He gave to each servant according to that servant’s ability. Then he left on his journey.
“After the man left, the servant who had five valuable coins took them and went to work doing business with them. He gained five more. In the same way, the one who had two valuable coins gained two more. But the servant who had received the one valuable coin dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money.
This reading comes from a Jesus parable, and is often called "The Parable of the Talents" after the name for money in Jesus' time (ie: talents = dollars). I heard this a lot growing up, and I always thought it was important to do something with what God gives us. A good, basic interpretation of this story.
Recently, this story was presented to me as a math lesson. The instructor was pointing out how many of our churches were willing to put up with subtraction, as our churches slowly dwindled in attendance and giving. Then the instructor pointed out that some of us rejoiced greatly when we had one baptism, or two new members - in other words, rejoicing with the addition of a few new people to our families of faith.
The kicker was that the instructor pointed out that in this story, God is calling for us to live lives of multiplication - doubling what God gives us.
Doubling! Multiplication! How is this possible for us to live up to?
Ouch. So much for just trying to do something with what God gave me.
Another pastor once handed out $2 bills in every bulletin one Sunday. He challenged his congregation to take the money and double it in one week. It was amazing how people rose to the challenge! Some people combined their money, bought baking supplies, sold their goods and tripled their money. Other people gave it to Heifer International or Kiva.org to help households become financially sustainable. Most of the congregation did something, and the stories were great.
What about us? Are we ready to meet God's challenge? What do we have that we can double for God's Kingdom? What can we do to bring more people to know God's love and grace?
This fall, as school starts up again, are we ready to go to work and multiply what God gave us, or are we just burying God's gifts, and hoping God doesn't notice...
Pastor Anna-Lisa Hunter
September 11, 2023
