To one the merchant gave five talents, to another two,
to another one, to each according to their ability.
—Matthew 25.15
Maybe this is a story about investing
your God-given gifts in the world,
no matter how small, for the sake of God’s desires.
And since a talent is like a million dollars,
there is no such thing
as a small amount in this story.
Maybe it’s about the power of fear,
power that makes us hide our gifts,
thinking them small, though they aren’t,
and about how a story may be about generosity and joy
until fear enters the picture, when the tale suddenly turns
to lies and selfishness and punishment.
Maybe it’s about how fear makes us judge others,
like the fearful servant saying awful things
about the merchant who just gave away 8 million bucks.
Maybe it’s about how we fret about our “stuff,”
and whether it’s enough, and what may be demanded of us,
forgetting it’s not ours. It’s God’s.
Maybe it’s about how the rich get richer
and expect people on the bottom
to comply, to play along, to feed the machine.
Maybe it’s about parables, and how
the more you open yourself to them the more you receive,
but you have to give the meaning away to get it,
and if you try to get it right,
and bury the meaning safe and sound,
you will be weeping and gnashing your teeth
because the meaning is not yours
but if you share the riches
the joy will be.
—November 15, 2017