14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling
into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his
goods. 15 And unto one he gave five
talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his
several ability; and straightway took his journey. 16 Then he that had received the five talents went and
traded with the same, and made them other five talents. 17 And likewise he that had received two, he also
gained other two. 18 But he that had
received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and
reckoneth with them. 20 And so he that
had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord,
thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five
talents more. 21 His lord said unto
him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a
few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of
thy lord. 22 He also that had received
two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold,
I have gained two other talents beside them. 23 His
lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been
faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou
into the joy of thy lord. 24 Then he
which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou
art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou
hast not strawed: 25 And I was afraid,
and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. 26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked
and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather
where I have not strawed: 27 Thou
oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my
coming I should have received mine own with usury. 28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it
unto him which hath ten talents. 29 For
unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from
him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer
darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matt
25:14-30)
The
Collect
Third
Sunday after Trinity
O
|
LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to
hear us; and grant that we, to whom thou hast given an hearty desire to pray,
may, by thy mighty aid, be defended and comforted in all dangers and
adversities; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Collect for 3rd Trinity reveals that the hearing of
our prayers is not a fixed duty of God, but a mercy. We learn, as well, that
the desire to pray to our Lord does not originate in the heart of the
appellant, but from God. In the end sum, all of our protection and comfort
comes from God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is the manner in which the Kingdom of Heaven operates. It is as a man (the
Lord Jesus Christ) travelling to a far country – heaven is quite distant to say
the least. This parable of the talents illustrates how we are to conduct our
lives in waiting upon the Lord's return. Our lives are a continual investment
of time, resources, and, most especially, love. We are not permitted to save up
our talents in safe holding until the moment of the Master's return, but these
must be invested over time in order to accrue a record of service and faith. It
would be impossible for one who loves the Lord to squander his time away in
idle disregard of the service he owes to God and man once he has received the
Grace of Christ in his heart. In fact, such an investment is a joy and not a
sacrifice of labor.
14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a
man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered
unto them his goods. The `goods' of Christ have been
delivered to every faithful soul who has been the recipient of His saving
Grace. That grace was bought and paid for us at Calvary before He ever departed
for a far country and "sitteth on the right hand of God the Father"
as the Creed avers. These `goods' are treasures of faith, grace, wisdom, and
love.
15 And unto one he gave five talents,
to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several
ability; and straightway took his journey. God will not
place a greater responsibility upon us than we are able to bear and meet. Some
of us are not constituted in such a way as to be able to handle five talents,
so God will give us two, or even only one; but whatever talents we have
received, we are responsible to invest those talents at good return. There is
at least one talent that every chosen of God receives – that talent is LOVE. It
is so very easy to invest this talent. The more we invest, the greater the
percentage of return. It is inexhaustible! Can you comprehend that? The oil in
that jug will never give out. The more profusely it is poured out, the greater
is the reserve in the jug. This is a mystery that God has placed in the nature
of love. There are other talents such as evangelism, teaching, music, and
administration which many are not suited to perform, but we all have that
talent of LOVE if we belong to Christ. Have we invested that one talent at the
amazing return that it will yield? When Christ had paid the last measure of His
precious blood, He made those talents to be granted to those of us according to
our abilities. It was finished at Calvary!
16 Then he that had received the five
talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
This is a very wise servant. He wastes no time in putting the five talents to
work at interest. He is aware of the principle given by Christ: For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much
required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
(Luke 12:48) There is no time to waste in our investment, for the time granted
us in living is also a gift whose future course is not certain.
17 And likewise he that had received
two, he also gained other two. The yield in both the five
talents and the two are the same – that is 100% return. God gives you His 100%
in talents. God wants your 100% percent in your investment of talents as well.
If either of these first two servants had not immediately taken up their cross
and followed Christ daily, they may have fallen short of their investment
objective in service. If a socialist order prevailed in the kingdom of heaven,
then one or the other may have been called upon to share some of their increase
to the third servant who sat down on the talent God gave and did NOTHING to
cause the talent to increase. But socialism is foreign to God, and the sharing
of talents is not a reality. We go with that for which we have invested and
labored.
18 But he that had received one went and
digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. Those gifts that we have received from the generous hand of
God must not be hoarded, but shared. The only reason we prosper is for the sake
of others of God's creatures. This one servant was so greedy that, though he
wasted nothing, it shared nothing either. He only had left that which the Lord
had given. But that, too, would be taken away from such a selfish and faithless
servant.
19 After a long time the lord of those
servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. It has
been now some two thousand years since our Lord went into a far country. Such
an expanse of time makes any speculation of the time of His return an
impossibility, but one thing is certain: He shall return at the time of His
good pleasure and will. When He returns, there shall certainly be a reckoning.
We shall each stand alone, face-to-face, with the Savior just as the woman
taken in adultery stood alone and face-to-face with the Savior of her soul. At
that day, excuses will not suffice. Our souls will be bared and our destinies
known. How will we have persevered? If we have labored in earnest, our
spiritual muscles will grow with the use. The higher we climb the mountain
slopes, the broader becomes the horizon.
20 And so he that had received five
talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst
unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. How many talents will you have produced from
the riches of your heart for Christ on that last day? You have known and
received the benefits of grace in Christ. Will you bring others to stand with
you before your Lord? What of your neighbors? Your friends, your family
members? 21 His lord said unto him,
Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few
things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy
lord. The reward is the
ownership of all of the talents both given and produced, but more, too.
Entering into the joy of the Lord is the blessing of greatest comfort of all
others: "You will take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from
the consciousness of duty, faithfully performed; and I earnestly pray that a
merciful God will extend to you his blessing & protection."
(General Robert E. Lee, Farewell Address to the Army of Northern Virginia, 9
April 1865) Such a satisfaction so far exceeds in joy that measure of
humiliation Peter experienced when, for the third time, he denied Christ before
the tribunal. Christ immediately turned and looked at Peter – a look that
pierced the heart of Peter. Will you have your heart pierced by the look of
Christ at His return?
22 He also that had received two
talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I
have gained two other talents beside them. 23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant;
thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many
things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Though the
reward given by Christ will be commensurate with our own labors of love, it
will always exceed our grandest expectations. It will be enough!
24 Then he which had received the one
talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping
where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in
the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. What
conniving, sniveling, and devious scheming to actually blame our shortcomings
on the Lord Himself! The servant accuses his master of being too harsh and
demanding, therefore the servile one was too fearful to accomplish anything.
One thing is certain: this servant has great cause for fear since he has
abandoned his duties of love and service to the Lord.
26 His lord answered and said unto
him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed
not, and gather where I have not strawed: What is the great sin of the servant under
discussion here? How do we categorize his sin? He did no overt sin. He simply
did NOTHING! What does our prayer of General Confession say? "…..We
have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too
much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy
holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we
have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health
in us……" This servant did no outrageous sin; he simply failed
to do that which love demands. His sin was one of omission and not of
commission, but the verdict is the same. 27 Thou
oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my
coming I should have received mine own with usury. This is evidence again that our labors of
love in Christ are not ours at all, but His!
Christ will now direct His commands to the Holy Angels as regards this
unprofitable servant. He is finished speaking, forever, to such a one: 28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it
unto him which hath ten talents. 29 For
unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from
him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. Have
you love? If you have, the evidence of that love is the love that you have
given away - the love that you have shared with the helpless little child, the
widow, the orphan, the imprisoned, and the poor, will be multiplied on the back
of that wicked servant who heard not the cry of poor Lazarus.
30 And cast ye the unprofitable
servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Judas was an unprofitable servant who went out from the Lord's Supper into an
eternally dark night. King Saul made his bed in Hell and left his first love
for the Dark Angel. God sends no man to Hell – if we are sent, we send
ourselves just as the Rich Man who failed to drop a crumb to Lazarus from his
table ended up pleading for a drop of water from the finger of a beggar. In
Hell, all are beggars without names or estates. The only light that is there is
the dimly lit light of burning fires EVERYWHERE! Where do you plan to spend
YOUR eternity, friend?
