Using your talents

The parable of the talents

 

Address given at St Mary's Askeaton on Sunday 15th November 2026, the 2nd before Advent.

Have you ever wondered what you would do if you won €100 Million on the Euromillions lottery?

I would surely give handsome but not overwhelming sums away to my children and grandchildren. I would probably trade in my old car for something newer, and upgrade my house to be carbon neutral. And I would give some away to causes I felt were worthwhile.

But that would only take a small part of such a large windfall. I don’t think I would flitter it away on luxuries and pleasure, as some lottery winners have been known to do. I’m comfortable enough as I am, and I don’t need much. I suppose I would seek good financial advice, and invest the bulk of it.

I would probably feel overwhelmed, and begin to see my windfall as more a curse than a blessing – a good reason not to buy lottery tickets!

Yet what I ought to do is to decide with my wife Marty how to make something good come of the sudden windfall. We could do worse than follow the maxim attributed to John Wesley: "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can."

In today’s reading from Matthew (25:14-30) a master goes away, entrusting his slaves with his wealth.

His slaves must have felt they had won a lottery! But what will they do with all this wealth?

We should not think of slaves in Jesus’s time as being nothing more than domestic servants or manual labourers. A slave who proved himself able and trustworthy could be given real executive and financial responsibility over a master’s household and estates.

A talent in Jesus’s time was a vast amount of money, equivalent to 15 to 20 years of wages for a labourer, say half a million Euro in today’s money. In this story, often called the Parable of the Talents, the master gives one slave 5 talents to look after for him, another 2 talents, and a third a single talent. Notice that he does not give them all the same amount. He assigns the responsibility according to their abilities.

The slave with 5 talents worked diligently doubling his master’s wealth, as did the one with 2. When the master returns, he praises each of them, saying, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' He promotes them. And perhaps the master’s joy will eventually be to free them, because it was not uncommon for masters to free slaves who served particularly well for many years.

But the slave with the single talent was lazy. He did not use his talent well, he took no risks, but hid the money in the ground. When the master returns, he digs it up and gives it back, with the excuse that he feared his master was a harsh man. The master is furious, saying: ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest’.

He gives the one talent to the slave who turned 5 talents into 10, and punishes the lazy slave, saying, ‘As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’.

But of course, in this parable Jesus is not really talking about money.

He is talking about how his disciples – including you and me – should use the gifts God has given us, our talents in the modern sense – that is our God-given abilities and potential - to further God’s purposes, to make his kingdom real.

We are all unique and loved by God, who has given each one of us gifts, without exception. But we do not all have the same gifts. Jesus, our Lord and Master expects us to use our gifts for good, whatever they may be, not hide them away.

Many are blessed with the gift of giving joy and comfort to their family and other people by their presence, love and friendship. This is no less a gift than any other. If this is your gift, then for Jesus Christ’s sake, use it!

Others have received a gift to use in the wider community: as a teacher, a doctor or a nurse, as a farmer, a shopkeeper, or a skilled worker – the list goes on. We might call it a vocation. If you have received such a gift, use it lovingly for the common good. Be a beacon of light leading others into the kingdom!

Some have gifts they can use to build up Christ’s church. A vibrant local church needs so many different gifts: music to enrich worship, confidence to read or pray in public, practical wisdom to manage church finances, fabric and furnishings on the select vestry, time to offer for church cleaning and polishing, etc, etc. If you see something that needs doing which you could do, then offer to do it for the sake of your church community, however small it seems!

A few of you here may feel God calling you to a wider role in his church. As St Paul puts it (Ephesians 4:11-12): ‘The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ’. I hesitate to mention myself in this context, but twenty odd years ago I felt called to serve as a Diocesan Reader, and the bishop licensed me after a period of discernment. This has been a great privilege and pleasure for me - though I often feel sorry for the poor souls who have to listen to me. If the church can discern my call, why should it not discern yours? If you feel such a call, don’t be shy of putting yourself forward – test it!

The bottom line is this: God has blessed you with a gift you can use to further his purposes, so use it!

Do not be like the lazy slave and hide it away. Grasp the opportunity and run with it for the sake of God and his glory.

The alternative is to hear Jesus say to you, ‘As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’.

Now this may seem like a harsh punishment, to be thrust into the outer darkness. But our God is merciful, and I do not believe all is lost. Loving parents know about ‘the naughty step’. When a child persistently misbehaves, we tell them to go and sit on the naughty step, or go to their room, until they are ready to return and say sorry. When they do, we welcome them back into the bosom of the family with a cuddle. It is how we teach them to behave well.

And so I believe it is with God. Even when we fail to use the gifts God gives us, if we only repent and respond to his generosity by changing our ways, he will forgive us, and welcome us back to his closer presence.

I shall finish in prayer with the Collect of the Word set for today:

Everliving God,

before the earth was formed,

and even after it shall cease to be,

you are God.

Break into our short span of life,

and show us those things that are eternal,

that we may serve your purpose in all we do;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen