The Rev. Dr. Hilary B. Smith
Using our Talents
In
the parable of the Talents, those who take the money with which they have been
entrusted and make use of it, increasing its value, are rewarded with praise
from their master. The one who buried the money and did not make use of the
gift given, is characterized as wicked and lazy. The lazy one admits that he
was afraid of the master and feared making a mistake with that which had been
put in his care. He could return to his master what had been given him, but
that was not good enough.
In Jesus’ day, as now, saving money was seen as a
good idea. A talent was a huge amount of money – it would take a day-laborer at
least 15 years to earn a talent. It made sense to hold tightly to the talent
rather than risk losing it. So those who first heard this parable were
surprised by the harsh rebuke given to the one who saved the only talent he
had. Jesus was using the things of his day to make a point about God and the
disciples’ relationship with God – that is what a parable does.
When we see the master as God and talents as gifts
given by God, we begin to get the point Jesus was making. This parable in fact
led to the use of the world talent to mean a skill or ability. This parable
helps us to see our abilities as gifts from God. As gifts from God, we are the
stewards of them.
Why
did Jesus tell this parable to those who were following him? His friends would
soon understand the risks associated with following God’s call. Jesus taught
his friends the lessons they would need to continue the ministry beyond Easter
day. This scripture speaks to us about our lives as well. It can give us
direction and clarity. What does this parable have to tell us given the context
in which we live? What does our culture sometimes teach us about using our
gifts?
“Better
safe than sorry.” This well-known phrase comes to mind on occasion when we are faced
with a choice to use a gift or not. Sometimes being cautious is the right
choice. Many of us put a lot of value on making the right decisions. In fact,
sometimes doing nothing seems like a better idea than taking a chance or a risk.
Certainly,
there are times when making a particular move would be a bad idea. We would not
want to encourage reckless behavior. But when it comes to our Christian faith,
when it comes to following Christ, we are sometimes, if not often, called to take
risks for the good of the kingdom –to act to increase peace, love, and justice
on our world. There is a difference between being reckless and taking a risk
for God. Jesus wanted to make sure that his followers knew that risks were to
be part of their future, and Jesus did not want fear to hold them back from
using their gifts to answer God’s call.
These risks we take may not look like risks to
others, but it sometimes requires courage to use what we believe are the gifts
God has given to us. It can be risky to befriend someone others scorn. It can
be risky to strive for more when others do not believe in you. The parable of
the Talents makes the point clearly that one who buries the gifts of God, to keep
them safe, has missed the point. I’m sure you can think of a time in your life
when you took the risk of failure or being judged or ridiculed or dismissed to
follow what you knew in your heart was your destiny.
When everyone else was advising you to play it safe
or be satisfied with what you all ready had, you knew that there was to be more
for you – at the time, you may have named that feeling as a call from God or
not.
But looking back on it now, from our Christian
perspective, it is clear that God gave us the gifts for a reason and called us
to act on them. Some of us maybe we wondering about a call now and how God is
leading us to use our gifts. Thankfully, we do not have to figure it out all on
our own. We have help from God and from each other.
Seeing our abilities as gifts from God makes a big difference
in how we choose to use our talents. If my talents are all mine to uses as I
please, I can choose to employ a certain ability or not. But when we consider
our talents from the God’s perspective, we understand that our talents are
gifts given to us by God to be used to God’s glory—gifts to be used and not to
be hidden away.
If you are a very confident person or someone who
grew up being told that you could
achieve anything you set your mind to, it may be second-nature to strive
to achieve your potential and your goals. For others, who have been told they
could not do something—for whatever reason–it can feel risky to use one’s
talents – risky when others discount them or deny them.
Love gives us the courage to use our gifts. God’s
love gives us the energy to be courageous and strike out based on our hopes and
dreams.
As a community of faith, as friends, we are here to
help each other identify our talents and support each other in the use of our
gifts. Discernment happens in community. The parable of the Talents is focused
on individuals. The individuals made choices that seemed to be ones they came
to on their own—in isolation. And maybe that was part of the problem. When we
feel alone it is easier to feel a sense of needing to protect what we have for
ourselves or we may feel afraid. In community, we feel the support of God and
each other. Here at
Jesus is our greatest friend when it comes to
discerning our gifts and how we can use them. Having lived a human life, being
faced with all the challenges of life, he helps us see our potential and the
world’s needs. Jesus tells this parable to motivate and to instruct. Playing it
safe is not the way to follow Jesus. He has shown us that by his life.
Some in his time must have said that he was
reckless, that he was acting more and more like a zealot everyday. When he was
arrested and taken to the cross, some said he should have been more careful—he
should have played it safe.
Jesus used the talents he had to do what he was
meant to do – he alone could live as he lived. The same is true for us—God has
created each one of us to serve the world based on the person we have been
created to be.
When we are looking beyond ourselves to how our
gifts will be used by God to help others, we know we are on the right track. Yes,
God wants us to use our talents for our joy too – that should not be seen as
the opposite of serving – what gives us great joy is often a wonderful
indication of how we should use our talents. Take some time today to rejoice
with God – to share God’s delight in all that you have done with the gifts
given to you and to consider what you might do now, knowing that God will be
your greatest supporter.
A prayer attributed to St. Francis points to some of
the reasons we use our talents in the world for God and others. The prayer
speaks of us as instruments of God’s peace. The peace of God sometimes requires
us to take risks in a world that is not always about peace.
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to
be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is
in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen.
We use our talents to sow love, to speak pardon, to seek
union, to express faith, to point to the hope and light, and to share joy. In
all these things we seek to bring forth that which is of God through our words
and deeds for the benefit of all. There are in infinite number of ways to
answer the call of God and use our gifts. The only sure way to not do those
things, as Jesus describes in the parable, is to bury the talent.
There is so much to be gained for God when we use
the gifts that have been given to us.
May we have the courage to take a chance for God,
always trusting in God’s grace to direct, strengthen, and inspire us. Amen.