All Saints' Episcopal Church

14"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15To one he gave five talent of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.

19"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'

21"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

22"The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.'

23"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

24"Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'

26"His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28" 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Prayer: "Oh Lord, giver of life and source of our freedom, we are reminded that Yours is "the earth in its fullness; the world and those who dwell in it." We know that it is from Your hand that we have received all we have and are and will be. Gracious and loving God, we understand that you call us to be the stewards of Your abundance, the caretakers of all you have entrusted to us. Help us always to use your gifts wisely and teach us to share them generously. May our faithful stewardship bear witness to the love of Christ in our life. We pray this with grateful hearts in Jesus' name. Amen."

This Gospel is a parable written by a converted Roman tax collector (Matthew), so it is naturally associated with "money" and "accountability". What you may not know is that this story in the King James Version added a key word to our language: "talents." A talent is a large sum of money, equal to the wages of a day laborer for fifteen years - or in today's terms that is $312,000 at $10 an hour. As a result of the wide circulation of this story, the word 'talent' came into the English language in the Middle Ages as a term for "God given abilities".

The joy in the parable is this - one-talent people can rejoice that there are two-talent and five-talent people in our community, and five-talent people can give thanks to God for the one and two talent people who contribute, "each, according to his or her God-given abilities."

The 4 lessons of this parable are:

God is compassionate and generous by giving us life.

God makes us all unique in our abilities and skills … so we are never in competition with one another.

God gives equal opportunity by the unique nature of each person's personal life story.

God expects us to be responsible to each other with our God-given abilities. These four lessons suggest that spiritual maturity consists of a person who is prepared for an audit of his or her spiritual practices…something that can even be mastered by a child.

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered an ice cream parlor. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked. "Fifty cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it. "Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By now other people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. "Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

Thomas Merton, one of the most influential spiritual writers, poets, and social activists of the 20th century, said:

"To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything he has given us - and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference."