by Fr. Edward Foley, Capuchin<\/em><\/p>\n While I not only appreciate This is one of those moments.<\/p>\n The point revolves around a famous animal image While employed by various authors, The reason for this excursion into <\/span>ducks and rabbits, Today\u2019s gospel, for example, is not only quite familiar Consequently, this gospel is often interpreted A closer reading of this gospel parable in context, however, T<\/span>he celebrated preacher and teacher<\/span> Eugene Lowry First, there is no place in the parable that the slaves are told to invest the money. Second, these are huge amounts of money. Third, according to some scholars, Fourth, Jewish teaching <\/span>often speaks of the wisdom Finally, the Master gives no indication when or even if When compiling these oddities Rather than a cautionary tale about hiding your talents, The Master certainly is no \u201cGod\u201d or \u201cJesus\u201d figure And then there\u2019s the third slave, What if he was the pious Jew And what does he get for his honesty? His integrity? His ethics? If we reinsert this parable into the whole of the gospel of Matthew, The previous parable, we heard last week, Makes me wonder whether our treasure-burying servant And then there is next week\u2019s narrative, In my imagination But maybe even more. A number of years ago I heard a segment from the It was entitled: \u201cI believe in Integrity\u201d [6]<\/p>\n The author wrote: I believe in integrity. It\u2019s a belief that\u2019s tested in those gut-wrenching moments when conflicting values pull me in opposite directions.<\/p>\n Back in the early 1980s, I was in a training session for mental health workers who were volunteering to provide counseling to cancer patients who had a terminal diagnosis. Each of us was given 16 index cards and asked to write on each the names of people, abilities, things, and values we hold dear. In the course of our imagined cancer, we had to surrender cards or somewhat abruptly have them taken from us.<\/p>\n At the very end I only had two cards: One read \u201cIntegrity\u201d and the other read \u201cMy Family.\u201d How could I choose between these two; such a choice was unfair and impossible. My initial thought was that I would give up my integrity, because I love my daughters and would want their comfort at my death. But then, I would realize that dying without integrity might be worse. I drifted back and forth, not wanting to choose. In the end, I uneasily kept the integrity card because I reasoned that if I lost my family, integrity would still be possible; if I lost my integrity, my life would be without value.<\/p>\n Maintaining our integrity So, in these challenging times we commit ourselves to a renewed sense of integrity \u201cGod, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, [1] https:\/\/www.illusionsindex.org\/i\/duck-rabbit<\/a><\/p>\n [2] Richard Swanson is a helpful resource here at https:\/\/provokingthegospel.wordpress.com\/2017\/11\/13\/a-provocation-twenty-fourth-sunday-after-pentecost-november-19-2017-matthew-2514-30\/<\/a>; also Stan Duncan at http:\/\/jubileejusticeeconomics.blogspot.com\/2014\/11\/the-parable-of-faithful-servant.html<\/a><\/p>\n [3] E.g., Tractate Bava Metzia 42 in the Talmud.<\/p>\n [4] Ex 22:20-30<\/p>\n [5] Leviticus 25:23-28<\/p>\n
\nbut regularly celebrate Christian liturgy in general
\nand its various readings and preaching
\nas essentially a word-centered
\nnarrative event,
\nthere are sometimes it would be useful
\n<\/span>to have access to a projector
\n<\/span>or video screen
\n<\/span>during the preaching to help make a point.<\/span><\/p>\n
\ncreated by an unnamed illustrator in late 19th century Germany.
\nFrom one perspective,
\nthe figure appears to be a duck.
\nYet from another angle, it seems to be a rabbit.
\nYou can easily find the image on the internet
\nby searching \u201cduck or rabbit illusion\u201d search. [1]<\/p>\n
\nit was made famous by the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein
\nwho used it to illustrate two different ways of seeing.
\nHe labeled these \u201cseeing that\u201d and \u201cseeing as\u201d
\nand the dawning awareness
\nthat it is not just a duck but also a rabbit.
\nThis change in perspective
\nis what he called \u201cnoticing an aspect\u201d
\nsince nothing has physically changed in the illustration
\nnor in our physiology of seeing
\nbut only in our perception.<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>illusions and Wittgenstein,
\n<\/span>seeing and not seeing,
\n<\/span>is because the <\/span>meaning of the <\/span>Word of God in general,
\n<\/span>and today\u2019s readings in particular,
\n<\/span>may not always be as <\/span>obvious or transparent
\n<\/span>as <\/span>they first appear.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>but <\/span>the very word \u201ctalent,\u201d
\n<\/span>as in <\/span>the popular \u201cAmerica\u2019s Got Talent\u201d show,
\n<\/span>entered our vocabulary from <\/span>this<\/span> ancient <\/span>usage
\n<\/span>as a <\/span>form of currency
\n<\/span>but now means <\/span>a special gift or skill.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>as a condemnation of those who do not use their skills,
\n<\/span>who bury their light under a bushel basket<\/span> (Mt. 5:14-15),
\n<\/span>and who take the easy way out
\n<\/span>either in worldly ways or the <\/span>call to holiness.<\/span><\/p>\n
\ncould provide a radical change of perspective
\nand reveal that maybe the 3rd slave was not a bum.
\nThat the Master was the true slacker
\nand the servant with the \u201cburying gene\u201d is really the hero.<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>suggests that one key way to <\/span>shift perspective<\/span> o<\/span>n <\/span>a reading
\n<\/span>is to look for what he calls the \u201coops\u201d in the text.
\n<\/span>And today’s Gospel <\/span>has <\/span>a multitude<\/span> of them.
\n<\/span>Here are a few of <\/span>key <\/span>oddities<\/span> Matthew serves up for us. [2]<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nThe Master simply gives it and goes away.<\/p>\n
\nSome estimate that 1 talent is worth about $1.25 million.
\nSo 5 talents is a whopping 6.25 million,
\nwhich the returning master considers a trifle,
\nnoting the first slaves were
\n\u201cfaithful in small matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nthe highest legal interest rate allowed then was about 12%,
\nthough in reality, many lenders of the time
\ncharged as much as 50%
\nand the only reasonable explanation for 2 servants
\nto \u201cdouble\u201d their master\u2019s holdings
\nwas probably through such loan sharking.<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>of burying money in the ground as a way to safeguard i<\/span>t. [3]<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nhe is coming back; he could have just moved to another place.<\/p>\n
\nand gathering these multiple \u201coopses,\u201d
\none can come to a very different interpretation of this Gospel.<\/p>\n
\na parable about potential payoffs from taking big risks,
\nor a Gospel admonition not to displease God,
\nmasquerading as a pre-Christian billionaire,
\nmaybe it is a more subtle <\/span>teaching<\/span>:
\n<\/span>about resistance to mercenary business <\/span>deals,
\n<\/span>about <\/span>whistleblowing in the face of unethical practices,
\n<\/span>about <\/span>safeguarding another\u2019s assets, even livelihood
\n<\/span>without benefit to ourselves.
\n<\/span>And maybe <\/span>even about <\/span>the cost of integrity.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>and as one commentator suggested
\n<\/span>he is really the lazy one in <\/span>this<\/span> tale,
\n<\/span>living off other people\u2019s <\/span>work on his behalf,
\n<\/span>punishing those who do not increase his wealth
\n<\/span>while he\u2019s metaphorically lounging on some
\n<\/span>Mediterranean beach<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nthe one too often pummeled in our preaching
\nas an apathetic ne\u2019er-do-well
\nwhose action and very person has \u201closer\u201d branded all over it.<\/p>\n
\nwho followed traditional ethical teaching,
\nwho followed the Torah that forbade lending money at interest, [4]
\nwho stood up to the 1% of his day,
\nwho regularly profited from payday loans to the poor,
\nwho planted the money in the ground that the Bible teaches
\n<\/span>is ultimately owned by God, [5]
\ninvesting in that sacred arena where the poor plant and sew
\nrather than in some unjust economic system.<\/p>\n
\nWell, if this parable is to be extracted
\nfrom the whole of the gospel narrative,
\nhe sounds like he got fired, exiled, humiliated and erased.
\n<\/span>Moral of the story: denouncing injustice is dangerous \u2026
\nBut maybe there is more.<\/p>\n
\nwe see that it is the second in a series of three tales
\nthat come at the very end of this gospel,
\ncomprising the final teachings of the earthly Jesus.<\/p>\n
\nwas the story of the wise and foolish virgins
\na cautionary tale of staying awake and being prepared.<\/p>\n
\nfrom today\u2019s gospel
\nhad managed a chat with some of the foolish virgins
\nand learned from their mistake
\nand, unlike the two other slaves,
\nactually did anticipate the return of their Master.<\/p>\n
\nthe final wisdom tale in the Gospel of Matthew \u2013
\nthe last judgment instruction with its famous heavenly divide
\n<\/span>between sheep and goats,
\nbetween those who had cared for the least:
\nthe hungry, the naked, the sick and imprisoned
\nand those who did not.<\/p>\n
\nthe earth-banking slave
\nwho refused to exploit the poor through shady loans
\nwith exorbitant interest rates
\nwas certainly on the side of the blessed.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nThat this humiliated outcast,
\nat least temporarily relegated to the region of darkness
\na place of wailing and suffering,
\nis an apt Christ figure,
\nwhose public ministry on behalf of outcasts,
\nwhose dedication to the marginalized and powerless
\ncondemned him as well
\nto the darkness of Golgotha
\nand the suffering of the Cross.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThis I believe\u201d project that aired on national public radio.<\/p>\n
\nas human beings,
\nas Christians,
\nas Children of the Light, as St. Paul calls us today,
\nIs never easy.
\nAnd maybe even less so in these post-election days.<\/p>\n
\nand summon the spirit of that great American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr
\na sense of serenity in that struggle as we pray:<\/p>\n
\ncourage to change the things I can,
\n<\/span>and wisdom to know the difference\u201d [7]
\nthrough Christ our Lord, Amen.<\/p>\n
\n