Imitating Christ: Christian Stewardship Matthew 25:14-30

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1 BIBLE STUDY Imitating Christ: Christian Stewardship Matthew 25:14-30 What s This Passage All About Introduction A Story from Michaelann and Curtis Martin Scripture is clear that our God is unchanging and He is calling us to trust Him with our entire lives including our finances. After Michaelann and I were married, we went away to graduate school. We thought God had called me to study theology, but leaving work in California to become an unemployed, young married student family wasn t easy. By this time we had two children. After much prayer, we decided to go, with the understanding that graduate school was a luxury and that I would do what I could to provide. If we missed a single meal, then I would drop out of school and go back to work full time. During school, we remained committed to tithing. It was sometimes difficult to give 10 percent of our income, when some months our income may have been only $500. One time, we were so broke that we had to turn down a dinner invitation because we couldn t afford the gas to drive to our friends house. Finally, the day arrived. We were broke and out of food. Up until this time, we had never missed a meal. We knew that the next morning I would have to withdraw from school. There was nothing left to do, and then we heard a knock on the door. When we opened the door, a friend was standing there with a large pot. She said, I made way too much spaghetti tonight, could you all use some? We had spaghetti that night and again for lunch the next day. That afternoon, an unexpected reimbursement check came in the mail. God had provided. Matthew 25:14-30 The Parable of the Talents How often do we recognize that everything we have comes from God? It s easy to find God in the answers to the small prayers we offer up during the day; for instance, when you re running behind, searching for a parking spot, and you "throw a quick one up to God," only to round the next corner and immediately stumble across an empty space! It makes sense to attribute these "apparent coincidences" to God just looking out for His children. But what about everything else? The food that is always replenished in your pantry. The amazing athletic ability that you might possess. The time that you have to spend with loved ones after a rough week. Personal talent, wealth and abilities, human and natural resources, economic order, and governmental affairs are all part of God s creation. Everything we receive comes from God and all that we have belongs to God; but when was the last time you consciously acknowledged that truth? The Big Picture The Big Picture God has entrusted many gifts to us and we will be held accountable for how we invest them. It is Jesus who blesses us abundantly with everything that we have. God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. (CCC 1) We are recipients and caretakers of God s gifts. He asks that we be good stewards of the time, talent, and treasure that He has given us. And, since we are created in the image and likeness of God, it is stamped in our very nature to give of ourselves in imitation of God s generosity. Continued on page 2

2 2 What does it mean to be a good steward of God's blessings upon us? Jesus begins the Parable of the Talents by referring to "a man going on a journey." Before leaving, the man entrusts each of his servants with a different number of "talents." A talent was a coin worth 6,000 denarii (equivalent to $2 million today!). So, each servant has been given a large sum of money. While the master is away, we learn that two of the servants double the number of talents they had been given. The third servant, who was only given one talent buries it. After a long time, the master returns. The words on a journey and after a long time are used deliberately here: they suggest that a significant amount of time had passed before the master s return enough time for the servants to multiply the wealth of their master. The servants who multiplied their talents are praised and invited to "enter into the joy of their master." The servant who buried his talent in the ground is rebuked for hiding his talent rather than investing it; the talent is taken away and given to another, and then the servant is cast "into the outer darkness." He is judged as lazy and wicked. to Our Lives By taking the time to cultivate a heart of gratitude for the many gifts we have received, we will find ourselves moved to a spirit of greater generosity. Master of Our Talents In the framework of the parable, we are the servants and God is our master. The talents represent our God-given gifts and abilities, and the long time during the master s absence refers to our own lifetime. The Catechism tells us more about our God-given gifts: On coming into the world, man is not equipped with everything he needs for developing his bodily and spiritual life. He needs others. Differences appear tied to age, physical abilities, intellectual or moral aptitudes, the benefits derived from social commerce, and the distribution of wealth. The talents are not distributed equally. (CCC 1936) Just as in the parable, the talents are not distributed equally from one person to the next but what we do with our talents is not dependent upon how much we have received. If Jesus Christ is the Lord of our lives, then we will view the world and our relationship to it differently. We must make an effort invest the gifts that He has given us and let them grow in the world. What matters more than how much we have is our generosity, our stewardship. It s difficult to be generous if we have not first stopped to recognize everything we have been given and to approach the Lord in gratitude. If we live with a heart of gratitude and reflect on the blessings we have received, we can more readily recognize the need to be generous to others. We are called to invest what we have been given. As Christians, we are called to generosity with our time, talent, and treasure; those things should not lie hidden but be made manifest in our service of others to give glory to God. "Don't lose your effectiveness; instead, trample on your selfishness. You think your life is for yourself? Your life is for God, for the good of all men, through your love for our Lord. Your buried talent, dig it up again! Make it yield." (St. Josemaria Escriva, Friends of God) In the end, the parable demonstrates that a good steward shares what he has received, in this life, understanding that he will be held accountable for his actions before God. Continued on page 3

3 3 What does this mean for us? How often was Jesus known for saying exactly what the people wanted to hear? Jesus gives us this parable to shake up our world a bit: The message of this parable goes directly against the spirit of the world. The culture that we live in is steeped in materialism. The world is telling us that material items, and selfishness, will make us happy, while our Lord Jesus Christ proposes generosity as the true path to happiness. This means that being a good steward, being generous with what we have, is not motivated by receiving in return. Acts 20:35: It is better to give than to receive As the Parable of the Talents demonstrates, God has given us the treasure that we possess. Our lives are for God and not for our own selfishness but the human tendency to sin often leads us to ignore God in our lives. It is easiest to do this when it comes to our money. We view the money we give and receive as following a horizontal line. Here, money is flowing from one person to another, but there is no acknowledgement of God in the exchange. But God has done so much to provide for us, and our ability to give generously shows great trust in God. Additional Scripture Sirach 35:10 Give to the Most High as he has given, and as generously as your hand has found. 1 Peter 4:10-11 As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God s varied grace Here we see a different way of sharing our treasure, with both people acknowledging God and placing their trust in Him. Remembering that God is the source of everything our lives is important as we receive great gifts and blessings. It is equally important for us to remember God in our acts of generosity, as it is a concrete way to express our faith and to place ourselves at the service of God and the Church. We are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ and part of being a disciple involves the practice of stewardship. In being good stewards we are called to recognize Jesus as Lord, accept God s gifts gratefully, cultivate them, and share them with others. In doing so, we return them with increase to our Lord. The life of a Christian steward, lived in imitation of the life of Christ, is challenging, even difficult in many ways; but both here and hereafter it is charged with intense joy (Stewardship: A Disciples Response, 40). Continued on page 4

4 4 DISCUSSION GUIDE Opener What comes to mind when you think of the word stewardship? Backdrop Jesus has just finished telling the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Maidens, concluding by saying, Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. From that parable, He leads into the Parable of the Talents suggesting, then, that we must be alert and prepared to serve the Lord today and to do as much as we can to ready ourselves for the Kingdom. Passage Read Matthew 25:14-30 Exploration 1. What do the servants do with the talents? 2. What detail is mentioned in verse 16 about the servant who received the five talents? 3. In the parable, the talents are not distributed equally among the servants. What significance do you think this has in the story? 4. Why are the two servants who invested their talents praised by their master? 5. Jesus does not tell us this parable for the sake of telling a good story. How is this parable about us in relation to God? 6. Why is the third servant rebuked for returning the one talent to the master? 10. Read Proverbs 3:9. God offered His first fruit His Son to us on the cross. We are called to imitate Him in order to strive for holiness. What do first fruits mean for us? 11. Does it matter whether we give our first fruits or our leftovers? 12. How do we motivate ourselves to give the best we have? 13. Read 1 Peter 4: We are to employ our gifts for one another. What are the benefits of providing for the needs of others? 14. Matthew Kelly says that generosity begins with gratitude. How do we cultivate a heart of gratitude? 7. This parable is not about the amount of talents that each servant is given; it is about making a genuine effort to turn a profit from the gifts God has given us. What are the gifts that God has given to us, and how might we use them to profit others? 8. Treasure (money) is a gift that God has intended for us to use to yield a profit, but we have to recognize that it comes from God! Read Proverbs 11:28. Why are we drawn to attachment to money? 9. What is the downfall of depending on our riches? Continued on page 5

5 5 Answers 1. Two of the servants double the number of talents they were given. The third servant hides his portion in the ground. 2. This servant went at once. This small detail brings to light the fact that the servant wasted no time in investing his talents. 3. Allow the group to discuss. Refer to CCC 1936 in What s This Passage All About? 4. They invested the talents that were entrusted to them by the master to double what was given to them. 5. We are the servants and God represents the master. It reminds us that Jesus is Lord. 6. He was lazy and did not invest what he was given. 7. Time, talent, and treasure. 8. Allow the group to discuss. 10. The best of what you have. In the Old Testament, this is often called a tithe (refer to Numbers 18:21-24). Tithe literally means ten percent. People often use this as a guideline for giving that is, they will give ten percent of their paycheck off the top. 11. Read Luke 21:1-4. Jesus makes an example out of the old woman because she is demonstrating poverty of spirit. Meanwhile, the rich are giving out of their surplus/leftover they are not offering their best. 12. Allow the group to discuss. 13. Encouraging fellowship, and a reminder that we are all a part of the Body of Christ. It is also a way to concretely express our faith and support in the Body of Christ. 14. Allow the group to discuss. 9. They are temporal and not eternal. End FOCUSequip is based on Ephesians 4:12 for the equipment of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ. These materials seek to equip you for lifelong Catholic mission. We would love to hear your feedback at: focusequip@focusonline.org non- Copyright 2013 FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students). You are free to make copies for commercial use as along as you attribute the material to FOCUS. For commercial use please contact us.