Real Responsibility

Proper28A, Sullivan Park Care Center, November 16, 2014 by Sr Annette Fricke, OP

            Last Sunday was the parable about the ten virgins who were awaiting the coming of the bridegroom, five of whom brought extra oil with them and five who did not.  They are waiting for Jesus.  Half are prepared and half are not.  The women taking responsibility are those who were prepared with reserve oil. Those of us who see the second coming of Jesus as being that of our death realize that this could be interpreted that many are not prepared for death and yet death can come at any moment.  I think it is safe to say that most of us don’t receive a premonition as to our own time of death and if we do, it is more likely within a day or so, not ten years in advance.           

            This parable is along the same vein.  How do we respond to God, the master of all beings and things, before God comes to take us away from our home here on earth?  In this story, Jesus gives to each of his slaves or servants a specified number of talents.  Unlike our modern usage of this word, a talent is not a gift as in stating a person is a gifted singer, therefore sings like a songbird.  A talent is also not having a talent for being able to sell something.  Also, to put this in modern perspective, we would do much better to use employee as opposed to slave or servant---we are beholden to God, but we are not in any way abused or oppressed by God.  The term of slave or indentured servant may come to our thinking, but this term is relative to the specific culture of Jesus’ time.  I would contend that our relationship to God is more like an employee or volunteer.  We are certainly sons and daughters, but we are expected to take on responsibility given to us by God.  We are by nature, sons and daughters of God but at the same time called into relationship with God that causes us to continually consider the call to discipleship as well as the cost of discipleship.  As we more and more align ourselves with God’s will and seeking to do God’s will, we realize the risks involved in following that path.  There is a whole book with the title, “The Cost of Discipleship” by the late Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  He knew well the cost and the immanence of his death.  He was imprisoned in a death camp during the Holocaust in Europe during the Second World War.  Not only was he a prisoner there, he was also part of an intricate plot to kill Adolph Hitler.  It was only a matter of time before he would be found out and the Hitler regime would snuff him out.  Just as the question was asked of him, so also the question is posed to each of us, “What will we do with what God gives us?”  But more specifically as it pertains to this gospel text, “What will we do with the money that God gives us?”  This text is about money because a talent is one of several ancient units of mass, a commercial weight, as well as corresponding units of value equivalent to these masses of a precious metal.  It was used to pay what was owed to someone.  A talent was the largest or heaviest measure weighing about 75 pounds.  For perspective, as related to this gospel, five talents were worth 30,000 denarii.  A Denarius was a day’s wage for a laborer. The greater the weight, the more it was worth.  The meaning implied in this is that the servants have the financial ability to manage the master’s wealth.  If you go with the thinking that perception is reality, perhaps what this is saying is that the servant who receives just the one talent is someone who feels they have little to give to the world.  This person feels small in the world, perhaps like the widow who has little, just a small, almost worthless coin called a mite.  The poor on earth remain the little ones, the forgotten, and the people who don’t seem to count for much in the big world of money. But the widow who gives all she has, little as it is, by this giving is doing as Jesus expects.  She takes responsibility in managing what she has been given by God.

            This parable, as well as the surrounding parables in the book of Matthew, is all about attitudes and behavior.  Of the first two servants, both are commended for what they did with their talents.  They invested their talents and the talents doubled in size.  The picture that comes to my mind when I look at this story is that of the stock market.  People invest their money in the stock market in hopes of a good return.  Unlike this story, the stock market can and has crashed more than once.  It is unpredictable for those of us who are dependent on it to supplement our retirement Social Security income.  Without investing, there is no return.  It is even, like putting your money under the mattress.  It doesn't grow or get bigger, it simply remains the same.  It is static. There is no growth, because no risk was taken.

            Now, to take this out of a very literal interpretation, let me re-tell the parable.  There was a very generous master, the Lord of all who spoiled his children with an abundance of resources, including the trees, flowers, the power of the intellect to problem-solve each potential problem as it appears.  The Lord did not hold anything back, but gave all freely, out of his own free will.  Then the Lord went away for a while, just to see what his children would do with what he’d given.  They were given free will to do as they saw fit.  To some, he gave the ocean which produced fish of many kinds, but also the danger of tsunamis and hurricanes.  To others, he gave the inland which produced great quantities of wheat, barley, and oats but also tornadoes.  To still others, he gave the desert, a place where the people rode on camels and traded with travelers from other countries, but had to fight off dangerous animals that might attack at any moment.  They were challenged by the extremes of heat and cold.  As these civilizations grew, they fought in battles in order to conquer.  There was always a winner and always a loser.  Those who won thrived.  Those who lost had possessions taken, lives threatened, lives taken.  The strife continued year after year and killing one another became a way of life.  The children questioned the elders, “Why do we go to war with our neighboring countries?”  “What makes us superior to other countries?”  For others, it is also a religious question, “What makes our religion superior to that of others?”  Instead of extending a welcome to the neighboring country, the people distrusted and were filled with fear.  Fear became a way of relating to others when others were perceived as being different.  Despite the generous divine love modeled by and extended by God, fear lived in the hearts of people and love was replaced by fear. Some of that fear became hatred.  Those that hated multiplied because the hating parents taught their children to hate instead of love.

            Think again about this parable non-literally.  It is about money, but it is also about everything in our lives.  It is about how we operate in our world.  It is about our attitudes and behavior.  Do we choose to walk in faith and love, reaching out to others or do we choose to turn our backs and do nothing at all.  We are the stewards of God’s creation.  We were created for the purpose of spreading that kingdom to all, with or without words, but most certainly by what we do.  Let us do good to all creatures and tend God’s earth.  Amen.