16 November 2014
Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 28A (RCL)
Judges 4:1-7
Psalm 123
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Matthew 25:14-30
This is another one of those parables no one likes: the master, who is God if we read this allegorically, turns out to be a mean guy. The poor slave who buried the talent in the ground gets thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. To which we say, “The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Christ.” Matthew’s Gospel has a lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth — there must have been some conflict which necessitated drawing the boundaries of the community very tightly. The parable of the tenants and the vineyard, the parable of the wedding feast and the parable of the bridesmaids all make a distinction between who is in and who is out. Again, the parable of the talents makes the same point.
But here, the judgment really happens before the master returns. Continue reading “Fear or hope?”