The Parable of Wall Street

NEXT SUNDAY’S GOSPEL: MATTHEW 25: 14-30
33rd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
USCCB link to all three readings 
 
Jesus told his disciples this parable:
"A man going on a journey
called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.
To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one--
to each according to his ability.
Then he went away.
Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them,
and made another five.
Likewise, the one who received two made another two.
But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground
and buried his master's money.

After a long time
the master of those servants came back
and settled accounts with them.
The one who had received five talents came forward
bringing the additional five.
He said, 'Master, you gave me five talents.
See, I have made five more.'
His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master's joy.'
Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said,
'Master, you gave me two talents.
See, I have made two more.'
His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master's joy.'
Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said,
'Master, I knew you were a demanding person,
harvesting where you did not plant
and gathering where you did not scatter;
so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground.
Here it is back.'
His master said to him in reply, 'You wicked, lazy servant!
So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant
and gather where I did not scatter?
Should you not then have put my money in the bank
so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?
Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten.
For to everyone who has,
more will be given and he will grow rich;
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.
And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'"
 
The very first thing I did this morning was check our commentator on St. Matthew’s Gospel, R.T. France, about banking. The end of this Gospel text reports the master’s outrage at the cowardly third servant: “Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?” This seemed anachronistic. Of bankers, France writes: “The ‘bankers’ who might have accepted such a loan would not be a regulated commercial firm, but individual entrepreneurs, moneylenders or money changers, whose honesty and competence might be questionable.” He adds that “In the circumstances, to bury money in the ground was probably the better way to keep it safe.” (p. 955)
The third servant in the parable is condemned, then, by his master for his reluctance to embrace risk! We have a gospel text this Sunday that Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke can love.
 
Sunday’s Gospel marks the next to last weekend in the Church’s liturgical year; the following week, Thanksgiving weekend, Matthew’s famous and foreboding Last Judgment narrative will conclude the Matthean ministry narrative of Jesus. Sunday is the third weekend in a row involving watchfulness and productivity, but here we have the most detailed and probably surprising narrative of what the heavenly Father expects of our earthly sojourn to enter the kingdom of heaven.
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In last Sunday’s Gospel, the ten virgins were entrusted with one task: be prepared to have torches readied for the bridegroom’s solemn return. In this Gospel the instructions of the master to his three servants are more ambiguous, though at the very end of the parable we learn what the master did not want done. At the onset, though, there is no set instruction; imaginative use of the money is part of the drill. France says that “the failure of the bad servant or slave consists not in any loss of money, but in returning it without increase. It was not that he did nothing wrong—he simply did nothing.” France calls the master’s challenge “maximizing opportunities.” [p. 951] Opportunism is not a foreign theme to the Gospels. Luke 16’s account of the thieving steward leads Jesus to lament that the children of this world will always be savvier than children of the light.
 
The Greek word for “talent” is talenton, which means money or a weight of precious metal. There is no reason to look for more esoteric interpretations, such as intelligence or aptitude. The varying amounts of money represent the master’s assessment of what each of his servants was capable. However, France does view the talents as symbols of “the special privileges and opportunities of the kingdom of heaven and the responsibilities they entail.” That each servant receives a different amount reflects the various gifts and graces received through baptism. Decades earlier St. Paul would speak of this divergence, noting that some were granted the gift of speaking in tongues, and others the gift of interpreting the tongues—but the Spirit is author of all gifts.
 
As the story unfolds, two of the servants have done quite well, both achieving 100% returns. [No federal paper in their portfolios.] The response of the master gives evidence that this Gospel text is a form of last judgment apocalyptic. For to each of the first two servants, the master extends an invitation to “Come, share your master’s joy.” The precise meaning is not spelled out in the parable, but there is enough evidence throughout Matthew’s Gospel that the verbs “to include” and “to exclude” are descriptions of eternal destiny. The two successful servants, already held in some regard by the master, are now drawn into his joy.
 
This leaves the third. There is a contrast with the first servant, who left “immediately” to begin his wheeling and dealing. The third servant went off and dug a hole. As France observed above, there is no risk in this. When his performance is finally judged by the master, the third servant’s excuse is very peculiar, for he acknowledges that the master is a man of risk-taking and significant expectations. In addition, the master would have forgiven a financial loss had one been taken—he would have accepted unpredictable bank interest if only the third servant had roused himself to do even that.
 
The master’s reaction is both predictable and surprising. Predictably, he has the third servant “excluded,” cast into the outer darkness amidst the wailing and gnashing of teeth. Surprisingly, in that the master takes the one talent from the failed servant and gives it to the servant who already has ten. There are several ways to interpret this, but given the apocalyptic tone of the text, the best application may be the surprising generosity of God to the disciple who remains faithful. As literary pieces, parables are meant to surprise, among other things. We can draw from the full parable that God expects us to take risks as his disciples, that his baptismal grace is given for sharing, not hiding in safe deposit boxes. There is an energy to the life of faith, and in the following Gospel Jesus will be quite directive in how this investment of energy is put to productive use.
 
 
This, alas, is our final post for Cycle A and St. Matthew. I will be away for Thanksgiving next week and will link to another commentator for the Feast of Christ the King. We say good-bye as well to R.T. France and his excellent commentary on St. Matthew. For those of you looking for a similar commentary on St. Mark beginning in December, I recommend another text from this series, The Gospel According to Mark by William T. Lane.