Today’s Parable of the Servants/Talents (Matthew 25:14-30 NLT) seems easy enough to figure out – see what you think:

     “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last – dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.

     “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.

     “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’

     “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

     “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’

     “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

     “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’

     “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’

     “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

     What’s the plain-reading takeaway? Many in our Capitalistic culture can easily assume what is being communicated here: Until the Master returns, we are to be good stewards of what has been entrusted to us, getting a good return for hard work which will be rewarded. If we don’t, we’ll be in big trouble.  For those who are driven to achieve, this parable comes as marching orders to go be as successful as possible.  For those with less drive, it may land as a threat.  Apparently, the reward is great for those that do well with what they have to work with – a promotion to partner complete with a celebration reception at the country club where they were just awarded membership!  For those who are lazy and blame the Master for their failure, they simply get what they deserve – nothing at all.

     This all tracks.  God expects us to be good stewards with what we have. We shouldn’t be lazy or come up with excuses for why we fail.  Work hard and get rewarded.  I have preached the text this way, which may have been how Matthew intended it to be read and applied, perhaps with Jewish religious leaders as his target audience.  Assuming the Master to be God, commentators have framed the third servant’s response as a lame excuse indicting himself, not the Master/God, which the Master/God addresses.  I suppose there is no need to say anything more, then.  I yield back the time allotted to you – go enjoy an extra 20 minutes of being a good, hard-working steward who will one day be rewarded.  I may even utter a prayer for those of you who are inclined toward laziness.  You’re welcome.

     But what if biblical scholar William Herzog was onto something?  In his book, Parables as Subversive Speech: Jesus as Pedagogue of the Oppressed, he once again reminds us of Jesus’ context, living in an advanced agrarian society.  What if the Master described isn’t God – what if it was simply a Master figure that would have been well known by Jesus’ original audience?  What if Jesus was describing a scenario that was commonly understood by his listeners: an aristocrat of sorts had his servants work the land he stole to gain the highest profit possible, with little or no concern for the peasant workers who did all the work?

     Yet in this familiar story, Jesus, as usual, throws in a twist: the third servant goes rogue.  He doesn’t participate in the same scheme as the others, and then, in an act of incredible defiance, tells the Master off to his face! Whaaaaaat?  Why would he dare such a move?

     In previous teachings we have learned much about how the wealthy got their wealth during the time in which Jesus lived.  The rich folk in the big city of Jerusalem acquired land through predatory loans granted to farm owners who were struggling to survive.  When they couldn’t make their payment, the land would be taken from them. Once in the hands of the wealthy, the land would be planted with profit in mind more than subsistence: vineyards.  This process would continue as much as possible, with the wealthy hiring servants to carry out the dirty work while they lived in luxury among their peers.

     The wealthy could never become wealthy without the peasants who worked the land.  The servants would never enjoy any wealth apart from carrying out the abuse inflicted on the peasants.  In the parable, the servants who doubled the Master’s money did so only through the oppression of the peasants (skimming as much as they could for themselves along the way).  The third servant couldn’t stomach it anymore, refused to make the Master any more money since it would cause further harm to the peasants, and simply called out the Master for what he was doing.

     The Master’s response? Entirely predictable. Rage against the one who was bucking the system that kept him rich and getting richer.  The Master’s scheme was blown. The third servant was the whistleblower.

     The whistleblower was brave enough to blow the whistle. To say, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!” even if it hurt, because if he didn’t, it meant a lot of others were going to hurt.  Have you ever been in a situation where you couldn’t NOT blow the whistle? What did it take to move you to action? What was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back for you?

     Rev. Travis Norvell, pastor of Judson Memorial Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN (a sister church of CrossWalk), couldn’t help but blow his whistle. When ICE showed up in great numbers with force near his church, he and surrounding neighbors gathered to provide eyes, ears, and accountability to the unlawful harassment and arrest of immigrants and US citizens.  When neighbors saw ICE in their neighborhood or on the street, they blew their whistles.  When they witnessed ICE agents harassing people, they blew their whistles.  Collectively, they blew their whistles so loud that ICE finally had to direct their terrorizing elsewhere.  T-Shirts were made with the slogan, “Blessed are the Whistleblowers, for they play the Music of Salvation.” Salvation indeed. Saved from unlawful harassment, unlawful arrest, unlawful detention, and even death.

     Before our current president began his second term, while on the campaign trail, he promoted the agenda of Project 2025 which he claimed to know nothing about (even though it was written by close supporters and eventual cabinet members – it’s like he was lying or something).  Part of that project included aggressive, inhumane, and deeply unchristian treatment of immigrants.  He promised he was going to bring it, and he did.  Nobody was exactly sure where the terror of ICE would land, but it was surely immanent.  When it came to Minneapolis, despite bitter cold temps, people rose to blow their whistles. They couldn’t help themselves.

     For what do you feel compelled to blow your whistle?  Will it require a literal whistle or a metaphorical one?  Either way, when and where will you release its power?  Yes, it will require risk.  Yes, it will make noise.  And yes, it’s music just may be the sound of salvation who needs you to use your lungs.