tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post3450222272601895150..comments2024-03-28T02:24:59.003-07:00Comments on Left Behind and Loving It: Reaping and WeepingD. Mark Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12016377712982292924noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-75293102877554232222023-11-19T13:09:10.152-08:002023-11-19T13:09:10.152-08:00I think your "half thought" is very good...I think your "half thought" is very good for today, in 2023, when Israel (in response, this time, to a horrible attack by Hamas) has gone in to destroy more houses they did not build. As the problematic owners of the land, they are embodying some of the worst traits of the landowner.Carynhttps://religiousleft.quora.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-63847728366610902922020-11-12T11:36:09.303-08:002020-11-12T11:36:09.303-08:00just a half thought... Israel went into the promis...just a half thought... Israel went into the promised land to live in houses they did not build and to harvest grapes they did not plant... What if the landowner is Israel, the first slave the Herodians, the second the Pharisees, the third, Jesus? just half a thought...bcpreacherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13583878496606134903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-35688030011619071592020-10-22T09:28:57.489-07:002020-10-22T09:28:57.489-07:00Ask I think about your option 1, I wonder if it is...Ask I think about your option 1, I wonder if it isn't so much about if you invest well the master gives your more. But instead it is just the the truth of what happens when one takes what one has been given and uses/invests it intentionally...the natural outcome is one experiences abundance of blessings. How often do we experience more joy in giving than in receiving?Nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17371108523896248366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-74991190539829759182017-11-18T17:46:42.737-08:002017-11-18T17:46:42.737-08:00I know this is now too late for you, but here is a...I know this is now too late for you, but here is a story I wrote, in part, due to your comments. https://blindfaithdumbcluck.blogspot.com/2017/11/god-takes-vacation.html<br />PeacePeter Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01969063087947208884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-51012467121793436402017-11-18T08:40:13.709-08:002017-11-18T08:40:13.709-08:00I'd suggest the man should be seen as Herod wh...I'd suggest the man should be seen as Herod who had to make sudden visits when the Roman leader changed with the deaths of Ceaser and later Antony. If a talent was about 1.5 million dollars he'd be the sort of man to have that amount of money. The third servant loses his job for sticking to the command in the OT to avoid usury. Just like the Apprentice? But god says you're favoured chris elliotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17653163435788929112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-12806095712993087542017-11-16T15:25:38.763-08:002017-11-16T15:25:38.763-08:00Thanks for all of the insightful comments and thou...Thanks for all of the insightful comments and thoughtful questions, friends. <br /><br />I've been mulling over this story more this week. I've come up with 3 possible interpretations: <br /><br />1. This is a parable about God's way of giving gifts to each according to their ability and requiring us to make the most of the gifts. Those who do will be given more and the one who buries the gift will be treated as a lazy, worthless slave. <br />This is, I suspect, the most common interpretation of this story and I have scads of problems with it. But, it seems to be "the plain reading of the text." <br /><br />2. I could buy into a version of #1 - at least the form of it - if it went something like this: Jesus is the treasure that God entrusts to us. Not Jesus the person, but Jesus the person and the Reign of God and the movement and the values and the power and the wholeness that Jesus brought with him. We have been entrusted with that, to some degree or another. There were some - remember this discourse follows the entrapment conversations with the Sadducees, Pharisees, Chief Priests, and Herodians - who perceive God wrongly, and who did not want any part of this treasure. So, they are doing their best to bury it (perhaps even in the literal sense). And to take God's gift of welcome, justice, etc. and to bury it instead of investing in it and spreading it as far and wide as possible - that is horrific. <br /><br />3. Following Ched Myers and others: There is no way that this master is a God figure. It is clearly a Roman system figure and the 3rd servant is the one who is faithful by refusing to be coopted by the system and to make it stronger. And, when you stand up against tyrants of this sort, there is a price to pay. <br /><br />Now ... which direction am I going to take on Saturday and Sunday? D. Mark Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12016377712982292924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-69912044900400543452017-11-16T15:07:59.862-08:002017-11-16T15:07:59.862-08:00I appreciate the work you have done on this, Mark....I appreciate the work you have done on this, Mark. It has really clarified this parable for me, showing to me that we are not one of these slaves, but we are all of them. When we try to position ourselves as one or another of them, we devalue our faith history. The issue is not whether we are the 5, the 2, or the 1, but whether or not we are committed to waiting for the eschatological hope of the future. Some days we are better at it than others. This will be even more apparent next week.Peter Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01969063087947208884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-82402531711024515952017-11-14T09:15:30.497-08:002017-11-14T09:15:30.497-08:00our discussion of what the text means by the first...our discussion of what the text means by the first slave having "traded" the money alerted me to something I'd never noticed before - that this is a parable about interest. Perhaps there is a key to (an) interpretation by reminding ourselves that the Bible already has a fairly consistent position on usury...<br /><br />I wonder whether the emphasis on "his *own* slaves" is intended to alert us to the fact that the landowner regards these three men not as people but as property or assets. Each slave succeeds or fails not by how good he is at farming, or how hard he works, but simply by the amount of interest his allowance has generated (or not). And the slaves themselves are simply investments which must generate interest; unprofitable slaves are bad investments, destined to be sold (into outer darkness). The first two slaves buy into the system; they are happy to be exploited, and therefore profit from it. The third commits an act of resistance - he names the unjust system of interest-gathering for what it is (reaping where you didn't sow), and will only give back what was invested. One could even say that he has chosen to be a prophet rather than a profit...<br /><br /><br />Granted, this is not a parable about our "talents" (gifts/skills), but since congregations are likely to hear it this way, perhaps there is some mileage in reflecting on what it means when God 'invests' in us. When Paul talks about the distribution of spiritual gifts, it's not actually an investment based on our own ability, but on the ability that the Spirit gives us. And elsewhere, Paul is clear that God is an unwise investor, putting his riches in the hands of the weak, the stupid and the nobodies. <br /><br />God doesn't need his investment back with interest - he's already infinitely wise and loving, what's he going to do with our 125% exhortation or 117% gentleness? God's gifts to us are not a loan to be repaid with interest, but a grant to be used - if we so choose - for the building up of the Kingdom. The Kingdom is a completely alternative (diametrically opposed) system to the one of investment and interest; it's a system in which the notions of profit and loss are turned on their heads, where treasure doesn't rust or get destroyed, where the idea of ten, three or one pot of cash is completely meaningless, because everyone has more than enough and wine and food are free.<br /><br />Given that a slave cannot serve two masters, perhaps the question here is: which system do you want to buy into? Which boss would you rather work for? Which lord is actually going to give you more joy? (And I guess if you're still stuck on that question, you could always read on to the next parable....)Forton Churchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00302192376029288256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-85939472561836821042017-11-13T21:54:54.746-08:002017-11-13T21:54:54.746-08:00In First Century Palestine, the people who reap wh...In First Century Palestine, the people who reap where they do not sow, and gather where they do not winnow are the Roman overlords. I wonder if Jesus here is just giving some peasant advice here: Don’t be overly fearful of the occupiers, work for them and give them what they want. If you’re successful, they will reward you; if you hold back, you’ll lose the little that you do have. This is the advice of render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. When it came to money and material things, Jesus was no zealot.Neale Adamshttp://tinyurl.com/DNAdamsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-90531166381774485102017-11-13T20:21:42.746-08:002017-11-13T20:21:42.746-08:00I read this as, I think, you do, Mark. It's a ...I read this as, I think, you do, Mark. It's a story about 'a man'.. If you live the kingdom way, then 'the man' will treat you like he treated the third guy who refused to sing the profits are what life is all about mantra. Traders don't get good biblical press (cf the expression 'rip-off merchants!!. Jesus never applauds those who make profits for themselves. The other two guys play his way and of course get promotions. That's how it is with 'the man', but of course, he sacks the one who refuses to play that way.<br /><br />I wonder whether the parable really ends at v40. v41 shifts to another 'man', The Man, who comes in the kingdom and offers the kingdom to those who 'visit me when I was imprisoned' (cast out into outer darkness) for not playing by the rules of the man in the previous parable etc etc.Ricknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8320313747187588188.post-91853623131635512052017-11-13T10:45:29.979-08:002017-11-13T10:45:29.979-08:00I have read your essay, the Politics of the Talent...I have read your essay, the Politics of the Talents, and am quite intrigued. You raise excellent points. I (an Anglican Lay Reader) am preaching on this text Sunday and would like to address the characteristics of the supposed divine master. But who is it? Can it be any oppressive leader? If Jesus uses the expression 'weeping and gnashing of teeth' so many times, why wouldn't it be him this time? The parable does seem harsh but the common interpretations of not wasting life/gifts, fear/trust, grace/judgment helps it overcome that. Any comments are appreciated!<br />Thanks youClair Mhttp://192.168.2.1noreply@blogger.com