The Three Servants - 9 April 2009
14 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. …. 19 “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. 20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more…21 “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’ 23 “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.
“Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’ 26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant.
Matthew 25:14-26 (NLT)
I feared this parable for years. Due to some chronic problems of my own I never felt I was getting anywhere in my Christian life, I thought that this parable was about “Christian Success”.
I now realise that in a way that is an oxymoron, “Christian Success” by Jesus’ standards means becoming less, a servant, being last. A good concept to consider on Maundy Thursday with it’s tradition of foot washing.
This parable is best viewed in the light of another. Jesus likened the kingdom to yeast, give it the right conditions and it grows. It will do this all by itself. In a way all we have to do is work with it and take the opportunities it gives us. We just need to give it the right conditions and off it goes.
So the first two people in the parable really didn’t have a lot to do. I used to think I had to work really hard at being a Christian, now I know that if I work really hard I end up looking like a Christian but not feeling like one. The first two servants invested their money in the right places then sat back and watched it grow. To slightly mix the metaphor, we sow the seed but God gives it growth.
The parable is really about the other person, the one who hid the talents away and somehow by tremendous effort stopped it growing, kept it the same, didn’t allow it to affect anyone or anything. St Paul called it ‘Quenching or grieving the Spirit’. Its one of the problems of following the Spirit of God that we are often led to do strange new things in strange new places. Some people seem to like change but cannot wait for God’s leading whereas others are fearful of change and reluctant to follow after Jesus. Like the rich young ruler they are afraid to let go of the way things are.
Today’s challenge is to first consider which category we fall into, then to respond. If you are change friendly be sure you have correctly divined God’s Will in what you are doing. And if you are fearful of change ask God to give you the faith to make changes for Him.
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