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 until 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, going on the road toward Jerusalem, 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 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 until 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.'"  In St. Matthew's Gospel, Jesus tells a similar parable, but using talents (a much larger currency) rather than minas.  Both talents and minas were weight measures for silver or gold, and this is the way that currency was calculated in the ancient world.  A talent in Christ's time was worth twenty years' work by a laborer.  A mina was worth less than a talent, but it was still a considerable sum.  According to one estimate, one mina at Christ's time was worth approximately one fourth of a year's wages for an agricultural worker.  My study Bible comments that the parable illustrates the use of gifts given by God.  Each single sum of money represents the goodness bestowed by God on each person.  The amount each receives is based on that person's abilities, my study Bible says (Romans 12:4-7).  The wicked servant could not evade responsibility for ignoring his talent; my study Bible says that idleness is as much a rejection of God as outright wickedness.  To put the money in a handkerchief is symbolic of burial in the ground (a 'handkerchief' being suggestive of a burial shroud) is symbolic of using one's God-given gifts for earthly pursuits, without spiritual value.  The bank is the Church, where there are other faithful people to whom this man could have turned to help him invest his capabilities wisely.  Since help was available to him there, he has no excuse.  

 

As Jesus and the disciples travel toward Jerusalem, Jesus prepares them with this parable.  It's important to note that what the text tells us here is that they all expected the kingdom of God to appear immediately.   One thing is clear that Jesus teaches in this parable is that something is being invested in them, in preparation for the future which they will have a stake in.  The rewards of the future -- those things the king will give as rewards -- will depend upon the work that is done while the king is away.  That is, the question becomes, what will be produced as profit by those to whom the nobleman has entrusted his money?  Jesus Himself, after His Passion and Resurrection, will be going to a far country in order to receive a kingdom, and return.  Not only that, but there will be a judgment, a reckoning that happens when the nobleman returns.  Even those who are his good servants will receive a reward commensurate with what they have earned for him while he is gone away, and has left his gifts in their charge.  For the one who spends his life only in fear of the nobleman, assuming the worst, there will be a reward commensurate with his negative expectations.  Jesus explains the rationale to the reward:  "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 ones who have rejected Him are outright excluded from this Kingdom, and will not inherit the eternal life of its promise.  Today's parable invites us to think about what talents and resources we're given, and what we plan or seek to do with them during the times of our lives -- before Christ's kingdom, and judgment, arrives.  It's interesting to look at the language in the parable.  In the Greek of the text, the man who makes ten minas is said to have "begotten" them in some sense, while the one with five "made" them.  The man with ten is given authority, but the Greek word translated as such also contains the meanings of worth and value.  The man with five minas is put "over" five cities.  All told, there are several layers to this parable, layers of meaning in terms of how faithful each was, what they created and did not create, and then again, those who rejected the nobleman as king.  It tells us a story about merit, faith, a depth of effort and commitment, those who care, and those who don't.  The man who, out of fear, simply hid his mina, wound up with less than that, with nothing.  But even the man with ten minas is said by the master to have been faithful "in a very little" -- but in the Greek this word corresponds to the "least" he could do.  All in all, results are exacting, and not at all concerned with equality of outcomes, but rather each person's use of their faith and their efforts in serving the master.  And, as Jesus tells us, "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."  As for those who reject his rule even before He journeys away for a time, John's Gospel tells us they have already rejected life in that Kingdom (John 3:18).