For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him

 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.  Therefore He said:  "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.  So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.'  But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.'   And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.  Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.'  And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.'  And the second came, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned five minas.'  Likewise he said to him, 'You also be over five cities.'  Then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief.  For I feared you, because you are an austere man.  You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.  And he said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant.  You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.  Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?'  And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.'  (But they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas.')  For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.'"

- Luke 19:11-27

Yesterday we read that Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.  Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.  And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature.  So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.  And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house."  So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.  But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner."  Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold."  And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.  Therefore He said:  "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.  So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.'"   As they go toward Jerusalem, expectations regarding the manifestation of the kingdom of God -- and the Messiah entering Jerusalem -- are very high.  We can't escape this understanding of the time of the Incarnation in Israel.  Jesus responds to such expectations by giving a parable which illustrates and emphasizes the use of our own gifts given by God.  It is important to note that while in this story the currency is one called a mina (a single mina was equivalent to about three months' wages for a laborer), this story in Matthew (Matthew 25:14-30) is illustrated with a currency called a talent (a very large weight of gold or silver, worth 60 minas).  It is no accident that through that version of the parable, we gain our modern English meaning of the word "talent."  The amount each one receives, my study bible says, is based on his or her abilities (Romans 12:4-7). 

"But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.'   And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.  Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.'  And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.'  And the second came, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned five minas.'  Likewise he said to him, 'You also be over five cities.'  Then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief.  For I feared you, because you are an austere man.  You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.  And he said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant.  You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.  Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?'"   And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.'  (But they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas.')  For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.'"   The citizens who hate and reject the nobleman refer to those who will reject and put Jesus to death in Jerusalem; the return after receiving His kingdom clearly refers to Christ's second coming and to the ultimate judgment.  My study bible says that this wicked servant couldn't evade responsibility for ignoring his gifts, as idleness is as much a rejection of God as outright wickedness.   To put away the mina in a handkerchief is not only to fail to use it, but the word for handkerchief in this case begs us to think about its meaning.  It indicates not just a cloth used for perspiration of blowing one's nose, but was also used as a shroud for the head of a corpse.  In Matthew's version of the parable, this wicked servant says he buried the talent he was given, and this is in some sense equivalent.  Whatever the meaning, he has wasted his talent on things worth discarding or burying; one interpretation of burial is to say he used his talent only for earthly pursuits.  Additionally, a bank in this case would represent the Church, a place where the mina would be put to use, and there are others to consult to help to use it wisely. 

 So what are wise uses of talents or gifts?  Jesus does not give us an image of barter here.  The nobleman doesn't leave people with commodities to trade.  These gifts given to the individuals are all the equivalent of a form of exchange, of currency, money.  That is, they can be turned into many possibilities, and can always be used no matter what the "market" seems to demand.  In this sense, the money (whether that be "minas" or "talents" in the ancient currencies of Christ's time) is something that can be used in all kinds of ways, and through our own choice, and at any time.  It is up to each person what he or she will do with it.  This is an important distinction, as we tend to think of talent in the modern sense as meant for one thing or another.  In this sense, a gift from God might be, for example, intelligence.  What are we going to use our intelligence for?  Another gift could be the gift of understanding or insight into people.  Are we going to use that gift of understanding to help and heal, to direct to the purposes of God -- or to manipulate, coerce, and use others for more "earthly" goals?  A currency stores value and is, as well, a medium of exchange.  Even the reference to the bank is an ancient Greek word for "table" (and used, still, to mean "bank" in modern Greek).  But its root indicates the table of exchange -- and a place where we may take advice on what to trade that currency for, how to put it to work, where to invest it or purchase with it, and even to make it grow so that others may use it later.  In this sense, the bank as symbolic for Church teaches us that when we don't quite know what to do with our time, talents, capacities, and direction in life, we go to pray.  In prayer, we may "park" our abilities in a place where they may grow and bear interest.  We place our faith in the vault of the whole of the Church, the Body of Christ, from which we seek guidance, where we can trust such an investment will bear interest for the Kingdom.  If we think of all that we have as currency -- that which is inherently of great value, and capable and meant for exchange -- then we start to think of ourselves as agents.  That is, we are always left with the question of what we choose to do, where we place our trust, invest our time and effort, and perhaps most importantly, where we can go without wasting time and ability when we await the clear understanding of what we are to do.  Prayer, in this sense of investment, becomes something we can always do with our free time ("pray without ceasing" - 1 Thessalonians 5:17), as well as an intentional use of our God-given capacities for doing good.   Our lives as endowed with tremendously valuable gifts by God become, in the sense of the currency or medium of exchange of the parable, means by which we may choose what fruit they will bear -- and our intentions and choices create real outcomes.  Faith becomes, in this perspective, the indispensable way to invest in what we truly need to create lives that build something worthwhile in the world.  Indeed, with this given point of view, it is faith that will make all the difference in the outcome.  In what do you invest and put your faith and trust?  Where does your effort go?  Let us remember prayer as a constantly available means of directing our energies and effort, and seeking the way to create the best outcome for our lives and our world.   To be given a gift in the form of currency indicates that within the infinite choices for exchange lies a command for creativity and imagination -- and in that vein, who knows what valuable opportunities exist even in the elements of our lives we consider to be impediments, handicaps, even flaws?  There is the proverbial lemonade -- or why not even lemon chiffon pie? -- that comes from lemons, as the American idiom goes.  Let us learn to make of our lives what our faith can help us to make, for the glory of God.