November 15, 2020 - Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost - Not On My Watch

In the Parable of the Talents I am used to the Greek word δοῦλος (doulos) being translated as servant or bond-servant rather than the word slave as it appeared in our worship bulletin. That word both complicated and completed a journey on how I now read this parable.

As a reader of Martin Luther, with the word slave, I immediately recalled his 1520 tract On the Freedom of the Christian.

The tract begins with two seemingly contradictory propositions:
A Christian is an utterly free man, lord of all, subject to none.
A Christian is an utterly dutiful man, servant of all, subject to all.

The word slave fundamentally changes this parable. Pastor Janell presented both how I used to understand this parable and my current interpretation. She was much more charitable with my old understanding. I thought this master goes on a journey and gives his slaves various amounts of money to make more for this master while he is gone. 

This master gives his slaves different amounts of money depending on their ability to earn money without instruction. Two of these slaves make exorbitant 100% profits while he is away. They can't be making this money without some sort of extortion, predatory lending or other financial shenanigans. And they are judged in the end merely by the money they bring in? This confirms the last slave's voiced fears about his master. The master demonstrates the qualities the slave feared and does not deny them. This master is hard and also reaps where he does not sow and gathers where he scattered no seed.

This man is not God or Jesus in my heart. Rather this master embodies worldly power as it is made manifest throughout history. He is transaction based, rather than relational. He is absent from the people who make him his money. 

The last slave is our Christ figure in the parable. He heroically tells the truth about his master. He can no longer take advantage of those around him for a profit. This slave, with one sack of talents, buries those talents to stop the the endless cycle of give and take of money and profits that fleece those around him. He is thrown by this master into the outer darkness as a result. Yes, there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. He is thrown in with those who he stood up for. The outer darkness is the true kindom of heaven, where the poor and righteous dwell who have been exploited by a corrupt master.

I can't believe how long it has taken me to read this parable in this way that is new to me.  I get angry thinking about how I stretched and contorted my conception of Jesus to believe this master was my Master. It was so easy to bring the world I deal with everyday into my conception of Jesus and believe for a minute he would judge men he loved, let alone based on how they handle the return on investment they make with the money he gives them.

All I can say is I will try never to let my vision be obscured like this again. I hope I follow in some small way how God wants the kingdom of heaven to operate and when it is violated to say "Not on my watch" despite the consequences.