Woodcut illustration of the parable of the talents (1712)
I have to confess, Jesus’ parable of the talents (Mt 25:14-30; for the extended cut see Lk 19:11-27) was one of my least favorite passages of scripture for a long time. The point seemed straightforward enough: if you waste your God-given potential, then bad things are going to happen to you.
That certainly didn’t feel like “good news.” The story came across as divine sanction of the ever-present cultural message to do more and be better, like a religious version of a Nike commercial. To continue the financial metaphor that gives the parable its shape, God is expecting a good return on his investment, so you had better produce. But sometimes our lives are a bear market, if not an outright depression – and, in any case, how do we know when we’re producing enough? The two good servants in the parable each posted 100% returns, after all, which is a tall order even in the best of times.