Breaking the Word

  "It will be as when a man who was going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.  To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one– to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately  the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. Likewise, the one who received two made another two. But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master's money…

For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.' (Mt 25:14-30)

Any reader of the parable will turn his attention to the third servant who buried his talent. In fact the story seems to revolve around him. The other two servants are almost forgotten. Almost all the parables of Jesus seem to have the same trend. He gives importance to the lost sheep, prodigal son etc.

The parables are addressed to the Jews. In this parable, it looks as though, he is addressing them straightaway. They are the ones who have buried the talent. They have just preserved the talent that was given to them without making anything worthwhile out of it.

And the cryptic saying at the end of the parable should be understood rightly otherwise it will lead to misinterpretation. The saying should have been: ‘For to everyone who has made more out of what is given to him, more will be with him and he will grow rich, but anyone who has not made anything out of what was given to him even what he has will be taken away. 

  "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps…

 While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked. Afterwards the other virgins came and said, 'Lord, Lord, open the door for us!'  But he said in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.'  Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (Mt 25:1-13)

There are some interesting facts about this parable. Yes, the wedding takes place at night and that too the bridegroom arrives at midnight. Secondly, the bridegroom comes late. The virgins who were waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom fell asleep. All these things should not happen normally.

The story is created to communicate a particular message. Probably the facts are exaggerated to stress the message. This story is rooted in the Jewish tradition. This speaks about wisdom and foolishness. Wisdom here means being ready. But the strange thing is that even the wise fell asleep.

The parable is about Jesus, the messiah, who is coming to meet the people of Israel. The people of Israel are the ones who are invited for the wedding feast. These people are divided into two groups. The wise are the ones who await the arrival of the messiah. The foolish are the ones to whom Jesus says ‘I do not know’. One should be always prepared for the works of GOD.