
APPROACH TO TODAY’S PARABLE,
POPULAR EVER SINCE THE REFORMATION,
IS A PRIMARY CASE-IN-POINT.
THIS SECOND CLUE, HAVING THE NOBLEMAN OR KING IN THE STORY
EMBRACE A VALUE WHICH IS ANTITHETICAL
TO THE VALUES EMBRACED IN THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES,
AGAIN POINTS US IN THE DIRECTION
OF FINDING A MEANING TO THIS PARABLE
WHICH CONTRASTS THE TRUE KINGDOM OF GOD
WITH THE MEAN-SPIRITED-ANTI-KINGDOM-OF-GOD
DESCRIBED IN THIS STORY.
WE FIND OUR THIRD CLUE TO CORRECT INTERPRETATION
AT THE VERY END OF THE PARABLE,
WHEN WE ARE TOLD CONCERNING THOSE
WHO FAILED TO MAKE A PROFIT,
THAT THE KING ORDERS THEM TO BE BROUGHT BEFORE HIM
AND SLAUGHTERED IN HIS PRESENCE (Luke 19:27),
OR AS MATTHEW PUTS IT IN HIS GOSPEL,
"AS FOR THIS WORTHLESS SLAVE,
THROW HIM INTO THE OUTER DARKNESS,
WHERE THERE WILL BE WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETH."
I HOPE WHEN CINDI READ THIS TEXT THIS MORNING,
YOU SHUDDERED IN YOUR PEW AS I DID
WHEN SHE READ THIS PART.
WE SHUDDER BECAUSE WE HAVE ALL BEEN TAUGHT OVER THE YEARS
TO EQUATE THE NOBLEMAN OR KING IN THIS STORY WITH GOD,
AND THIS CONCLUSION TO THE STORY
SEEMS TO CONFIRM OUR WORST FEARS ABOUT GOD,
THAT GOD IS NOT-SO-SECRETLY OUT TO GET US,
AND THAT IF WE DON’T PERFORM AS EXPECTED,
WE WILL BE EXECUTED,
HOW COULD THE GOD AND FATHER OF JESUS,
THE GOD TO WHOM JESUS PRAYED
“FATHER, FORGIVE THEM, FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO,”
POSSIBLY SPEAK IN TERMS OF
SLAUGHTER, DEFINITIVE DARKNESS, WEEPING,
AND GNASHING OF TEETH?”
THE ANSWER IS THAT THE GOD AND FATHER OF JESUS,
THE GOD OF THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES,
DOESN’T SPEAK THIS WAY.
I FIND IT FASCINATING -- AND DEEPLY DISTURBING --
THAT CHRISTIANS THROUGHOUT THE AGES
HAVE BEEN SO QUICK TO EQUATE ANY MENTION
OF A "KING" IN THE PARABLES OF JESUS WITH GOD,
IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT JESUS DOES
NOT MAKE THIS EQUATION HIMSELF.
THE FACT THAT CHRISTIANS THROUGHOUT THE AGES
HAVE HAD SO LITTLE TROUBLE EQUATING A VIOLENT KING
OR NOBLEMAN WITH THE GOD AND FATHER OF JESUS,
WHO STOOD UNEQUIVOCALLY FOR NONVIOLENCE,
TELLS ME, SADLY, THAT CHRISTIANITY IS STILL MUCH MORE
INTO GOD AS WARRIOR KING THAN SUFFERING SERVANT.
A BASIC PRINCIPLE OF CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY IS THAT IF
GOD IS PORTRAYED AS ANY LESS THAN LOVING,
IT IS A SURE SIGN THAT IT IS NOT GOD
WHO IS BEING TALKED ABOUT THIS WAY,
BUT SOMEONE OR SOMETHING ELSE.
THESE THREE CLUES,
THE CLUE OF CONTEXT,
THE CLUE OF MENTIONING A PRACTICE
ANTITHETICAL TO THE JEWISHNESS OF JESUS,
AND THE CLUE OF POINTING OUT SOMEONE’S
UNRESTRAINED VIOLENCE,
ARE ENOUGH TO POINT US IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
CONCERNING THE RIGHT UNDERSTANDING OF THIS PARABLE.
IF WE FOLLOW THESE CLUES,
AND SEE THE MEANING OF THIS PARABLE
AS AN IRRECONCILIABLE OPPOSITION
BETWEEN THE SPIRITUAL, ECONOMIC, AND POLITICAL
NONVIOLENCE AND SUFFERING LOVE OF GOD’S KINGDOM
AND THE SPIRITUAL, ECONOMIC, AND POLITICAL VIOLENCE
OF THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD,
THE “HERO” OF THE STORY TURNS OUT
NOT TO BE THE SERVANTS WHO INVESTED THEIR MASTER'S MONEY
AND DOUBLED IT,
BUT TO THE SERVANT WHO REFUSED TO ENGAGE IN
THE RUTHLESS AND VIOLENT PRACTICE
THAT THE KING ORDERED HIM TO DO.
ON THIS READING –
AND REMEMBER THAT THIS IS THE ONLY READING WARRANTED
BY THE THREE KEY CLUES GIVEN TO US WITHIN THE TEXT ITSELF –
ON THIS READING OUR PARABLE
CANNOT POSSIBLY BE A CELEBRATION OF CAPITALISM RUN RIOT,
OR A THREAT TO GROW OUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS OR ELSE.
THIS READING OF THE TEXT ENABLES US TO LET GO
OF GOD AS THE MEAN-SPIRITED TASKMASTER WHO IS DESCRIBED AS
A HARSH MAN WHO TAKES WHAT HE DOES NOT DEPOSIT
AND WHO REAPS WHAT HE DOES NOT SOW.
INSTEAD, WE CAN
CORRECTLY UNDERSTAND THESE WORDS AS DESCRIBING
A PERSON WHO IS DOING EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE OF GOD’S WILL.
THIS READING OF THE TEXT ENABLES US TO LET GO
OF GOD AS THE MEAN-SPIRITED TASKMASTER
WHO SAYS THINGS LIKE:
“I TELL YOU, TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE, MORE WILL BE GIVEN;
BUT FROM THOSE WHO HAVE NOTHING,
EVEN WHAT THEY HAVE WILL BE TAKEN AWAY,” (Luke 19:26)
AND CORRECTLY UNDERSTAND THESE CHILLING WORDS
AS SOMETHING THAT THE POWER OF EVIL WOULD SAY.
THIS READING THE TEXT TELLS US BLUNTLY THAT
THOSE WHO STAND AGAINST THE INJUSTICE AND THE VIOLENCE
OF THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD
ARE LIKELY TO GET MARGINALIZED,
IF NOT ACTUALLY KILLED,
WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO JESUS
SHORTLY AFTER SHARING THIS PARABLE,
AND WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO PEOPLE
SUCH AS MOHANDAS GANDHI, BIETRICH BONHOEFFER,
AND MARTIN LUTHER, KING, JR.
IN THE ALL-IMPORTANT CONTEXT OF JESUS’ ORIGINAL AUDIENCE,
THE “MAN GOING ON A JOURNEY” BECOMES A LANDOWNER
WHOSE HOLDINGS HAVE BECOME HUGE
BY HIS TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE FACT
THAT MANY OF HIS TENANTS COULD NOT PAY THEIR RENT
AFTER ONLY ONE BAD HARVEST, AND HE COULD EVICT.
IN THIS CONTEXT, THE FOCAL POINT OF THE PARABLE
IS THE RICH MASTER, NOT THE THREE SLAVES.
THE PICTURE JESUS PAINTS OF THE RICH MASTER
IS NOT AT ALL FLATTERING.
HE IS CALLED “HARSH” AND IS DESCRIBED AS ONE
“WHO REAPS WHERE HE DID NOT SOW
AND GATHERS WHERE HE DID NOT SCATTER.”
THESE NEGATIVE TRAITS ARE FIRST STATED
BY THE THIRD SLAVE, BUT THE MASTER DOES NOT OBJECT,
AND IN FACT CONFIRMS THE SLAVE’S ASSESSMENT.
IN A WORD, THEIR MASTER IS CRUEL AND VINDICTIVE.
HE LIVES OFF THE WORK OF OTHERS AND ABUSES THEM
WITHOUT MERCY WHEN THEY DO NOT DO HIS BIDDING.
GIVEN THE SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND ECONOMIC CONTEXT
OF JESUS’ ORIGINAL AUDIENCE, WHO WERE MOSTLY PEASANTS,
IT IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY THAT THEY WOULD HAVE
IDENTIFIED THE SLAVE OWNER WITH GOD.
IN THIS SCENARIO, JESUS WOULD HAVE TOLD THE PARABLE
AS A WAY OF SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER,
AS A WAY OF EXPOSING AND OPPOSING
THE WHOLE DOMINATION SYSTEM OF THAT DAY AND OUR DAY,
WHICH RELIED ON THE MERCILESS EXPLOITATION OF THE POOR.
IN THIS SCENARIO, THE FAT-CAT-LANDOWNER’S
MERCILESS CLOSING REMARKS,
“FOR TO ALL WHO HAVE, MORE WILL BE GIVEN,
AND THEY WILL HAVE AN ABUNDANCE;
BUT FROM THOSE WHO HAVE NOTHING,
EVEN WHAT THEY HAVE WILL BE TAKEN AWAY.
“AS FOR THIS WORTHLESS SLAVE,
THROW HIM INTO THE OUTER DARKNESS,
WHERE THERE WILL BE WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETH” –
THESE MERCILESS REMARKS ARE INSTANTLY RECOGNIZABLE
AS THE PLATITUDES AND THE PUNISHMENT
THAT THE UNRIGHTEOUS RICH HAVE INFLICTED ON
THE VULNERABLE POOR ALL THROUGHOUT HISTORY.
IN THIS SCENARIO, THE HERO OF THE PARABLE
BECOMES THE SLAVE WHO HID HIS TALENT,
REMOVING IT FROM THE HOPELESSLY CORRUPT
ECONOMIC SYSTEM IN WHICH HIS MASTER WAS A MAJOR PLAYER.
THIS IS NOT TO SAY THAT JESUS CONSIDERED ALL RICH PEOPLE
TO BE UNRIGHTEOUS.
INDEED, WE KNOW THAT JESUS’ OWN MINISTRY
WAS FINANCED BY THE GENEROSITY
OF SOME WEALTHY WOMEN FOLLOWERS OF HIS.
IT IS TO SAY, HOWEVER, THAT JESUS IN HIS MINISTRY
DISPLAYED WHAT MANY THIRD WORLD THEOLOGIANS
HAVE DESCRIBED AS “A PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR,”
MEANING THAT THE POOR HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE IN JESUS’ HEART,
AND THAT IT IS UP TO THE REST OF US TO ADVOCATE
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE “FOR THE LEAST OF THESE
BROTHERS AND SISTERS” OF HIS.
IN PREACHING THIS PARABLE TO THE FAT-CAT SCRIBES, PHARISEES,
AND PRIESTS IN HIS AUDIENCE, JESUS HAS GIVEN US –
HIS PRESENT DAY DISCIPLES – A POWERFUL EXAMPLE
OF WHAT HE EXPECTS FROM US –
ACTIVELY SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER.
IT’S NO WONDER THE CHURCH HAS TAKEN THE EASY WAY OUT
IN ITS INTERPRETATION OF THIS PARABLE,
AND TURNED IT INTO A CELEBRATION OF CAPITALISM RUN RIOT
OR AN ADMONITION FOR US TO GROW OUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS.
THE TRUE MEANING OF THIS PARABLE
IS A SCARY CHALLENGE FOR ALL OF US
WHO STRIVE TO BE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS
TO EMBRACE GOD’S WAY OF SPIRITUAL, ECONOMIC, AND POLITICAL
NONVIOLENCE AND SUFFERING LOVE. AMEN.