The Parable of the Talents

A priest I knew preached the same sermon to his congregation, four weeks running. He was complaining about Christians who only came to church when the weather was fine, on the rainy days they stayed away. However the people he was actually addressing were the ones that did attend. He was in effect, preaching to the converted.

I find myself this morning preaching my first sermon in St Mary's to a congregation of extremely gifted and hard-working people on the subject of using one's talents in the Lord's service. Again a case of preaching to the converted.

So I can either sit and save my breath OR I can rabbit on for while hoping that there might be something of value in what I say this morning.

I think I should just continue or I might not be invited back.

A talent in the time of Jesus was just one of the weights of money used by moneychangers. In fact it was the heaviest weight, it represented 3,000 shekels, the equivalent of 12,000 denarii.

And so we realise that the master, mentioned in the story, is not merely giving out five, two and one coins consecutively to his servants, but in fact huge amounts of wealth entrusted into their hands. His own treasure.

Two of his servants prove obedient and use their abilities productively to benefit their master.

The third servant fails to put his talent to good use. He buries it, preferring to do  nothing at all with it, rather than risk failure.

In fact the word we NOW use as 'talent' actually comes from this gospel reading today.

A talent to us is to do with a person's aptitude…but let me make that word easier for you.. a talent is something that you find easy, but others find difficult.

When a natural talent is given to God in His service it becomes a gift of grace or spiritual gift.

As in the story, not all people's skills and opportunities are alike, and to some more gifts are given, but even the lowest and humblest of servants is given something.

In order to turn our natural talents into spiritual gifts, I would argue that three things are needed.

The first is a genuine love for God and obedience to His will.

The faithful servants in the story are intent upon doing only good for their master. They are well motivated, dedicated in service and  trustworthy. They are not seeking promotion or any wealth for themselves.

 They don't seek to be noticed, they're not stars, they don't seek fame.

The gifts they have been given do not belong to them, they know they are on loan.

They don't fear their master, they honour him in their enterprise. They prove faithful and are given even greater responsibility as a result of their efforts.

 The one who fails his master, however, is afraid of him( fear being the opposite of love) and is only too quick to make up excuses. Instead of confessing his laziness and disobedience, he turns the blame upon his master, accusing him of being unjust, grasping and domineering. Also, if human nature is anything to go by, it may be that he was offended that the two others had been given more.

And so we must ask if fear, envy, a rebellious spirit,or even pride ever creeps in to the way we view gifts and talents and becomes a hindrance?

The second is that we need the will to do:

We must ask ourselves have we lost the will to serve God, have we grown tired and weary in service, have we forgotten our first love… are we making excuses…and shrinking from service and if so why? Where is our sin, where does the blockage lie?

Could it be we've taken on too much or more than we should have done? Is what we're doing God's priority for our lives or our priority? Could it be we need a change or a rest? Could it be that the real gift that God has given us is hidden under the other yokes which have been put round our necks? Could it be that we have allowed sin to creep into our lives?

Or are we joyfully tuning our instruments at the gate so to speak, and excited about the tasks he had given us.

The third is that we need a mind to know.

We need to know the rich inheritance God has given us. Like the master in the story, God has lavished gifts upon us. Do we know what they are?

Have we ever done an inventory of gifts used in our churches, and eagerly searched for the ones that are missing?

It is said in scripture that when Jesus ascended to heaven, he gave gifts to humankind…

How many could we name? Which ones are most in action in this church?

All God's gifts are up and working even today, and did not come to a close at the demise of the apostles. They will only do so, we are told in Paul's letter to the Corinthians 13, when that which is perfect is come.

There are six mentioned in Romans 12:-

Service, teaching, exhortation, contributing, aiding and acts of mercy

There are two mentioned in 1 Corinthians 7:-

Marriage and celibacy

There are nine gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:-

The utterance of wisdom, the utterance of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, workers of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, speaking in tongues, and the interpretation of tongues.

In Ephesians there are five :-

Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.

All of these are still possible today, but if we don't know what's on offer from God, how are we ever going to claim them or recognise them?

But the New Testament doesn't give us an exhaustive lists of gifts, even in this day and age more and more are being added.

I've heard of gifts of organisation,  spontaneous music, songwriting, ideas, outreach into the community, engaging with new cultures, role models for youth, computer programmes of outreach, putting together books, like the one which brought so much comfort to so many at the Remembrance service this week… the list of possibilities is endless.

All these amount to wealth and treasure untold, just like the vast amounts of money offered to the servants in the story, given for the building up of their master's kingdom, so his kingdom will spread and grow and like the ground, be fertile ground for seeds and sowing.

Let's seek not to put anyone in a straight-jacket concerning a gift God has given to them, or we might find that we are the ones called to account before God.

If these three things are in place, a heart of love, a will to do and a mind to know more, then there is no danger that we will ever be classed as disobedient, when we give account of ourselves before God in heaven.

The litmus test is whether our gifts glorify God, or us. Whether they convict the world and convince it of the truth. Whether our gifts build up the church and heal body, soul and spirit? Whether they guide us into truth and whether they bow in submission to leadership, to scripture and to the church?

Wouldn't it be wonderful if in our churches there was absolutely no fear of God or each other only love, no envy only encouragement.

If only we concentrated on building each other up, and appreciating the diverse gifts God has given to us all?

Isn't this exactly what Paul is saying to the Thessalonians at the end of his epistle this morning?

How wonderful it would be if like some large jigsaw, all the talents and gifts just fell into place, giving the world a clearer picture of what we are about, and how one in the spirit we are?

Let me finish with a different story.

A father once decided to make a jigsaw for his family. They all loved doing jigsaws, the more difficult the better.

 Then he noticed a very large cardboard map on the wall of his office, which had vast areas of greens and browns denoting the land masses and large areas of blue oceans. So he took it home and began cutting it up with a fretsaw. Then he put the pieces in a box.

His seven year old daughter was the first to accept the challenge. As she made her way into the bedroom, he smiled to himself and thought, 'That will keep her occupied for a fortnight!'

However she returned an hour later with it all finished, and he was amazed.

'How on earth did you manage to finish it so quickly?' he asked. 'How could you possibly have sorted out all those greens and browns and blues?

'It was quite easy daddy, ' she replied. 'On the reverse side of the map, there was a picture of a man.

All I did was put the man together, and the world just fitted into place.

Amen