Gospel of St. Matthew 25:14-30

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Greetings:

I was hoping someone might be able to lead me in the right direction regarding the Gospel of St. Matthew 25:14-30

14 For even as a man going into a far country, called his servants, and delivered to them his goods; 15 And to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to every one according to his proper ability: and immediately he took his journey.

16 And he that had received the five talents, went his way, and traded with the same, and gained other five. 17 And in like manner he that had received the two, gained other two. 18 But he that had received the one, going his way digged into the earth, and hid his lord’s money. 19 But after a long time the lord of those servants came, and reckoned with them. 20 And he that had received the five talents coming, brought other five talents, saying: Lord, thou didst deliver to me five talents, behold I have gained other five over and above.

21 His lord said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 22 And he also that had received the two talents came and said: Lord, thou deliveredst two talents to me: behold I have gained other two. 23 His lord said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant: because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 24 But he that had received the one talent, came and said: Lord, I know that thou art a hard man; thou reapest where thou hast not sown, and gatherest where thou hast not strewed. 25 And being afraid I went and hid thy talent in the earth: behold here thou hast that which is thine.

26 And his lord answering, said to him: Wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sow not, and gather where I have not strewed: 27 Thou oughtest therefore to have committed my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received my own with usury. 28 Take ye away therefore the talent from him, and give it to him that hath ten talents. 29 For to every one that hath shall be given, and he shall abound: but from him that hath not, that also which he seemeth to have shall be taken away. 30 And the unprofitable servant cast ye out into the exterior darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Yesterday, the priest’s sermon on this Gospel was in a way I’ve never heard before. What is the Church’s official teaching on this? Are there any trusted sites or references you could suggest?

Thank you!
 
Here’s my take, based on the commentary in the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible.

This parable is about stewardship, and warns against sloth, which is a combination of laziness and fear.

The Master “invested” with his servants based on his knowledge of their abilities. A talent was a lot of money - it was worth about 20 years’ wages for a laborer. (At $10 an hour, that would be about $400,000 today.)

The two successful servants who went and traded with the money he gave them were also risking it, just like investing today. They also had to do some work to get to the market, and use their intelligence to seek out good people to trade with.

The only work the lazy servant did was to dig the hole in which he buried his talent. The only thinking he did was to worry about his master’s hardness and fear the consequences if he lost his master’s talent. Perhaps he also resented that his master trusted him with so little, and refused to do the work of investing. That might be why his master called him “wicked.”

Of course, this is not really about money or possessions. It is about the gifts God gives us personally, from life, to the things we call talents.

If I wanted to be like the “wicked and slothful” servant, I could get all resentful about my disabilities. They keep me from doing much, and make it impossible for me to hold a job. Not only that, but they are invisible, which means those who don’t know me could accuse me of sloth.

I could decide that, since others can go earn lots of money, and/or do volunteer work, and since the obviously disabled don’t get dirty looks when they use the handicapped spaces, Jesus gave them more than He gave me, and doesn’t care about me. I could get all passive-aggressive and sit around watching dumb stuff on TV and reading light fiction. To bring in another parable, I could hide my light under a bushel.

On the other hand, I could take what He has given me, and see how much good I can do with it. I can take my pains, inconveniences, and discomfort at getting those dirty looks, and offer them up on behalf of someone else. Being able to do this turns my disabilities into a gift I can give back to God! I can actually be grateful for them - though I still have to work hard at that. (When it gets right down to it, I’m the wicked servant as often as I am the good and faithful one.) I can take my pension and donate to those causes that I’d volunteer for if I had the health. I can use my brain to write things like this!

And, if the good Lord took away my disabilities tomorrow, I’d have to get up off my duff and do all the things I gripe about not being able to do today. That might me even harder for me than being grateful for my cross! (I have a wee problem with sloth, lol.)

Hope this helps. God bless you,

Ruthie

P.S. I just read this on a post of Copland’s; it also applies!
“The more He has revealed Himself to someone the more they will be expected to respond to His Truth.”
 
Thank you very much for your thoughtful response, Ruthie. Very eloquent. Well done.
Pax Christi Tecum.
 
Excellent answer, Ruthie!

I have a followup question, however. If a talent was so much money, why does the Lord say, “You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much.”

If 10 talents are “a little,” think of how much more insignificant one talent is. To me this illustrates even further how wicked and lazy the third servant was in that he couldn’t even be bothered to take a very little sum of money and do something with it.

But maybe I’m wrong (wouldn’t be the first time!)
 
panther said:
Excellent answer, Ruthie!

I have a followup question, however. If a talent was so much money, why does the Lord say, “You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much.”

If 10 talents are “a little,” think of how much more insignificant one talent is. To me this illustrates even further how wicked and lazy the third servant was in that he couldn’t even be bothered to take a very little sum of money and do something with it.

But maybe I’m wrong (wouldn’t be the first time!)
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What is money when compared to Eternal Life?

I think our Lord is teaching us that in the long run, money and wealth aren’t anything compared to our reward in heaven.
 
Another important point here is Our Lord’s “use it or lose it” message. We all see this in little things in our daily lives. I took clarinet when I was a kid, and even got pretty good at it, winning some honors and awards. But I stopped playing in High School, and today could not even get a note from a clarinet, much less play a tune.

The Lord says, “Use what I have given you. Use it to make a return to me, over and above what I have given you. If you are smart, and speak well, teach others, that they may know me. If you are strong, help others that they may learn from your example as my disciple. If you are rich, use your riches to benefit others, that they may emulate your generosity”.

But with the instruction, comes the warning, “If you do not use what I have given you, to bear fruit for my kingdom, what I have given you will be taken away, and given to others”.

If you believe you have gifts from God (and we all do), seize onto them. Use them for His glory. Present the results of this use back to Him. Then you will hear those blessed words, “Well done, good and faithful servant”.

This is a powerful message for me personally. I have been given measureless gifts from God - really, really amazing things. Intelligence, an amazing job that I love that is very personally and financially rewarding, a beautiful, loving wife; two kids with GPA’s in the high 90’s who have never been in trouble a day in their lives; my own health, and that of my family, my parents, my aunts and uncles, and in-laws, and cousins.

Gifts far in excess of the value of 10 talents, even in today’s money.

And I have come to realize in recent years that I have very few things to show our Lord in return. I have lived 44 years and do not have much to show for this time. So recently, I have gotten busy. I now teach RCIA. I coordinate the Altar Servers for my parish. I contribute material wealth to organizations that faithfully serve the poor. I give my time to help my parish priest, so that he has time to concentrate more on prayer, and teaching. I pray much more, for those who have no-one to pray for them, as Our Lady taught at Fatima.

Still I am a long, long way from having “another 10 talents” to show for what I have been given.

This particular passage has deeply affected me, maybe more than any other in scripture.

There is a story I heard once about a lady who had a “near death experience”. She met Our Lord, and when he looked at her, He spread His hands, and said to her, “Only leaves”. All around His feet were dried up leaves, like we have here in upstate NY in November. She had no fruit to give him. This is my greatest fear now, to hear that from Jesus.

But, as in all things, He has shown us the Way. We have only to follow, and not turn our back.
 
scaron said:
This is a powerful message for me personally. I have been given measureless gifts from God - really, really amazing things. Intelligence, an amazing job that I love that is very personally and financially rewarding, a beautiful, loving wife; two kids with GPA’s in the high 90’s who have never been in trouble a day in their lives; my own health, and that of my family, my parents, my aunts and uncles, and in-laws, and cousins.
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Wonderful message, Scaron. This story could be mine as well!

Thank Goodness sometimes the Master lingers before He returns for us, eh?
 
i love parables. they all teach morality. in this case i must have missed the boat because this particular parable speaks nothing to me of monatary gains or shrewdness. it does, however teach me that we should spread the Word as we have recieved it. it is not for us to keep. and yes there will be those who will be more successfull than others.

most important, our disposition prior to actually recieving the Word is what determines if we are successfull.
 
I have a followup question, however. If a talent was so much money, why does the Lord say, “You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much.”
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Five talents was little to this master, in the context of all his wealth. What graces God has given me are small compared to all of His grace!

See Scaron’s story.
I have lived 44 years and do not have much to show for this time. So recently, I have gotten busy. I now teach RCIA. I coordinate the Altar Servers for my parish. I contribute material wealth to organizations that faithfully serve the poor. I give my time to help my parish priest, so that he has time to concentrate more on prayer, and teaching. I pray much more, for those who have no-one to pray for them, as Our Lady taught at Fatima.
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Compared to what he was doing before with his talent, he is now “set over much.” (Of course, having a good marriage and raising two good kids is another good use of the talent.)

I also think of our clergy. B16 didn’t fall out of the sky; he has been given, bit by bit, authority over much.
If 10 talents are “a little,” think of how much more insignificant one talent is. To me this illustrates even further how wicked and lazy the third servant was in that he couldn’t even be bothered to take a very little sum of money and do something with it.
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Good point. It shakes me up some, too. I’m having a spiritual fight between pride and humility, right now. Hah! another reason for my disability. If I was able to teach CCC, I’d probably be the BEST teacher ever… KWIM? Good thing I can’t, huh?

Praying for humility through our perfect example of it - Mary.

Ruthie :hypno:
 
I heard that Gospel read in Mass today and I really do think that the current official interpretation is all wrong. I have no theology background but there are some glaring problems with the current view that Jesus is using the “Master” as a representation of God the Father ( who is according to the parable, " a harsh man, reaping where he did not sow, and gathering where he did not scatter seed" This analogy would not be used to depict God the father by the writer of this Gospel. The 3 men in the parable are slaves, not servants. Despite current views, even back then all slaves ever wanted was to be free, they still do.

The men who work hard to make this man (whom they wish to be free from) richer, end up being laden with more work (to make him richer still). The one who tells his master exactly what he is and refuses to give his strength to that from which he longs to be free from, ends up making his master so angry, he abuses him and casts him out into the dark night outside - he actually sets him free.

This parable would have been crystal clear to the slaves who made up the majority of the early church. The word ‘talent’ may also be confusing people, its not about ‘talent’ or ‘spiritual gifts’ but money. The Gospel writer would not have interchanged the two. I also think that some translations disguise this meaning. If you look at ;“The New Revised Standard Version (Anglicized Edition), copyright 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.” This makes it clearer.

I really think the meaning here is that we should not spend our lives and our energies working to make the things and people that oppress us stronger. We do this because we think it will make us more secure (Working 16 hours a day in a job we hate for a company that cares nothing for who it harms). The message (I believe) is summed up in a line from a song by Jewel which says, “No longer lend your strength to that which you wish to be free from”
  • Juba
 
I came looking for interpretation of this passage because I listened to a sermon today similar to the opinion expressed by Juba. I have to disagree with both.
To disagree first with Juba: If the man was a slave set free why was there wailing and gnashing of teeth?
Now to the sermon I heard. A talent was 75 pounds of precious metal, a huge fortune. The priest said the original hearers of this parable would have been poor people who would lose their farms or livelihoods to people such as the servants of/and the wealthy man. He thought that “crystal clear to the people of the day”, the man who buried the money was in fact, serving God by not taking advantage of the poor.
I think that in parable after parable the “master” represents God so Jesus is not changing it here. This parable is about fear of stepping out in faith. WHOEVER SEEKS TO PRESERVE HIS LIFE WILL LOSE IT, BUT WHOEVER LOSES IT WILL SAVE IT.
Luke 17:33
So my interpretation is this: the 3rd servant WAS afraid of the master, and more, he was afraid to risk the status quo. The master even says that at the very least he could have put it in the bank and collected interest, but the man was too fearful even for that. He sought to preserve his life just as it was. he lost what good he had.

The surrounding parables all speak of being watchful even tho the master tarries. In this Gospel the Master is gone a long time. The 3 men had time to change their initial decisions. They were given enough time to profit or enough rope to hang themselves, which the 3rd guy did.
They were given HUGE amounts of wealth “each according to his ability”. So they had each already shown what they were capable of. Knowing this, perhaps the 3rd man was being given one last chance. He was wicked because he was basically being deceitful and perhaps lazy. He wanted to preserve his life and he thought that by doing nothing and groveling he could.

We cannot be fearful in the service of the Lord. It is only by stepping out of the boat to walk on the water, leaving our fishing nets and father standing on the shore to follow the Messiah, leaving the status quo, whatever it is, in faith, that our true lives will be made manifest.
The Lord appears to be an angry judge, but Jesus has taught us to call Him “Father”. We all know that fathers, even when stern or angry, are working for our benefit.
Matt.12:48-50 “He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.””
Was it the will of the master that the 3rd servant take the huge fortune and hide it? I think the servant would have known from the beginning that was not the purpose of receiving the fortune, but he was paralyzed by fear.
Fear is the enemy of our spiritual life. Love overcomes fear. The huge fortune given us by God is Love. Don’t bury it.
 
The parable simply means to say that we’re to do the best we can with what we’re given: the gifts, the grace, to produce fruit for the kingdom of God.
 
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