Entrusted with riches
Readings: Matthew 25. 14-30
We can have one of two approaches to our faith, as exemplified by this parable. Do we see it as a joy and opportunity or do we see it as a burden?
Our parable today follows directly on from the one we heard last week. Last week, the parable of the 10 bridesmaids, was about alertness, readiness for the Bridegroom’s return. This parable is concerned with what we should be doing whilst waiting for our Master’s return. And we find that we are not to be idle, it is not merely an empty, a meaningless delay to be got over with, rather this delay in awaiting the Master is an opportunity to make good use of the time we have been given.
The Master in this parable leaves with his servants vast amounts of wealth, we’re talking multiples of what the average person would earn in their lifetime sums of money. And it’s important to remember that this is money, finances, the more traditional word ‘talents’ can easily slip us up as we immediately make the mental connection with our own skills and abilities. No, talent here is a unit of weight, a weight of gold, specifically around half a lifetimes wage.
This master appears to be both exceedingly generous and perhaps exceedingly reckless. In this reckless generosity he has left vast sums of money with these servants to do with as they see best. Now what this wealth represents isn’t our skills and talents as we so easily misinterpret. Whenever Matthew’s Gospel talks about treasure, about riches, it’s in reference to the Kingdom of God. The riches of God’s Kingdom. We spot that in parables like the pearl of great price, or the treasure hidden in a field. Parables about the value of God’s Kingdom.
So this treasure that the master has entrusted represents the treasures of God’s Kingdom; the Gospel, relationship with God, the forgiveness, mercy, love and grace of God, eternal life and the promise of a renewed and perfected world.
When you realise that’s what Jesus is talking about my mind goes to Jesus on the mountain right before he returns to the Father’s side in heaven. And what does he say to his disciples? All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, go and make disciples of all nations, baptise them, and teach them to obey what I have taught you.
The master in this parable is Jesus, the one with all authority. And in a stunning display of near reckless generosity as he returns to heaven he entrusts the treasures of his Kingdom to his people, to us. He doesn’t take them with him to bring back at a later date, he doesn’t appoint some intermediary to govern their use. He entrusts the treasures of his Kingdom, these vast impossibly valuable treasures, to us.
And we’re now left entrusted with this treasure until he returns and what this parable is telling us is that we’re not left with them to keep them safe as we wait for his return. Locking them away or burying them and standing guard until he comes back. We’re meant to be making use of them, we’re meant to be producing fruit with them.
And we can have two approaches to that realisation, as I mentioned at the start, we can either make ourselves busy, recognise this as the great trust, great gift, great opportunity we have been given to join in with our Master’s work, or we can be afraid.
Let’s start with the latter reaction. That third servant in the parable is afraid of his master. He doesn’t see what he’s been given as an opportunity, as a mark of trust, he see’s it more as a ticking bomb, he views it with suspicion, like his master has given him just enough rope to hang himself. So he buries it, he hides this treasure. And when the master returns he retrieves it and says, what you gave me? Here it is back, I’m returning it to you.
And as he does so he begins to make excuses for his failure to do anything with this money. He’s scared of his master, his master is cruel, he doesn’t respect anyone, gathers in what he hasn’t worked for. He paints the picture of his master as cruel and calculating, much like Scrooge in a Christmas Carol. Perhaps he is scared of his master, or perhaps he doesn’t see why he should work and his master reap the rewards. Why should I? There’s nothing in it for me.
Now the master responds mirroring back this servant’s description of him. But I don’t think this master owns the description, I don’t think he’s saying this description is accurate. For one thing he doesn’t repeat the claim that he’s a hard man. Rather he’s saying that even if the servant thought he was like this, which he isn’t, shouldn’t that have motivated him to do something at least? Instead he recognises the servant for what he is, lazy, wicked. He doesn’t want to be about his master’s business and took what he thought was the safe and easy option.
We can do this in our own lives. We don’t want to be about God’s business, we don’t really want to partner with Jesus in the cause of his Kingdom. We’re quite happy with our faith, with our belief and trust in him, but we don’t want to do anything with it. Instead we tuck it away, keep it safe, so that on the day Jesus returns we can show him our token of faith and avoid his condemnation.
But if that’s our approach to God, our approach to faith, not only are we selling God short, we’re selling ourselves short. If that’s our approach we’ve not truly understood what we have been given.
For there is so much we have been given, and so much more to discover. Notice how the first two upon receiving this wealth, busy themselves with working with it. Trading, investing, working with it. And whatever they do it bears fruit. No-one in this parable comes back with less than they started. In fact both of those first two come back with double. Whatever they do, the treasure grows.
The same is true of us, God has chosen us, but he hasn’t chosen us to sit here and wait it out until he comes back, instead he has appointed us to bear fruit. We’re to exercise our faith; to pray, to study the Scriptures, to grow in faith and holiness of life. We’re to share the Gospel, to share our faith with others, to tell them of the hope and joy we have in Jesus. We’re to show in our lives and actions what God’s Kingdom is like, caring for others, loving others.
God doesn’t dictate exactly what we are to do, set us a roadmap and plan, instead he entrusts his riches to us, and whatever we choose to do with them, so long as we do something with them, we’ll bear fruit, the treasure will grow. Whether that’s a growing depth of faith, a growing in number of disciples, a community around us which is growing to look more like God’s Kingdom, we’ll see growth.
What we have been saved into isn’t a waiting room for heaven, we’ve been saved into a mission, an advancing Kingdom, into partnership with the King of the Universe.
And he has called us into risk, to risk things for his Kingdom. Trading and investing and working with the money as these first servants do is inherently risky, all may not go smoothly, but they’re not thinking of themselves, they’re busy serving their master. The same is true of us, to grow in faith, to share faith, to be active in serving the community are risky things, they risk reputation, finances, security. But let us not think of ourselves, let us think instead of the master we serve.
The worst we could do is in a decade or two’s time to have got there with money in the church account, the building still standing, but a people whose faith has fizzled out, a dwindling congregation as no-one has been reached with the Gospel, and a community which is unserved, who has not benefitted from our help, our presence in this place.
If that were the case I think we could perhaps understand God taking the treasure from us and entrusting it to someone who will do something with it.
My brothers and sisters God has entrusted to us the bountiful riches of his Kingdom. If we just sit on them we haven’t truly understood what we have. These riches are to be used, invested, multiplied. Jesus’ delay in returning isn’t just stalling, meaningless, instead he has generously given us his riches, and generously given us this time to be busy using them, to show ourselves to be trustworthy and faithful.
May we do so, that when he does return we may hear his generous words ‘well done good and faithful servant’ and that we may receive his welcome ‘come and share your master’s joy’. Our God is not calculating or cruel. Instead in his reckless generosity he has partnered with us so that at the last, we may share in his joy.
Amen.