The parable of the Talents must be heard in the context of Matthew’s storyline. Jerusalem is about to fall. Jesus has repeatedly warned everyone to make ready for the end. In American terms, the market is about to crash forever. The makers of widgets and the economy that supports them are doomed. In this context, only a fool (or someone who has not read Matthew—is that a tautology?) would take the Parable of the Talents as advice on how to engage people to build a better marketing plan. Quite the opposite, Matthew’s story is a cautionary tale against trusting in mammon, which is of little use in light of chapter 24. So why do we repeatedly blaspheme Matthew’s teaching by using his parable to talk about material things like stewardship and building programs? For the same reason our society belittles teachers and worships the merchant class: because given a choice between God and mammon, we choose mammon. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Matthew 25:19-23. Episode 386 Matthew 25:19-23; Music: A Successful Company by MusicLFiles Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7966-a-successful-company License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license