sawicky at epinet.org (Max Sawicky) asked:
<< Matthew 25 28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. 29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
can anybody explain this? Was Matthew the first supply-sider?
>>
Max, are you serious? Well, ok, I'm dumb enough to give it a try.
First off, don't take a quote out of context. Matthew is trying to explain our unpreparedness for the Second Coming. He begins with a weak parable of brides not prepared for their grooms.
His second attempt is of a master entrusting his goods to his servants because he must be away for a long while. The key idea is that his return, and therefore the servants's accounting, is unexpected.
But the parable takes over so that Matthew's point is almost lost.
Talents has a double meaning in Matthew of money and ability. Basically, the three servants are burdened with responsibility. The money (or the abilities) is not theirs, and they must render an account of their stewardship.
For verses 28 and 29, it is financial reward, while at the same time it continues to mean responsibility for one's "talent". The servant who did nothing with his talent (did not live up to his responsibility) is punished. The responsibility the Master entrusted him with is taken from him and given to the servant who had best fulfilled his duty. One should note that Matthew sets up the bad servant for his punishment rather artfully. The servant tries to excuse himself by falsely blaming the master for harshness. His plea is that he did not dare put his one talent to use for fear that he would lose it.
IMO, Marx's dictum "From each according to his abilities" expresses the same idea of responsibility. "To each according to his needs" I think adds something that is not in Matthew's parable.
Now, please, nobody should think I know much about the Bible. I got onto this chapter from Milton's Sonnet 19. It forced me to re-read Matthew's parable in order to understand the poem. Also, I had previously read a biography of Newton, so I understood the Renaissance notion of man's relationship to God as servant to master, instead of today's notion of God as a fount of love. Newton's prose is powerful on God as Master.
To wind up, here's the sonnet. It's a fairly difficult poem:
Sonnet 19
When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent which is death to hide
Lodg'd with me useless, though my soul more bent To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide,
"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent That murmur, soon replies: "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts: who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed
And post o'er land and ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait."
John Milton, 1655
I've been told that the last line refers to the practice of having many servants about at aristocratic banquets, not to do anything necessarily, but just in case somebody needed something.
-- John K. Taber