FEAR HIDES, FAITH ADVANCES

 

MAY 16, 2024

Matthew 25:14-

14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

FEAR HIDES, FAITH ADVANCES

A rich man delegates the management of his wealth to his servants, much as investors in today’s markets do. We often gloss over the word “talent”, but a talent represented about 15 years of income for servants like these. That is, whether you had received five, two, or a single talent, you would have just been entrusted with a huge amount of wealth. And while the first two servants seem to take that as a sign of their master’s confidence and affirmation and hence risk that wealth seeking to do well for him, it’s only the third servant who is paralyzed by fear.

In reading our account of Matthew 25, I recall an old saying “fear hides, faith advances!” What stands out to me in our reading is the “fear factor” of the third servant. Why is he afraid of the Master? There is nothing in this parable before the third servant speaks that indicates anything about the Master being good or bad. In fact, one might argue that this Master is generous and trusting. Where is the evidence of the Master’s character that seems so troubling to this servant, but who seemed so gracious to the other servants?

I wonder if a key to understanding this parable may have more to do with one’s view of God, than just the burying of money. Among the Jews who followed the Pharisees influence, some imagined that God was a severe judge, who treated people according to the merit they had gained through the obedient observance of the Law. They lived under the weight of a belief about rewards and punishment. They held to a notion that God was watching and waiting for a misstep so he could launch a “lightening bolt” in their direction.

Understandable, that view produced fear in the people and prevented them from growing. It especially prevented them from making space in their lives to receive and accept the new experience of God which Jesus communicated. This new experience that Jesus revealed was that God is the God of grace. I mean think about the stories in the Gospels how many of them are focused on the “outsider”? Those that the religious establishment of the day neglected or treated as “dirty rotten sinners” that as a result were excluded from God’s kingdom. This was not the message of Jesus, he said rather “come to me, all of you.” Later in the New Testament we are told that “perfect love, casts out fear.”

I have a feeling that this parable is not intended as a warning about the threatening nature of God but an invitation to answer the question “What kind of God do you see? Perhaps, this parable is a caution to us all, that in many of our relationships we tell self-fulfilling prophecies, we make premature judgments about the character of others? And that this can be true even in our relationship with God?

When we imagine God primarily as an enforcer of rules, we get hung up by the legalism of religion. When we visualize God as stern and prone to punishment, we come to believe that everything bad in our lives is punishment from God. When we see God as unpredictable and impulsive, that’s what we experience, an unsympathetic God who meets our expectations.

However, when we see God as loving, we find it easier to love ourselves and others. When we see God as gracious, we lead more grace-filled lives. When we recognize God as forgiving, we live in the joy of receiving and giving forgiveness. We invest ourselves, in other words, for Kingdom purposes.

So, I’ll close by asking that question again: what kind of God do you see?

Dear God, let us recognize you as the one who comes bearing forgiveness, love, mercy, and grace and allow this true vision of you to transform who we are and how we live. In Jesus’ name, Amen.