Year A
Season after Pentecost
Proper 28 (33)
Matthew 25:14-30

Contextual Background:

A master entrusts servants with talents before traveling. Two invest and are rewarded; one hides his in fear and is condemned.

In Mediterranean culture, the only way to gain wealth honestly was from what came from the ground: flocks and crops. We often think of the “master” as God. No. The master is Caesar who gives much wealth to stewards who exploit people through unjust economic systems.

The steward who buries the treasure puts it in the safekeeping of God by putting it in the ground.

This passage is not in support of capitalism. This passage is a critique of the Roman Empire as an empire of thievery.

Within the Jewish Tradition:

God entrusted Israel with Torah, land, and covenant responsibility. Prophets called Israel to bear fruit for the world.

The Challenge Then:

To honestly and courageously speak truth about the spirit of the Roman Empire.

The Challenge Now:

The religio of our day is about humans as producers and consumers in a capitalist economy. Can we speak to the ways that our current economic system steals from people: reaping where it does not sow?

Implications for Leaders & Communities:

• Leaders: rise in prophetic truth telling about the way things are.
• Communities: risk working for world in which we steward a thriving ecosystem and an equitable economy.

What I Am Learning:

The truth hurts, but it sets us free.

The Question I’m Sitting With:

How do I benefit from systems that harm others?