YES, HE is Talking to YOU! (continued)
Love is the Fulfilling of the Law
While Vincent tells us that the nobleman is most likely a Roman, there are other commentaries that go right to the idea that the nobleman is Jesus. Now for us this makes little sense and for two reasons. First, this is a parable which is intended to use a real life simile to draw a spiritual picture and, to do this, one would not put the spiritual part, Jesus, directly into the story. And second because it paints a picture of things that the Master would not do nor say; things that would be against His other teaching. Insofar as the part in which the nobleman says “But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me” (Luke 19;27), these same commentaries count it accomplished by the sacking of Jerusalem several years later. Personally I have always had trouble with some of the verses of this parable; first of being hated by his subjects and then that the rebels are slain, but I could never ascribe any of this to Jesus nor lay it off on the destruction of Jerusalem. What we said of this parable in yesterday’s post is a plausible spiritual rendering of the actual story that the Master tells. There is little else that we can say that is sensible though I am sure that there are clearer and deeper meanings to be discovered.
The whole idea here, as in the version from the Gospel of Matthew which we cover today, is that we come into this Earth life with something of value. Whether it be the pounds that we ascribed to the average citizen who hears the Lord or the talents (of much more value that the pound) that we will ascribe to the disciple and follower of the Lord, it is a thing that we must not waste. We are expected to do what we can with what we have and again we should ever remember His words to us saying “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required” (Luke 12:48). Seeing that this as the overriding point of the whole story, it really does not much matter how we paint the balance. However, it would be good to be able to understand what the Master is actually saying in His effort to make the point. Continuing on, we now come to the version from Matthew.
In the last post we put forth the idea that the version from Luke’s Gospel and the version from Matthew were intended for different audiences. It may have been a one time story understood differently by different groups or, as some say, they are two separate incidents and two separate stories. Which is true is of no consequence however, as it is always the truth discerned behind the story that is important. We will proceed with what we discern as a parable told with variations directed at two distinct audiences. Of Luke’s version we said that it was directed at the average citizen in the country ruled by the nobleman. The idea of ten servants getting each a pound can represent all the citizens or just a select few and there are opinions favoring each theory. Based on the next thought, of the overall citizenry hating the ruler, it is unlikely the former and it makes for a more understandable story if the ten were selected. Either way, they get a pound each and we posited that these were ten were among the average citizens and that they were left to deal with things as if the ruler had not left. We discussed the equality of the situation in that they all have the same and then finally the spiritual understanding that men are on this Earth with some resources and that each should make sure that they use that resource wisely for the furthering of the Kingdom. We likened this to those ten as they were hearing the call of the Inner Man, the call of the Inner Ruler and then setting out to do the work of the Kingdom with some doing tenfold and other fivefold and another, having the same call, not doing anything. We likened the rest of the citizens then to those who hear no call and ‘hate’ the ruler because of the condemnation that He provides.
Now if we take it that in the Gospel of Luke the story is of the average citizenry and that the selected ten were those who ‘hear’ the call, what do we say about this version from the Gospel of Matthew? There is a different dynamic at work here. First, there are three servants (this could be seen as by example rather than a hard number) and to each is given much more that a pound, they are given a talent. In fact, it can be read in the saying that the man “who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods“, gave them possession of his whole property****. Others suggest that the value of a talent could be as much as 6000 times that of a pound. The idea here however is that there is considerable value to the talent versus the pound and there is no need to deal further with this. Second, the three are given the talents “to every man according to his several ability” which is to say that the equality that we perceive in Luke is not present in Matthew but is more a matter of earning and reward. Let us venture a bit here from one parable version to another. In Luke we have the average citizen who was hearing the word of God who then used his pound to gain tenfold and we deem this, in the spiritual sense, spiritual collateral. This citizen now has ten pounds. We should be able to see that in time, as this scene plays out, this citizen can produce more and more; from ten to an hundred to a thousand and so on with each multiplication of tenfold. Hearing the word and doing his part, again and again and again and so increases the pound to the value of the talent and still yet further bringing into play two of the Masters teachings:
- “For unto every one that hath shall be given , and he shall have abundance” (Matthew 25:29) and other similar verses “whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance” (Matthew 13:12) and so that we don’t think that this is all pertaining to money or to goods the Master also says to us “take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given” (Luke 8:18) and “Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given” (Mark 4:24).
- “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required” (Luke 12:48) and repeating the saying from above in this context as well: “Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given“.
In the first bullet is the idea that the more you have the more you will get and the play of this dynamic in the realm of hearing. We should always see this as spiritual capital or collateral and not as the mundane things which is how a good many do see it. We should know also that in the word hear is also understanding, perceiving, considering and comprehending so that the depth of these statements can be seen as that much more profound. The word translated hear is the Greek word akouo and it is defined by the lexicon as: to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf; to hear, to attend to, consider what is or has been said; to understand, perceive the sense of what is said; to hear something, to perceive by the ear what is announced in one’s presence; to get by hearing, learn; a thing comes to one’s ears, to find out, learn; to give ear to a teaching or a teacher; to comprehend, to understand**. Try putting the idea of understand, which in its biblical sense is closely allied with wisdom, in place of hear in these verses above and see how the color and the flavor of the Master’s saying change too. Remember also the caution of the Master in saying: “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Mark 4:9) and add to it the ideas found in the definitions of akouo. So we see that the more we have the more we can get but how do we get the more? We get it in the second bullet point above. We get it because the more we have, of spiritual collateral, the more we give and this we do willingly and not because it is required (although it is and Jesus tells us so). Also, we get the more by giving of what we have and, “with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you” plus the other sayings from the first bullet would apply here as well..
The point so far is that there is the ability of the average citizen to grow in the grace of the Lord and to accumulate much spiritual collateral and to ‘graduate’ so to speak from that state of the average to the state that is evidenced in Matthew’s version which we will call the state of being a follower and an aspiring disciple. In this state we are given exceedingly much more even up to, according to Vincent, the whole of the Master’s goods****. We have much, we are given much and of us is much expected, even required. This is the second audience for the Parable of the Talents; disciples, true followers, those considered the good soil. In the parable the three trusted servants are given a large portion of the master’s goods according to ability and such is the case on the spiritual side as well. To those who can show ability to use and to distribute their spiritual wealth, more wealth comes and we can show the Master what we have gained as in the story. Note that each of those in the story that do increase, gain in proportion to what the had and thereby in proportion to “his several ability”; he with five gained five more and he with two gained two more. The reward is not identified here but just the commendation of the Master would suffice in His saying to us: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant“; this, and the more that we gained, position us for the next step and then the next step and so on. Individually we can see this as a aspiring disciple on the path with enough clarity in his life that the Master, his own Soul, his Christ Within, sends forth into his personality the wisdom and the power and the Love of God. The personality takes these talents uses them in life as he follows in the Master’s saying of “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works” (Matthew 5:16) and keeps the Master’s words.
What of the servant, the aspiring disciple and follower, in our view of this parable? He loses the spiritual collateral that he had and, where the other two can be likened to good soil we would have to liken this third “unprofitable servant” to the thorny ground or the stony places where it takes root for awhile but then fades into the carnal life or into fear. His punishment is that he loses his place, his state of being, and he finds his Soul, his Inner Man is no longer heard and that he is cast off into the “outer darkness” of life in this world of flesh. These are the rewards and the punishments of discipleship; if we choose to live the life we are measured, by our own Inner Man and by the Lord, on what it is that we do. In a large way, in this everyday life, we bring about our own rewards, both positive and negative. And so we have our interpretation for these two versions of the Parable of the Talents.
One more thing can be said here so to show a lower correspondence as we showed the higher above. Remember the Parable of the Unjust Steward? how he is commended for his knowledge and the cunning he showed in his work in the world. This idea can be turned to this parable as well and in both versions. Those who gained the increase can be seen as being “faithful in that which is another man’s” and “faithful in the unrighteous mammon“. These can be said to be “wiser than the children of light” and to have made themselves “friends of the mammon of unrighteousness“. Of course the “unprofitable servant” in both versions would be seen as the opposite of these and still a failure who did not adequately serve either master; God or mammon (In the Words of Jesus part 95 and Luke 16:1-13). Can we, or do we want to believe that these could be among the Master’s thoughts in the telling of this parable and that there is a reward, in His eyes, for proper investing or trading of what we are given in money and goods and that this is what Jesus the Christ may have been teaching?
Note on the Quote of the Day
This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.
I will not be available to change the Quote of the Day today and so we leave this from yesterday. If we read and meditate on this we can see in it much of the journey that we are on with Christ.
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. (2 Corinthians 4:6-7).
Today’s Quote of the Day says to us in the words of the Apostle Paul speaking to fellow disciples that God has shined in our hearts (our consciousness) and gives us the knowledge of the glory of God in the countenance of Christ. This is Christ in us, the Light of God, flowing through from Spirit and Soul into this earthen vessel, the conscious personality; that we may display the excellency of His power and not the appearance of our personal selves.
