NOTES for Luk 19:1-27
What do the silver minas, or talents in another version, mean in this parable? They are not simply “talents,” such as the ability to play the violin or multiply four-digit numbers in one’s head. Clearly, they are everything we have been given. (And what have we not been given?) Every good thing that appears in our lives, even only occasionally, can serve as suitable currency for acquiring the Kingdom of God. Not that it can be bought, but one can “invest” in it. Zacchaeus, for example, did not spare his money or his reputation as a respectable “bandit,” as people might say today. Many did not spare their lives, or at least their comfort and “worldly happiness.” Yet we often begrudge even a smile to someone we meet. We begrudge the effort needed to help those close to us and the time needed to stop amid the bustle and think about eternity. Spiritual stinginess leads to bankruptcy even faster than material stinginess. This is because, first, the return on spiritual transactions is much higher and, second, spiritual values cannot be kept as cash—they quickly lose their value. Thus, the Gospel calls us to put someone else’s “capital” into circulation as quickly as possible, especially since we have nothing of our own.