There Is No Profit in Fear
AM Psalm 40, 54 • PM Psalm 51
Zech. 7:8-8:8 • Rev. 5:6-14 • Matt. 25:14-30
Today’s gospel reading is an interesting one. It is so easy to misconstrue on the first read. If we focus on the surface economics it immediately triggers things like “Why did one guy get 5 talents and the others got less?” and “Why did the guy who was given the least get punished?”. Once we get past these seeming injustices, we can get to the real message in this parable.
First and foremost, it states that they were given the talents based on their ability. So this can be interpreted as God only gives us tasks that we can handle. It’s what they did with the talents that mattered. The first two people got to work with what they were given, and were able to grow it as a result. The third person, afraid of what could happen if he failed, literally buried what he was given.
I think it’s safe to assume that the first two knew the same intimidating things about the master that the third one did. But rather than focus on that, they got to work with their resources. The third man, paralyzed by his fatalistic anxieties, did not leave the starting line.
It is all too easy to imagine the “worst case scenario”, which can easily lead to us being paralyzed by fear. If this is our focus, we can not accomplish the tasks we have been given according to our abilities. Instead, we are called to activate the talents we have been entrusted with to the glory of God. We can not do the work to bring the kingdom of God to earth if we are afraid of what people will think, or what could go wrong, which are both simply fear of failure. Instead, we can recognize what we have been given by God, do the work faithfully, and grow that in a way that bears fruit for all.
Be of courage, my friends! We can accomplish great things knowing that we have the body of Christ around us and God’s unfailing love to support us.
Written by Dan Robinson
Dan Robinson is the Director of Media Ministries at St. Paul’s, overseeing the streaming of the services online.