Jesus once said:\nIt is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his\nproperty to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to\nanother one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one\nwho had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and\nmade five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents\nmade two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went\noff and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master\u2019s money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a\nlong time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with\nthem. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward,\nbringing five more talents, saying, \u201cMaster, you handed over to me five\ntalents; see, I have made five more talents.\u201d His master said to him,\n\u201cWell done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few\nthings, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your\nmaster\u2026..<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then\nthe one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, \u201cMaster, I\nknew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering\nwhere you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent\nin the ground. Here you have what is yours.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But his master replied, \u201cYou wicked and lazy slave! You\nknew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not\nscatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my\nreturn I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent\nfrom him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who\nhave, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who\nhave nothing, even what they have will be taken away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is a parable that can provoke a strong reaction –\nespecially the ending. But last night at our community group we began to think\nabout it in a different way. A talent was originally a unit of weight – about\n80 pounds. So a talent of silver – which is what the parable is taking about –\nwould be worth – a very large amount – possibly about 20 years wages for a\nusual working man. If that was translated to today\u2019s money, then we might be\nthinking about several hundred thousand pounds. And 5 talents would then be\nworth well over a million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you begin to think about this amount of money then I think\nit changes the way the parable works. Think of the potential that lies within a\nmillion pounds – think of what you could do with it. This is not just some\nmoney to put in a safe – this is something to be used, otherwise all that\npotential will be wasted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a bit like being given a very powerful battery – one\nwhich could power all sorts of activity and change. If you buried that in the\nground, like the slave buried the talent, it would be such a waste. I think\nthis is what Jesus is getting at – not just using our particular gifts – what\nwe now call talents – but using all of our God given potential to make a\ndifference in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You might have seen the story yesterday about Jeff Bezos, the\nfounder of Amazon, saying that he is putting a ten billion dollars into an\nEarth Fund to address the issue of climate change. He\u2019s following the example\nof Bill and Melinda Gates – putting their huge wealth to work – releasing the\npotential – rather than just keeping it safe somewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We don\u2019t have that sort of financial potential. But our whole\nlives, lived with God, are full of potential. God can use all that we are in\nbig ways and small ways – through our different relationships, our work, our\ntime, our energy, the way we spend our money, our prayers\u2026 every aspect of our\nlife, if offered to God, becomes a resource for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t think this means that we spend our whole life giving\nout, and not allowing ourselves any rest or time to enjoy things. This is all part\nof what we offer to God and receive back from him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s more about developing and openness and a sensitivity to\nthe ways God wants to use us in all that we do. And that involves a lot of\ntrust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Somethings here in the Chapel I sit working in my office and I\nhear a buzz of people arriving. I feel a tug – this is my opportunity to go and\nsay hi, to wander around, to let me being become a resource for God to use. But\nit isn\u2019t always easy – there may be people I don\u2019t know – I may worry about intruding\nor looking stupid – there\u2019s a temptation to stay in my room and \u2018bury the\nbattery\u2019 as it were. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This parable challenges me to remember the great potential\nthat I have with God and trust him to use me. And this is how we keep receiving\nmore and more – by remaining open to God using us, and drawing us out of our\ncomfort zone. And as we allow his love & life to flow through us, we find\nthat we are not depleted, but renewed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We thank you, Lord for all who given much in their lives – for\nall who have given their love to us. May we also live generously and give\nfreely\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lord, when our fear or lack of confidence keeps us from being\nfully open to all the ways you want to use the people we are, give us courage\nand strength, and open up our imagination to all the ways you are able to work\nthrough us\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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