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14 "It's also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. 15 To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. 16 Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master's investment. 17 The second did the same. 18 But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master's money. 19 "After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. 20 The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. 21 His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.' 22 "The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master's investment. 23 His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.' 24 "The servant given one thousand said, 'Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. 25 I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.' 26 "The master was furious. 'That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? 27 The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest. 28 "'Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this "play-it-safe" who won't go out on a limb. 29 30 Throw him out into utter darkness.' (Mathew 25:14-30 The Message Bible)
Happy Monday! May the blessings and challenges of this day bring us opportunities to shine for Him, dear Friend! May our prayers glorify the Lord as we pray for our nation, those elected, and those who offered themselves as candidates. May we love those who voted differently from us, so that true unity in this nation begin with me, and you.
This is a parable about us. Aren't they all? And in this one, the unit of mesasurement of money in the 12th Century was turned into a measurement of ability. The word is talent in the original versions of the Bible, and this modern paraphrased version converts it into understandable amounts of money. A man, preparing to take an extended trip calls his servants together and assigned them their responsibilities. An apocryphal tale I read many years ago, shortly after the death of Walt Disney said that a few days after his funeral, a Memo came from his office calling his executive team to the studio's theatre. Upon arriving, they noticed that their names were on assigned seats, and they proceeded to sit down. A film began showing on the screen and it was the man himself, the founder, and creative genius behind the marvelous art of animation and nature movies. Walt began with some remarks about his vision for the future of the studios, and then he began pointing at each animator, and imagineer, and calling them by name, addressed them with his expectations for them. The staffers did not know to be scared, honored, or both. When he was finished he smiled and said, "You'll hear from me again soon."
Back to our story; this master did not have technology like Disney to have this meeting; he did it the old fashioned way, and it allowed him to personally hand out money. To one of his trusted servants, he handed him five thousand dollars. I've not had that kind of meeting before, least not where money was given to me personally. A life-long friend was a member of my last church and he was a successful attorney and he invited me to coffee and a taco. As we sat down he handed me a check for ten thousand dollars! I said, you misspelled my name, my name is not First United Methodist Church. And of course I said, "I'll be here next week for more coffee and another check." The other man received a two thousand dollars, and the third servant received one thousand. Once the money was distributed he set off on his trip. The servants, well, two of them, sprang into action. The first servant doubled his master's investment; five thousand dollars times two, ten thousand dollars! The second one, likewise, doubled his, four thousand dollars! The servant with the one thousand dollars, simply dug a hole (Okay, that's hard work, but...) and carefully buried his master's money in the hole. The master finally returned and the three servants joined him for their reporting back to him. The first one presented the master with his ten thousand dollars. "Wow! Great work! You did so well, you are now my partner." The second servant presented the man with his four thousand dollars. The master to him said the same thing; a new partner for his great work. Finally, the third servant presented himself and began by explaining, "Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent." The master was furous. "That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest. Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this 'play-it-safe' who won't go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness." Ouch.
While the parables always begin with a seemingly earthly point of view, the endings tend to shift to the divine. Jesus means all along however, the "Master" of this story is God. The servants are you and me. The "thousands" or "talents" are our God-given abilities and responsibilities, our witness and service to others; basically what we do, or don't do, to grow (or shrink) the kingdom of God. Those of us who fail, will suffer the wrath of God, and the scary reality of being thrown "into utter darkness." So, what is Jesus talking about? He's saying that all of us, yes, you included, have been endowed with something we can use to bless God. It could be our voice, our singing voice, our ability to teach, or learn, to give, to share; whatever, are we using that for the good of God's kingdom? Or, are we hiding it under a wonderful assortment of "good" excuses? Truthfully, there will be no excuses allowed; we either serve or we fail. No matter the wonderful explanation we think we will be able to give to justify our actions; none will suffice. If we are found lacking, we will be lacking. And that's not where we hope to be. Get busy.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we thank You for the gifts You have shared with each of us. We are thankful even for those we have yet to discover; but grant us the boldness and courage to live like You have called us to do; we do want the kingdom to grow; we want the lost found, we want the perishing saved, and the ones in darknes now to be brought into the light; grant us that Father, according to Thy will; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Discover and use your talent to glorify God!
Receive my blessing of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
