The Parable of the Talents

 

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“A man going on a journey
called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.
To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one--
to each according to his ability.
Then he went away.
Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them,
and made another five.
Likewise, the one who received two made another two.
But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground
and buried his master’s money.
“After a long time
the master of those servants came back
and settled accounts with them.
The one who had received five talents came forward
bringing the additional five.
He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents.
See, I have made five more.’
His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master's joy.’
Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said,
‘Master, you gave me two talents.
See, I have made two more.’
His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master's joy.’
Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said,
‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person,
harvesting where you did not plant
and gathering where you did not scatter;
so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground.
Here it is back.’
His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant!
So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant
and gather where I did not scatter?
Should you not then have put my money in the bank
so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?
Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten.
For to everyone who has,
more will be given and he will grow rich;
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.
And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’”

Like all parables, last Sunday’s gospel reading includes a detail making a literal reading impossible.

For Jews and Christians, usury, lending money at interest, was considered sinful. Yet here the master praises two servants for lending money at interest—a 100% rate of interest.

Obviously, the “talents” being referred to cannot be money. Indeed, the English word “talent” comes from this parable. It means spiritual gifts.

Don’t be misled here by the crass and literalistic “prosperity gospel.” God does not pay cash.

We are given what talents we have by God at birth. We are not all given either equal or equivalent talents; the idea of “multiple intelligences” is a transparent cope. Some are given two talents, some five, some only one. “To each according to his ability”; God knows us before birth, and gives talents to those most likely to use them wisely.

It is our responsibility, then, just as Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, not to hide our light under a bushel, not to hide our talents in a hole, but to “let our light shine.” If we do, our talent will increase.

Many do not do this, the parable says, out of fear. It is always frightening to show a drawing or a poem, or to perform on stage. One feels vulnerable. Rightly so: you will be criticized, attacked, meant harm, especially if you’re good.

So those to whom God gives more talent have greater responsibility, and will have a more difficult path through life. The suffering of the artist is axiomatic. The sufferings of the Jews is the paradigm. They are here to be “a light unto the nations.” Evil people fear and hate the light.

Then at the end of life, we will be judged on what we have done with what we have been given.

According to the parable, at this point, when the master returns, those who have used their talents well will be given greater responsibility. 

This tells us there will be more important work to do in heaven. We will not just sit around playing video games. This work is the entire point of life.

Why? Because God made us, in the beginning, as a potter, in his image. Meaning, to be, like him, creators, makers. In creating, we collaborate with him in building the intended world, the New Jerusalem. It is a work of art, a city, not the natural world into which we are born naked.

Gifts of the Spirit

 

2nd Reading at today’s mass: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11

Brothers and sisters:

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;

there are different forms of service but the same Lord;

there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.

To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.

To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom; to another, the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit;

to another, faith by the same Spirit; to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit;

to another, mighty deeds; to another, prophecy; to another, discernment of spirits; to another, varieties of tongues; to another, interpretation of tongues.

But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes.

This list of the gifts of the spirit is a list of talents or vocations given by God.

The expression of wisdom: in other words, a teacher in the religious sense. A spiritual director, in Catholic terms. A guru.

The expression of knowledge: in other words, a teacher in the general sense.

Faith. This is listed as a special gift. Not everyone will have faith in this sense, even though also filled with the spirit. This I take to be the “heroic virtue” of sainthood: the ability to follow that path.

Healing. Being able to heal is a special talent and vocation. Nurses are more likely than doctors to have this gift. One knows it when one experiences it.

Mighty deeds refers most obviously to athleticism; although it may also mean generalship, leadership. Some translations have “miraculous powers,” presumably the ability to perform miracles. But I don’t think performing miracles, is a specific grace. It seems integrated with all the others. A gift of healing will produce miracles of healing. Accurate prophecy is miraculous as such. The saints all perform miracles. Miracles are everywhere.

Prophecy. Who is a prophet in this modern age? My answer is that of William Blake: the artist. True artists are inspired, just as the Old Testament prophets were inspired.

Discernment of spirits follows next because it refers to the talent of the art critic or person of good taste: he or she is able to discern good art from bad, that inspired by God from that inspired by dubious ambient spirits.

Varieties of tongues I take to mean the obvious, a facility for learning languages, not the “speaking in tongues” of Pentecostal services. Some people have a special talent for this, which can sometimes be genuinely miraculous.

“The interpretation of tongues” listed separately suggests to me that the talent for the receptive knowledge of language is separate from the talent for expressive knowledge of language. That is, it takes a different skill to speak or write in a new language than to read or understand it. This is in conformity with current linguistic theory. People are invariably better at one than the other.

So what? So understanding these as God-given talents implies that they cannot simply be taught. We currently ignore or fail to understand this, and do worse as a culture as a result. We do tend to accept that anyone cannot learn to be a great athlete, even with much practice. We mostly understand that going for a Master of Fine Arts cannot produce an artist. But we fail to see that two years of Teacher’s College cannot make a teacher, and five years of medical school cannot make a healer.