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Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Criminal Caution
Psalm 123; Matthew 25:14-30
It's annual pledge season again in the church. Leaders create a budget for the new year, hoping to find the balance point for faith and financial realism. Members do the math and make a commitment to give from their finite resources a fair amount that will help the church fulfill its mission.
All of this in the midst of a crazy uncertain economy whose daily market reports look like a tournament in extreme bungie jumping.
How timely then, that this week's Gospel story is a parable from Jesus about how to invest for God.
Three workers are entrusted by their wealthy boss with three amounts of money while he goes on an extended trip. Five talents, two talents, and one talent they're given. (A talent was a unit of weight, the value differing according to the coinage being weighed. Who knows the actual worth in this story? What we do know is these were pretty huge sums of money.)
When he returns, the employer calls for an accounting. Two of the three are rewarded nicely, but the third gets the rudest of awakenings -- just before his lights go out forever.
The story's not really about money, it seems. In fact, our English word "talent" means a skill, an ability, a personal gift for some good endeavor. And that's what Jesus is talking about in this scary, promising story.
Well, actually... It turns out... Once you start looking for practical applications... This story really is about money after all.
How so? Glad you asked.
Listen to the GODcast!
posted by Jack Buckley at
3:48 PM
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