1 Thessalonians 5.1-11, Matthew 25.14-30
Second Sunday before Advent, Sunday, 15th November 2020- online
The most important question facing humankind this week is this: will Donald Trump now go back to hosting American TV’s The Apprentice?
This is on my mind today because I’m thinking of the Parable of the Talents as being Jesus’ version of The Apprentice for a first-century audience. It’s an initiative test given to young business hopefuls, to see what they can do with the resources entrusted to them. It’s a tough test, and the man in charge is the hardest sort of boss imaginable. You can easily see the Alan Sugar or the Donald Trump in him.
Now I’ve never watched The Apprentice, preferring Ant and Dec to Alan and Donald, but I seem to know quite a bit about it, for it’s an influential show. The Sun newspaper called it 'The thinking man's reality show', and The Mirror described it as 'jaw-dropping viewing'. The Telegraph called it 'The most addictive show in years', and The Guardian said that it provided 'A salutary lesson in aggressive buying and selling, hiring and firing’. [2]
‘Salutary’ is a good word to describe it - for it suggests something which produces good effects but in an unwelcome or unpleasant way. In his first-century version of The Apprentice, the Parable of the Talents, Jesus portrays his businessman as a character quite unlikeable, brusque and brutal. In fact, he provoked such fear in the third servant that this man was paralysed into doing nothing with the talents entrusted to him. The big boss treated this servant uncompromisingly. Being thrown into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth is like having Sugar or Trump in your face shouting: ‘You’re fired’ and being shown the door to face the frenzied reactions of the press and social media.
This Parable of the Ruthless Businessman is very uncomfortable reading for those who want to draw parallels between the businessman and God, as many do. But what if Jesus intended it to be received as a parable about leadership, a story which is in the bible to help us contemplate the nature of leadership today? [3]
In the parable this business leader was brutal, but he did do three good things for those he employed: first he entrusted them with his property, expecting them to develop it in his absence; then he resourced them, with some talents; and on his return he variously disciplined or rewarded them, according to their performance, thus giving each of them the opportunity to learn and grow from the experience.
The boss in Jesus’ parable might remind us of people who’ve crossed our path in life, straight-talking leaders who took us down a few pegs; unsparing bosses who demoted us, or whose harshness may have shaken and demoralised us. Maybe we’re all the stronger for having had these encounters, or maybe we’re scarred for life. Thankfully, I imagine that we have also each been influenced by good bosses, gentle, humane leaders. Think for a moment of one who has played a special part in your life, whose character and example helped you learn how to follow in his or her good ways. Maybe it was an influential parent or other family member, a teacher, a friend, a colleague, an officer in command, perhaps a member of the clergy… someone whose guidance and encouragement helped you to grow in confidence and effectiveness. It is good and right that we should often remember these people, and in giving thanks for them, renew our commitment to follow the good lessons in life they taught us.
Let’s be clear that leaders aren’t just those who make judgements in a TV studio or occupy the White House or Downing Street or Parliament. The leaders who carry most influence are people like you and me - the ordinary parents, grandparents, friends, and neighbours; the teachers, the everyday mentors. People of all generations who, by our example and our words can help and influence others along the way. Jesus calls you and me to be people like this. People who can teach deep values to others around us.
Followers of Christ, says St Paul, are 'children of light and children of the day' - so we can share our light with others, and lead them out of their darkness. St Paul teaches that followers of Christ are to live each day 'with him’, led by our good leader Christ, to be everyday leaders ourselves; in our own way, influencers of others in what we do and say. If like me you fear you’re hardly up to such a task, and paralysed into doing nothing with the talents gifted to you, then hear St Paul’s reassurance that 'God has destined us not for wrath - (not for weeping and gnashing of teeth) - but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him.’
In other words, in the version of The Apprentice which is the Kingdom of God you’ll never have him point the finger at you and show you the door saying ‘you’re fired’. God makes it his business to open his hands to you, to beckon you close, and say, ‘you’re loved’. God wants us to be his partners in the business of bringing good news to the world. He doesn’t judge us on our merits to be worthy of this work, but invites us by his grace.
Christ is a leader we respect and love, for all the love and talents he gives to us. He will not paralyse us by fear, but release us into lives of fulfilment. Christ is a leader whose ultimate act of self-giving has influenced so many over the centuries to give of themselves wholeheartedly, completely, to lives of generosity and light. Christ is a leader who wants us as his apprentices. If we read the rest of Matthew 25 it’s clear that this means us spending our lives living graciously and generously towards others, particularly the poorest and most-struggling among us.
'Therefore encourage one another and build up each other,' says St Paul. This is the way God goes about business. It is our calling, our mission, and our joy.
Notes
[1] A rewrite of In search of leadership in a time of darkness, preached in Somerset, 2017 and Devon, 2011.
[2] Wikipedia: The Apprentice (British TV series), The Apprentice (American TV series).
[3] My take on the parables is influenced by William R. Herzog II, Parables as Subversive Speech: Jesus as Pedagogue of the Oppressed. Herzog demonstrates how the parables were a form of social analysis, as well as a form of theological reflection. Their focus was not on a vision of the glory of the reign of God but on the details of how oppression served the interests of the ruling class.
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