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What would you do if someone suddenly gave you a million dollars and asked you to do something—anything—with it?  Would you know what to do with it??  There’s no catch.  But to be clear, the money isn’t yours, but you do get to use it however you want, knowing that the person who gave it to you will (eventually) come back and want to know what you did with it.  Would you be excited?  Would you be scared? 

            That’s the premise of this Sunday’s Gospel reading (Matthew 25:14-30).  Jesus tells a parable about a Master who goes on a long journey and entrusts his servants with his property.  He gives them each a “lifetime” of money in the form of “talents.”  A talent back then was a block of silver that equaled 10-15 YEARS wages for a day laborer.  In other words, a LOT of money.  Two did something with it and made more money for the master; one dug a hole in the ground and buried it. 

            The parable is not difficult to understand.  We’re given a life.  What do you do with it?  What motivates you to do something with it or not?  There’s risk involved.  The servant who buries it was afraid of the Master.  He was afraid of “losing” money.  He was afraid of loss, and therefore, afraid of taking risks.  (I get that.  I’m not a big risk taker myself.)  And it meant he missed out on the “joy of the master.” 

            Do we trust God enough to take risks with what God has given us?  God has given us our lives and everything in it.  The only judgment in the parable is doing nothing with it.  What if the two servants who made more money lost money—they tried different things and none of them worked out.  Do you think God the Master would be mad?  I don’t think so.  Why?  Because they believed (had faith) that the Master loved them enough that they could take risks.  They trusted the Master, and that trust is the highest form of honor and relationship between the servant and the Master.  I believe God knows that.  God wants our faithful risks—because God loves us and it means we trust that love. 

            So what will you do with your million dollars? 

Peace,

Pr. Christian