Don’t bury the battery
20th February 2020
Jesus once said: It is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, “Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master…..
Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.”
But his master replied, “You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”
This is a parable that can provoke a strong reaction – especially the ending. But last night at our community group we began to think about it in a different way. A talent was originally a unit of weight – about 80 pounds. So a talent of silver – which is what the parable is taking about – would be worth – a very large amount – possibly about 20 years wages for a usual working man. If that was translated to today’s money, then we might be thinking about several hundred thousand pounds. And 5 talents would then be worth well over a million.
If you begin to think about this amount of money then I think it changes the way the parable works. Think of the potential that lies within a million pounds – think of what you could do with it. This is not just some money to put in a safe – this is something to be used, otherwise all that potential will be wasted.
It’s a bit like being given a very powerful battery – one which could power all sorts of activity and change. If you buried that in the ground, like the slave buried the talent, it would be such a waste. I think this is what Jesus is getting at – not just using our particular gifts – what we now call talents – but using all of our God given potential to make a difference in the world.
You might have seen the story yesterday about Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, saying that he is putting a ten billion dollars into an Earth Fund to address the issue of climate change. He’s following the example of Bill and Melinda Gates – putting their huge wealth to work – releasing the potential – rather than just keeping it safe somewhere.
We don’t have that sort of financial potential. But our whole lives, lived with God, are full of potential. God can use all that we are in big ways and small ways – through our different relationships, our work, our time, our energy, the way we spend our money, our prayers… every aspect of our life, if offered to God, becomes a resource for him.
I don’t think this means that we spend our whole life giving out, and not allowing ourselves any rest or time to enjoy things. This is all part of what we offer to God and receive back from him.
It’s more about developing and openness and a sensitivity to the ways God wants to use us in all that we do. And that involves a lot of trust.
Somethings here in the Chapel I sit working in my office and I hear a buzz of people arriving. I feel a tug – this is my opportunity to go and say hi, to wander around, to let me being become a resource for God to use. But it isn’t always easy – there may be people I don’t know – I may worry about intruding or looking stupid – there’s a temptation to stay in my room and ‘bury the battery’ as it were.
This parable challenges me to remember the great potential that I have with God and trust him to use me. And this is how we keep receiving more and more – by remaining open to God using us, and drawing us out of our comfort zone. And as we allow his love & life to flow through us, we find that we are not depleted, but renewed.
We thank you, Lord for all who given much in their lives – for all who have given their love to us. May we also live generously and give freely…
Lord, when our fear or lack of confidence keeps us from being fully open to all the ways you want to use the people we are, give us courage and strength, and open up our imagination to all the ways you are able to work through us…