The long-awaited infant became the rabbi Jesus, who taught of the Second Advent and the Kingdom of Heaven. His disciples were full of questions, and in Matthew 24 and 25 he tells them several different stories as answers. Now these same stories guide us, for even as we celebrate the birth that was, we too await the event which shall be. And as shown by the Tale of the Talents, we may have to reassess what we think waiting faithfully means.
In this tale, the servant who dares not to take risks is punished; the other two servants are lauded and called faithful because they use well what is given to them. Jesus then immediately clarifies with the next passage what it means to use well what the Master has placed in one's trust. His potent proclamation, that loving and serving God means actively loving and serving others, makes plain that we must not mistake the parable as an encouragement to be "the best" at something, jeopardizing relational and community time: faithfulness clearly requires sacrificing being the best for these things. A daunting investment. This parable calls us to take risks in multiplying what God has entrusted—yet we are shown clearly in what follows that doing so cannot be at the cost of loving, and thus living, well. For what is, after all, the greatest gift we've been given to tend?
And, for the faithful, to bury that is simply not an option.
"O Come all ye Faithful...O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord."
