Using our talents
by Dianne Eckermann
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His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (Matthew 25:21)
Read Matthew 25:14–30
Like the other parables in the two chapters of Matthew we have been reading this week, this parable about the three servants tells us about how people have behaved while waiting. This parable appears to be about a demanding master, which sounds strange to our modern ears. Similarly, the treatment of the third servant seems unduly harsh in our world, with employment laws intended to protect workers.
The parable also seems to justify giving even more to those who already have a lot and punishing those who have little; however, we know this is not at all how Jesus works. The master going on a journey and promising to return sounds much like Jesus promising to return. Jesus is not harsh or unjust, so this message is not so much about judgement but about using the gifts we have.
When the master in the parable goes away on a long journey, promising to return, he entrusts a great deal to his servants. Each servant is given an amount according to their ability, so the master is not expecting more from the servants than they can deliver. He trusts each of them. What he offers to the first two servants, who use what they have been given for his benefit, is a share in his happiness. The trust the master has given them has been nothing to be afraid of, but an opportunity to share in his joy.
In contrast, the third servant buries his gift from the master. He does not even attempt to use what he has been given, apparently because he fears what has been entrusted to him. In doing so, he is not responding to a share in the happiness his master is willing to share with him.
This parable, therefore, is about looking for opportunities to use what we have been given wisely and effectively for the sake of Jesus, who loved us so much he gave all for us.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the individual gifts you have entrusted to us, and we ask you to help us to use what we have been given in your service and for your glory. Amen.
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