Oil, Talents, and Mercy

Matthew 25:34-36

Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me."

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There once was a master. He left his servants in charge of his possessions and told them what to do while he was gone. He came back one day to see what his servants had done with what he gave them. Some were not ready, so they were condemned. But, some had used what was given and had achieved incredible results.

This is a bare bones sketch of all three of these parables in Matthew 25. I don't think I've every considered the parallels between them, but right now it is almost too obvious - and quite helpful in interpreting them. Much like the parallel parables of Luke 15 (the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the lost son), these three parables tell the story of the Last Judgment and the kinds of responses people will receive from Jesus upon his return. Some will be wise, having preserved enough oil or invested properly. But, some will be foolish, having been ill prepared and performing poorly with the blessings they were given.

What is most striking to me, if these parallels are fair to the original intent, is how the third parable sheds so much light on the first and second. Namely, that the mysterious oil and the cryptic reference to talents are both symbolic of the MERCY of God that we have received and of which we are now stewards.

We are stewards of the mercy of God.

He will return one day and he will ask each one of us how we have used the mercy we have been given. Did we use it as a license to sin, or a security blanket to insulate ourselves from the world? Or, did we share that mercy with those who are called the "least of these" - the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned. I am challenged now to always look at the parable of the talents especially in reference to this parable that follows. I hope and pray that I will invest the blessing of mercy I have received so that it multiplies into blessings for all of the many needs in this world. Lord, help me to be that good and faithful servant.

"Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master."