I like the parables of Jesus for the reason that there is always a reversal of values . In the parable of the rich man and three servants, the convention wisdom would have been not to take risk with the master’s money . This is exactly what the third servant did . He buries the money and gives back to his master the exact amount he received.
The servant felt good about it. He was proud of himself. “Here it is. All of it, safe and sound, he says . And for his efforts he is treated as harshly as anyone in the whole Bible. His master doesn’t compliment him for his prudence and his caution but calls him wicked, lazy. You should have invested it regardless of risk , he says to him .
I can’t help wondering how it would have turned out had the first two servants invested and lost, put the money in a high-risk venture and lost it all. Jesus didn’t tell it that way, of course, but I can’t help but imagine that the master would have been far less harsh, might even have applauded the effort because the point here is not really about doubling your money and accumulating wealth. It’s about living. It’s about investing. It’s about taking risks.
The greatest risk of all, it turns out, is not to risk anything, is to play it safe , to live cautiously and prudently. Jesus’ warning is that the outcome of playing it safe, not caring, not loving passionately, not investing yourself, not risking anything, is something akin to death, like being banished to the outer darkness.
Jesus took the precious gift of his 33-year-old life, and out of his love for God, love for his nation and his neighbors, put his life on the line, invested it all, holding nothing back, risking everything by coming to Jerusalem.
Dr. Willy L Mafuta, Ph.D, Th.D
Senior Pastor,
Hopewell United Methodist Church, Hopewell, NJ 08525