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Matthew 25:14-30
With thanks to page sponsor 2014:
Dirk van Doorene,
in thanks for the ministry of
St Matthew's Uniting Church, Sydney

• Reading the Text:
  • NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
  • Greek Interlinear Bible, ScrTR, ScrTR t, Strong, Parsing, CGTS, CGES id, AV.
  • The Bible Gateway: NRSV, RSV, NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
  • The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Greek text with concordance, commentaries.
  • The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary & sermons.
• Historical References, Commentary and Comparative Texts:
  • The Five Gospels Parallels, John W. Marshall, University of Toronto.
  • XLIII.22-38; Tatian's Diatessaron (c. 150-160).
  • III.XVII.3, IV.XI.2, Adversus Haereses, Irenaeus of Lyons. (c. 180)
  • 1.10, Paedagogus, Clement of Alexandria (c 200)
  • I.1, Stromata, Clement of Alexandria (c 200)
  • Chapter XXXV, On the Resurrection of the Flesh,  Tertullian (c. 211)
  • II.XI.4, First Principles (De Principiis), Origen. (c.225)
  • XIV.8, XIV.12, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Origen. (c.247)
  • Homily LXXVIII - Matthew 25:1-30, Homilies on the Gospel of St. Matthew, St. Chrysostom (c. 380)
  • Historia Calamitatum: The Story of My Misfortunes, Pierre Abélard / Peter Abelard, c. 1140.
  • From the Catena Aurea, Patristic Commentary by St Thomas Aquinas.
  • From the Geneva Notes.
    • "Usury or loaning money at interest is strictly forbidden by the Bible, Ex 22:25-27 De 23:19,20. ... Finally the master said to him sarcastically why did you not add insult to injury and loan the money out at interest so you could call your master a "usurer" too! If the servant had done this, his master would have been responsible for his servant's actions and guilty of usury."
  • From Matthew Henry's Commentary.
    • "Christ keeps no servants to be idle: they have received their all from him, and have nothing they can call their own but sin. Our receiving from Christ is in order to our working for him."
  • From Wesley's Notes.
    • "So mere harmlessness, on which many build their hope of salvation, was the cause of his damnation!"
  • From the Commentary on the Whole Bible (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
    • "He takes the servant's own account of his demands, as expressing graphically enough, not the hardness which he had basely imputed to him, but simply his demand of a profitable return for the gift entrusted."
  • From The People's New Testament, B.W. Johnson, 1891.
    • "Every attainment of honor, wealth, knowledge, or spiritual grace helps to render further attainment more easy and more assured; while it is spiritually as well as materially true that "the destruction of the poor is their poverty" (Prov. 10:15)."
• Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
  • Commentary, Matthew 25:14-30, David Schnasa Jacobsen, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2017.
  • Living by the Word, Audrey West, The Christian Century, 2017.
  • The Center for Excellence in Preaching, resources from Calvin Theological Seminary: Comments & Observations, Textual Points, Illustration Ideas, 2017.
  • "Look to the Acorns," Ragan Sutterfield, Radical Discipleship, 2017.
  • "What Do You Have To Lose?" Janet H Hunt, Dancing with the Word, 2017.
  • "Entrustment," Karoline Lewis, Dear Working Preacher, 2017.
  • Provoking the Gospel, Richard Swanson, 2017.
  • peaceonjustice, Barbara Born, 2017.
  • "Dreadful or Wonderful Piety," Glenn Monson, Law & Gospel Everywhere, 2017.
  • "The Coming of the King," Commented Bible Passages from Taize, 2015.
  • Commentary, Matthew 25:14-30, Greg Carey, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2014.
    • "Does the parable of the talents admonish disciples that they'd better get useful or they might face judgment? Or does the parable subvert traditional images of an authoritarian and threatening Jesus?"
  • "How Do You Imagine God?" David Lose, ...in the Meantime, 2014.
    • "Jesus has spent his life and ministry proclaiming God's kingdom, feeding the hungry, healing and sick, offering forgiveness, and welcoming ALL who recognize their need into the loving embrace of God. And for that message he is crucified. That's how much God wants us to know of God's love. And just in case we miss or underestimate that message, God raises Jesus on the third day that we might know that life is stronger than death and love more powerful than hate."
  • Pulpit Fiction, plus podcast. Reflections of lectionary text, pop culture, current events, etc. Robb Mc Coy and Eric Fistler, 2017.
  • "The Politics of the Talents," Mark Davis, Political Theology, 2014.
    • "It is a descriptive parable of someone who refused to participate in that process, in a situation where absentee landowners and their lackeys were the primary interface between Jewish peasantry and the Roman Empire. That servant—deemed "lazy" and unfaithful by the Empire—pays an awful price for refusing to play along."
  • "Return on Investments," Bob Cornwall, Ponderings on a Faith Journey, 2014.
    • "Living (as we do) in the interregnum (in between times), we should be faithful with the resources given to us. Rather than burying them, we should be investing them. That is, we should look at life through the lens of abundance rather than scarcity."
  • "the Parable of the Faithful Servant," Stan Duncan, Jubilee Justice Blog, 2014.
  • "Merit Badges," Alan Brehm, The Waking Dreamer.
    • "If the parable of the talents is not ironical, then the 'Kingdom of Heaven' is about a strict system of earning rewards, and there's not much room for grace or forgiveness or mercy."
  • "Gift as Burden/Gift as Freedom," Clint Schnekloth, Question the Text, 2014.
    • "So what does it look like to preach the gift until it actually frees?"
  • "Does our performance match our profession?" Steve Godfrey, Church in the World, 2014.
    • "How about you? When you look at your own performance, where are you doing well? Where do you need to do better?"
  • "Burying the Talent," Suzanne Guthrie, At the Edge of the Enclosure, 2014.
  • "Good and Faithful Servants," Thomas Beam, 2014.
  • "The Fearful Slave," Janet H. Hunt, Dancing with the Word, 2014.
    • "What do you think the 'talents' represent in this story?"
  • "The Risk Takers," Nancy Rockwell, The Bite in the Apple, 2014.
    • "Love and faith, like money, require the taking of risks in order to grow."
  • Radical Gratitude, lectionary-based stewardship, Northwest United Methodist Foundation. (.pdf)
  • Evangelio Comentario del San Mateo 25:14-30 por Justin Eller, Working Preacher, 2014.
  • Commentary, Matthew 25:14-30, Carla Works, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2011.
    • "The parable of the talents is among the most abused texts in the New Testament."
  • Holy Textures, Understanding the Bible in its own time and in ours, Matthew 25:14-30, David Ewart, 2011.
    • "This a Wisdom parable teaching us about the perils and difficulties of the ways of the world until the Kingdom comes."
  • Parable of the Talents, audio telling, story in episodes, graphic, audio and written commentaries. Go Tell Communications, Biblical Storytelling for the Global Village, 2011.
  • Lectionary Blogging, John Petty, Progressive Involvement, 2011.
  • Two Sides to Every Story, Linda Fabian Pepe, Theological Stew, 2011.
    • "So when the wealthy man comes back, the first two servants get rewarded for doing what they were charged to do… make money.  The third servant, because he hid his talent, gets punished- he is cast out.  But it is this third servant, in this version of the story, who might be called the hero.  Because it is the third servant who saw."
  • "Reading the Text Abundantly or Protectively," Russell Rathbun, The Hardest Question, 2011.
    • "What is the difference?"
  • "Are You Ready to Risk?" Peter Woods, I Am Listening, 2011.
    • "To find the access point for this teaching in today’s gospel, one has to backup to Matthew 24:3."
  • "Good and Faithful," Fr. Rick Morley, a garden path, 2011.
  • "No Time for Timidity," Alyce M. McKenzie, Patheos, 2011.
  • Behind the Scenes at Bernie Madoff's: A parable, Scarlet Letter Bible, 2011.
  • Comentario del Evangelio por Amaury Tañón-Santos, San Mateo 25:14-30, Working Preacher, 2011.
  • Commentary, Matthew 25:14-30, Dirk G. Lange, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2008.
  • Comments (commentary) and Clippings (technical notes for in-depth study), Chris Haslam, Anglican Diocese of Montreal.
  • "Talents: Five, Two and One," Gospel Analysis, Sermons from Seattle, Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle, Washington. Detailed background and exegesis.
    • "To whom much is given much will be required. We know that this principle is true even if a person is not religious. That is, a common adage for the whole world is the intuitive awareness that the more gifts/resources/abilities that God has given to you, the more that life/God requires of you."
  • "First Thoughts on Year A Gospel Passages in the Lectionary," William Loader, Pentecost 23, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
    • "The tragedy is that many people are afraid of losing or endangering God and so seek to protect God from adventures, to resist attempts at radical inclusion that might, they fear, compromise God's purity and holiness. Protecting God is a variant of not trusting God."
  • Exegetical Notes by Brian Stoffregen, at CrossMarks.
    • "When the master "gives" ("paradidomi") his property to the slaves, does the money then belong to the slaves -- thus presenting God as being very generous? Or are the slaves just managers of their master's money -- thus presenting the slaves as stewards of what belongs to God?"
  • Dylan's Lectionary Blog, Proper 28. Biblical Scholar Sarah Dylan Breuer looks at readings for the coming Sunday in the lectionary of the Episcopal Church.
    • "The live question for us, I think, about this Sunday's gospel is whether we can really believe that, if we really can trust in that enough to risk living as Jesus taught us rather than according to the demands of those who try to set themselves up in Jesus' place as our lord, who try to enslave us to wordly standards by telling us that our security is in acquiring resources for ourselves and striking out at our enemies."
  • "The Parable of the Extortionist," Larry Broding's Word-Sunday.Com: A Catholic Resource for This Sunday's Gospel. Adult Study, Children's Story, Family Activity, Support Materials.
    • "Have you ever felt like an outcast? What attitude or chain of events caused your feelings?"
  • Matthew in the Margins, by Brian McGowan, Anglican priest in Western Australia.
  • "The Parable of the Talents," Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources. Includes detailed textual notes.
  • Wellspring of the Gospel, Ordinary 33A, Catherine McElhinney and Kathryn Turner, Weekly Wellsprings.
  • "The Parables in the Olivet Discourse," by Hampton Keathley IV at the Biblical Studies Foundation.
    • "The works are indicative of the relationship with the master. The third slave had no works which in the gospels is the same as having no faith."
  • "Parable of the Talents," wikipedia.
  • "Matthew's Nonviolent Jesus and Violent Parables," Barbara E. Reid, O.P., (other resources at) "Parables," Christian Reflection, The Center for Christian Ethics at Baylor University, 2006.
    • "Jesus' Sermon on the Mount instructs us to not return violence for violence; instead we should be like God, who offers boundless, gratuitous love to all. But in the same Gospel Jesus tells eight parables in which God deals violently with evildoers. Which of the divine ways are we to imitate?"
• Recommended articles from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are linked below. ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices.Annotated list of "starting place" articles at ATLAS for this week's texts (includes direct links).
  • Bartlett, David L., "Rejoice in the Lord Always," The Living Pulpit, 1996. (see Joy issue focus of The Living Pulpit, 5.4, 1996.)
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Brisson, E. Carson, "Between Text & Sermon, Matthew 25:14-30," Interpretation, 2002.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Carpenter, John B., "The Parable of the Talents in Missionary Perspective: A Call for Economic Spirituality," Missiology, 1997.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Chenoweth, Ben, "Identifying the Talents: Contextual Clues for the Interpretation of the Parable of the Talents," Tyndale Bulletin, 2005.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Chilton, Bruce D., "Talents and the Art of the Parable," The Living Pulpit, 1997.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Dipboye, Carolyn, "Matthew 25:14-30--To Survive or to Serve," Review & Expositor, 1995.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Hiebert, Paul G and Sam Larsen, "Partnership in the Gospel: Misers, Accountants and Stewards," Direction, 1999.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Howell, James C., "Trojan Horse," the Christian Century, 2005.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Jones, Verity A., "Choosing Faith for Those Who Can't," Journal for Preachers, 2004.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Lovette, Roger, "On Not Missing the Circus," The Living Pulpit, 1997.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • McGaughy, Lane C., "Fear of Yahweh and the Mission of Judaism: A Postexilic Maxim and Its Early Christian Expansion in the Parable of the Talents," Journal of Biblical Literature, 1974.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Neville, David J., "Toward a Theology of Peace: Contesting Matthew's Violent Eschatology," Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 2007.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Reid, Barbara E., O.P., "Violent Endings in Matthew's Parables and Christian Nonviolence," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2004.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Steinmetz, David C., "Matthew 25:14-30," Interpretation, 1980.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Thysell, Carol, "Unearthing the Treasure, Unknitting the Napkin: The Parable of the Talents as a Justification for Early Modern Women's Preaching and Prophesying," Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, 1999.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Toussaint, Stanley D., "A Critique of the Preterist View of the Olivet Discourse," Bibliotheca Sacra, 2004.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Ukpong, Justin S., "The parable of the talents (Matt 25:14-30): commandation or critique of exploitation?: a social-historical and theological reading," Neotestamentica, 2014.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
• Sermons:
  • "How Are You Managing?" 26 Pentecost - 13 November 2005, Samuel Zumwalt, Göttinger Predigten im Internet: Every Sunday Sermons based on the RCL by a team of Lutheran theologians/ pastors.
  • "Talents: Five, Two and One," Sermons from Seattle, Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle, Washington.
  • "The Story of Two Parables," Phyllis Tickle, Day 1, 2002.
  • "Reluctant Servants," the Rev. Bob Bohl, Day 1, 1997.
  • Father Andrew M. Greeley, "Priest, Author, Sociologist," Commentary and Homily
    • Trinity, 2009
    • Ordinary 33, 2005
    • Ordinary 33, 2002
    • Ordinary 33, 1999
• With Children:
  • Worshiping with Children, Proper 28A, Including children in the congregation's worship, using the Revised Common Lectionary, Carolyn C. Brown, 2014. 2011.
  • "Storypath Lectionary Links: Connecting Children's Literature with our Faith Story," November 16, 2014, Union Presbyterian Seminary. Connections: Judges 4:1-7 and Back to Frnt and Upside Down by Claire Alexander, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 and Big Rain Coming by Katrina Germein, Matthew 25:14-30 and Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee. 2011.
  • "The Three Toolboxes," Charles Kirkpatrick, Sermons4kids.com.
  • "A Fearful Man Hides His Treasure," Sunday School Lessons: Family Bible Study, art projects, music, stories, etc.
• Drama:
  • "The Wizard of Odd," Christin Kuck, dramatix.
  • "Parable of the Talents," Mike Treachler, dramatix.
  • "Talents Anonymous!" Michele Pitman, dramatix.
  • "The Master Went on a Journey," from A Certain Jesus by Jose Ignacio and Maria Lopez Vigil. Ideal for catechetical and liturgical dramatization of today's gospel. Claretian Publications.
• Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
  • Clip Art Images: Matthew 25:14-30, Misioneros Del Sagrado Corazón en el Perú.
  • Matthew 25:14-30, Liturgical Drawing, Maria d.c. Zamora, Claretian Resources, Philippines. ("Download and use these for free.")
  • Matthew 25:14-30, at Cerezo Barredo's weekly gospel illustration. Liberation emphasis.
  • Bulletin Cover for Matthew 25:14-30, PowerPoint Slides for Matthew 25:14-30, Will Humes, Word & Table.
• Hymns and Music:
  • “O God, We Yearn for Safety”an original hymn by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette based on Jesus’ Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30). Tune: ANGEL’S STORY 7.6.7.6 D ("O Jesus, I Have Promised") and AURELIA (“The Church’s One Foundation”).
  • Hymnary.org, hymns, scores, media, information.
  • Contemporary/Praise Song suggestions, Together to Celebrate, David MacGregor.
  • Hymns with Scripture Allusions: Matthew 25:21, 23, 29. The Cyber Hymnal.
  • At Digital Hymnal (midi files, guitar chords, karaoke files, projection text):
    • Gleams of the Golden Morning
• Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
• Movies scenes with the following themes, listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
• Study Links and Resources for the Book of Matthew

• INDEX BY SCRIPTURE
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• NARRATIVE LECTIONARY RESOURCES
• DAILY LECTIONARY RESOURCES
• FESTIVALS/SPECIAL DAYS (includes Creation)
• FOR USE IN TIMES OF VIOLENCE
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• FOR USE IN TIMES OF NATURAL DISASTER

• Year C
• Maundy Thurs Apr 14
• Good Friday Apr 15
• Easter Day Apr 17
• Easter 2 Apr 24
• Easter 3 May 1
• Easter 4 May 8
• Easter 5 May 15
• Easter 6 May 22
• Ascension May 26
• Easter 7 May 29
• Pentecost June 5
  

• Calendars
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• YEAR B
• YEAR C

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