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The Gospel selection from Matthew 25:14-30 is so well known that it has lent the word "talent" to modern English. It is a parable about fidelity, loyalty and industry. The theme of the parable fits in with the situation of Christians in the first century who begin to note the delay of the Parousia. Christian preachers and the evangelists themselves take the occassion to remind their own communities of faith that the expectation of the Lord's coming should be a time of faithful service, not sloth.
Outline and Structure of the Parable
The parable is fairly easy to follow. Below is a brief outline of the story- vv. 14-15b The master entrusts talents to three servants and goes on a journey
- vv. 15c-18, What each of the servants do with the talents entrusted
- vv. 19-23. The return of the master and the accounting of the first two servants
- vv. 24-30. The accounting of the third servant and the judgment of the master.
The first thing to note is the beginning phrase "It will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants..." The comparative "as" makes the present parable an illustration of a statement Jesus makes at the end of the parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13). The saying to be explained by the present parable is "Stay awake, therefore, for you do not know the day or the hour." The example will be drawn from the way the servants who receive the talents react to their master's gesture of trust.
Second, the master does not say anything to the servants; he simply entrusts to them large amounts of money, "each according to one's ability." The master knows his servants and entrusts to them his wealth. This implicit knowledge of the master about his servants is contrasted with the presumed knowledge that the third servant has about the master. This latter's knowledge of the master is negative (cf. Matthew 25:24-25); the master's knowledge of him is positive (he entrusts his money to him).
Third, the narrator of the story details what the third servant does with the talents, in contrast to the other two which he deals with in summary fashion. This is a signal that the brunt of the lesson will be about the third servant. In fact, the narrator employs six verses for the accounting of the third servant in comparison to just four with respect to the other two. The narrator even makes the third servant speak.
Lastly, while the master does not speak in the first part of the story, he does most of the talking when he takes account of his servants' work. While he says the same thing to the first two servants, he spends some five verses for the last. This is also another signal given by the narrator that what he wants his readers to pay attention to are the words of the master to his lazy servant.
The Parable In Context
Matthew has placed the parable of the talents between the parable of the ten virgins and the parable of the goats and the sheep. These are parables arranged climactically, with the meaning of the first ones each gradually unfolding until the last parable, that of the Son of Man coming to judge the sheep and the goats as the one that sheds light on the previous ones. We have already pointed out that Matthew 25:13 joins the parable of the virgins to that of the parable of the talents.
Matthew 25:31 starts like an independent parable, but the content actually focuses on a judgment scene with statements recalling the ones in the two previous parables. Thus, dominant figure of the Son of Man (v. 31) is the main character in all three parables, and the criterion for judgment is "what you did to my least brothers" (vv. 40.45). Thus, the bridegroom who tarries and the master who goes on a journey is the Son of Man, and the element that is decisive in letting one "enter" is love: the oil in the lamp (parable of the virgins), and the act of investing the talents (parable of the talents). Finally, the similarity of the parable of the talents to the parable of the faithful servants in Matthew 24:45-51, puts the whole of Matthew 25 as a continuation of the eschatological discourse of Jesus who as Son of Man pronounces judgment over Jerusalem.
Parable of the Servants in Matthew 24:45-51 and the Parable of the Talents
In Matthew 24:45-51, we find a parable about servants. There are three elements here that are recalled in the parable of the talents:
- the master who goes on a journey and tarries long
- the macharism for the servants who are found doing their jobs
- the servant who is thrown out where there is wailing and grinding of teeth
The servants' regard for the master and those he deems important (e.g. his house) determines the way they are in the esteem of the master. Those he finds doing what they are supposed to do are pronounced "blessed". Those on the other hand who become comfortable in his absence and begin to be abusive, are taken out of the master's presence. Noting these similarities, we can say that the parable of the talents is an elaboration of the "faithful servant parable" that one can find in all synoptic gospels.
The concern of the parable of the talents focalizes on the servants' regard for the master and what is his own. Here, the master of the household entrusts some of his possessions to his servants based on his evaluation of their own abilities. All three servants were deemed capable of carrying out a trust.
We have mentioned that a "talanton" can amount to a large sum of money. The English word "talent" derives from it, although its meaning as currently used is that of an ability that develops with exercise. A talent when used and "invested" becomes more pronounced and later may even become a personal endowment (as in the case of concert pianists who began exercising their talent with finger drills). A talent that is not used and is kept hidden does not become pronounced and its presence becomes negligible.
There were three servants in the parable but they fall into two groups: one group puts the talents received to work -- they trade it; the other digs a hole and hides it. One group puts the money where it should be; the other, exerts effort so as to put the talent received in a place not meant for it: a hole in the ground. When finally the master arrives and takes account of what has been done to his trust, he looked for what anyone would expect: fruits, profits, gain. He didn't care how much.
The Servant Who Hid the Talent
The servant who hid the talent was not an abusive servant like the one in Matthew 24:48. He however had no regard for his master and for what he owns. This is clear from the way he justifies his act: he thinks badly of his master, so he hid the money. He did not measure up to the trust that was given him, instead he describes his act as an act of rebellion: he didn't like the presumed harshness of the master, a harshness he feared, so he didn't do what was expected of him.
A psychologist might well tell us that the servant has a hangup on authority deriving from a bad childhood experience. But that is not the point of the parable. The parable is about what servants do in the absence of the master and what they should expect upon his return, no matter how long his absence may be.
The Words of the Master
The narrator places the words of the master at the end of the story and intends that it be remembered by his audience. We can summarize it in three points:
- I wanted profit (fruits), no matter how small
- To one who has (fruits), more will be given
- Throw the worthless servant where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Fruits. Beginning from the time Jesus enters Jerusalem, he has been like the Son of the vineyard owner who looks for fruits. This was shown in a prophetic gesture with the fruitless fig tree, and expressed in the parable of the vineyard. The fruits sought are the fruits of righteousness, a concern in Matthew's gospel; and righteousness is about hearing and doing what Jesus understands to be the will of the Father.
To Him Who Has More Will Be Given. We have seen this phrase in Matthew 13:12, used in the context of understanding parables. There the phrase meant that anyone who understands the parables given then will also understand other parables said later, so the disciple will be enriched everytime he hears, understands and allows Jesus' words to grow and bear fruit. Even here, there is the element of exerting effort (to understand), just as in the parable of the talents, there is effort in investing the talents received.1
Where There Is Wailing and Grinding of Teeth. In a previous article, we already mentioned that this saying is applied to those who could have been part of the eschatological banquet but because of lack of faith, cannot be accomodated. "Wailing and grinding of teeth" is a contrast to the laughter and merry-making in a banquet and of teeth munching on the provisions given. Given this usage, "Come share your master's joy" points to the joy of the eschatological banquet which the Son of Man, the real protagonist in the parable, prepares for his faithful servants.
Notes for the Parable's Application
The Talent.The parable has been applied to individuals and what they do with their God given gifts. Augustine is reported to have said that "you are your gift from God, what we make of ourselves is our gift to Him." This statement, read in the light of the parable of the talents, can lend itself to the understanding that one's personal qualities when invested and developed become like the talents that gained profit. Perhaps it was from this understanding that even the Greek "talanton" (Latin, talentum) acquired the transferred sense found in the word "talent". Applied this way, a special ability -- a talent -- does seem to correspond to the "talents" in the parable. But then when one begins to think of a Michael Jordan's talent to soar above the rim and see it as corresponding to the talent in the parable, then the parable itself loses its meaning. For what is the relevance of a three meter vertical leap to the judgment of the Son of Man?
We have mentioned that the meaning of this parable is related to the judgment of the Son of Man in the parable of the goats and sheep. There, what matters is how one treats those who belong to the Son of Man, his own, the "least of my brothers". In that light, we can perhaps understand the "talents" entrusted by the master of the house as symbolizing one's talents spent and invested for the sake of the Church, Christ's own. Passages like Ephesians 4:7 (and context) can be put alongside this parable and be reflected on with profit.
The Master's Trust. In the parable, the master of the house leaves but before doing so, entrusts to his servants something of his own. John Paul II was fond of talking about every human life as a project shared with God. He writes, for example "Life is entrusted to man as a treasure which must notbe squandered, as a talent which must be used well. Man must render an account of it to his Master (Evangelium vitae 52)". Again in Novo Millenio Ineunte, John Paul II uses the image of the "talanton" in reference to evangelization, the response to the gift of salvation received. In the context of an exhortation to the young, he writes: "We ought to know how to value this comforting response, in investing such an enthusiasm (of proclaiming the Gosple) like a new talent (cf. Matthew 25:15) that the Lord has put into our hands so as to make it bear fruit." (NMI, 40)2. It is within the context of this shared-project that the judgment is going to be pronounced on man's "collaboration with the gift received from God, collaboration with grace" (see, JP II's Catechism on 30-9-1987)
Apparent Inequality The master gives varying amounts of talent to each of his servants "according to each one's ability". It was not a random giving, but one that is based on the knowledge of the master. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that such an inequality is according to the plan of God who wants that each one receive from another. This is in accord with the social characteristic of human existence. One receives from another:
On coming into the world, man is not equipped with everything he needs for developing his bodily and spiritual life. He needs others. Differences appear tied to age, physical abilities, intellectual or moral aptitudes, the benefits derived from social commerce, and the distribution of wealth.(GS, 29) The "talents" are not distributed equally.(Mt. 25:14-30; Luke 19:27)
These differences belong to God's plan, who wills that each receive what he needs from others, and that those endowed with particular "talents" share the benefits with those who need them. These differences encourage and often oblige persons to practice generosity, kindness, and sharing of goods; they foster the mutual enrichment of cultures:I distribute the virtues quite diversely; I do not give all of them to each person, but some to one, some to others.... I shall give principally charity to one; justice to another; humility to this one, a living faith to that one.... And so I have given many gifts and graces, both spiritual and temporal, with such diversity that I have not given everything to one single person, so that you may be constrained to practice charity towards one another.... I have willed that one should need another and that all should be my ministers in distributing the graces and gifts they have received from me.(St. Catherine of Sienna, Dial. I, 7) (1997 Catechism of the Catholic Church 1936-37)
This fact of "inequality" should also draw one away from envying what another has. Envy is precisely sadness over the good that somebody else has. One looks at another's gifts and thereby neglects to appreciate one's own. One should rather see what one has and make use of it, rather than wishing and fruitlessly hoping what could be if one has the gifts of another. In the end, each one will be judged according to the love with which one has invested the talents one has received.
- 1. The statement is originally from Mark 4:25, also stated within the context of giving the proper value to Jesus' words (Luke 8:18). In Luke 19:26, it appears in a parable that closely parallels Matthew's parable of the talents (Luke 19:1-27).
- 2. John Paul II is not the first to have associated the talents with the Gospel. John Chrysostom and Hilary of Poitiers, among others, interpret the parable of the talents along the lines of evangelization and the mission of the Church.
