It’s not too often that biblical words and phrases take on a whole new life in the English language. But some images and phrases do stick. Think of the images of a Good Samaritan or a Prodigal Son (or Daughter) that have entered common parlance. There is a word from this week’s parable that has enjoyed similar treatment, namely the concept of a talent. English has picked up this word from the Greek talanton, which was a measure of weight used for gold, silver or coins.

In the parable a wealthy Master gives varying numbers of talents (representing large amounts of money) to three of his servants, to each according to their ability. In English it is this latter association that has stuck, so that a talent is seen as a skill or ability that a person possesses to be used to enrich the lives of those around them. So the common interpretation of this parable is that we have all received talents from God that we are to grow and use to benefit others. The warning is to not be like the third servant who buries his talent in the ground (i.e. doesn’t use or develop it). Of course, the talents may not be individual traits but rather a measure of God’s abundant love and grace freely given to all and to be shared widely.

There are some problems with this interpretation. These relate to Jesus’ teaching elsewhere about money and wealth (key aspects of the parable) as well as the character of the Master (seen as greedy, vindictive). An alternative interpretation (also not without its share of difficulty) is that the Master represents the Emperor (or King Herod) who encourages people (or Israel) to make money at the expense of the poor and thus to play along with an oppressive system. The most faithful response is that of the third servant who refuses to play the game but who pays for his lack of engagement when the Master returns.

So we are invited to reflect on this parable and see what its message may be for each of us. Perhaps a call to use what we have at hand to build up God’s kingdom in our midst. Perhaps a reminder of the great value of God’s love that is not to be hoarded but rather shared. Or perhaps a warning not to participate in systems that are geared towards wealth creation over caring for people. May God give us ears to listen.

This Sunday we will not be meeting by Zoom for worship. Instead we encourage people to watch and participate in the collaborative service prepared by Heathmont, Ringwood, Ringwood North and our two Croydon congregations. You will see and hear from several familiar faces from Croydon and Croydon North, including Rev Peter. To log in to the service go to the following website https://nruc.online.church/ before 10 am.

If you are unable to join us to participate online, click here for worship@home resources.

I’m not always very patient when it comes to waiting. I can get irritated by having to wait too long at red traffic lights and sometimes get impatient with what can feel like glacial change in the church. But Jesus’ warning to us in this week’s parable is not to get complacent or impatient but to be prepared to wait for what may come.

The parable tells of a wedding and the seemingly endless wait for the bridegroom to arrive. He is not a polite few minutes late but hours overdue. When the bridegroom is finally sighted in the distance, all the waiting bridesmaids light their lamps. But some forgot to bring extra oil. No bother – surely there’s enough to go round? The sensible bridesmaids hold onto their oil and send away the stupid bridesmaids on a fool’s errand to try and buy more oil in the middle of the night. While they are gone, the wedding feast begins and the doors are locked. The silly bridesmaids are left outside as the bridegroom refuses them entry, claiming not to know them.

Are these bridesmaids foolish because they forgot to bring extra oil (and what might this represent in our lives)? Or are they foolish to go off on a wild goose chase searching for oil (and what might this represent in our lives)? Or is their most foolish choice not to be personally known to the bridegroom who could let them into the feast? If we read the whole of Matthew’s Gospel, it is not enough to hear the words Jesus speaks. The sensible person will take Jesus’ message to heart and live by it, day in and day out. Then there will be no anxiety about gaining entry into the wedding feast (a metaphor for the coming kingdom of God) however long it is delayed in coming.

We will be holding a Zoom worship meeting this Sunday morning from 9.45 am. I will host the meeting from my home but it will be an opportunity to hold a larger (virtual) gathering and to see each others’ faces. We will be basing our worship on the attached worship@home resource for this week, so it would be handy to have a copy present. We can send you a link to the meeting or a phone number and meeting details if you sign up by emailing the Croydon UC church office on office@croydon.unitingchurch.org.au or using the form in the sidebar.

Click here for worship@home resources.