Building a Bunker :: The Parable of the Talents
sermon reflection for the week ending september 7, 2025 — matthew 25:14-30
“Have you ever wanted to hide away in a bunker or a cabin in the woods, off the grid?” That’s how Pastor Jeremy began his sermon this morning.
Reader, I have a couple thoughts about our desire to hide. What if we really want to be found when we think we want to disappear into hiding? What if, when we hide away, we feel a bit like the person in the Allegory of Plato’s Cave, who escaped the cave and enjoys the light, and sees that s/he must return to the cave to enlighten those who remain inside the cave? I think these different scenarios might point to the same dilemma.
*Note to readers. The sermon typically doesn’t get posted on YouTube as a stand alone video until Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning, when the sermon becomes available on YouTube, I’ll include it here in this essay.*
This week Pastor Jeremy preached on The Parable of the Talents. A master gave several servants bags of gold (measure of unit used = talents) to see how they would invest it, to see how they would spread the blessing given them. The man who received one bag of gold or one talent from the master buried that one bag or talent in the ground, he build a bunker for the blessing given him and so the blessing never amounted to anything.
I remember this parable from my childhood religious upbringing, I frequently think about it when I think about the ways we move through the world with the skills and knowledge and blessings this life has given us. Do we build a bunker, go into our safe space and walk ourselves away from the world around us? What then becomes of us and our many gifts and talents and blessings? Love only means something when we share it with those around us. Doesn’t this remind you of call-in versus call-out culture?
Note: The NIV translation which I’ve shared below refers to “bags of gold” rather than talents.
The Parable of the Bags of Gold
14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’
21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Pastor Jeremy called his sermon for this week Building a Bunker.
How often do we find ourselves building emotional and spiritual bunkers to hide from people? How often do we find ourselves building bunkers of self protection whilst we wait for Jesus to return.
(My thoughts sitting in church, listening to Pastor Jeremy — in Matthew 16:25, didn’t Jesus say that he who tries to save his life will lose it … aren’t we meant to serve the Lord by sharing our blessings?)
The parable tells a story of a master and three servants, the master represents Jesus, the servants represent us, humans, endowed with varying talents and treasures in our lives, with which G-d intends us to serve Him by serving others throughout our earthly existence.
Pastor Jeremy reminded us that we live in what theological scholars call the “already not yet,” he asked the rhetorical question — how do we operate in the already not yet?
Note about terminology . In Biblical culture, Talent refers to a unit of measure, specifically, it refers to a large unit of money 20 years of wages for the common labourer. In the Bible we see a theme of stewardship throughout — g-d owns everything in the world. In Psalm 24:1, David writes “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” In 1 Corinthians 6:19, Paul writes that our bodies are not our own. When we work for g-d it’s not because we owe Him, we never work for our salvation, we work from our salvation. We work out of gratitude out of what He’s done for us. It’s like children who want to help their parents. G-d invites us to be participants in His work.
The first and second servants exhibited diligence and courage—they invested their own time and energy in an effort to multiple the money given them by the master.
G-d calls us to live fruitful lives in the way these two servants have done—we must live our lives with purpose.
Pastor Jeremy talked about the Three Ts — time talent treasures.
Time. Do we number our days? Psalm 90:12 says “teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Meaning, the psalmist David pleads to G-d to be aware of the limited time we have in this life.
In Ephesians, 5:15-16, Paul writes, “be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” What does my calendar communicate about my values? Does my calendar show that I use my time wisely? Do I spend my time chasing worldly endeavours? Do I spend my time devoting time to heavenly endeavours? Do I spend my time taking time to spend time with Jesus and read His Word, listening and feeling for the Holy Spirit? Do I spend my time serving others through the church? Pastor Jeremy mentions hospitality, and the importance of building and nurturing friendships.
Talents. Have we leveraged the skills and abilities g-d gave to us? G-d intends us to use our talents to their full potential. When we do so G-d gives us spiritual gifts to help us serve the church. We ought to think of church as a living breathing body, the body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12:12 Paul writes, “just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.”
As we live a life of faithfulness to g-d, we receive spiritual gifts, such as wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, discernment, prophecy, serving/helps, teaching, encouragement/exhortation, giving, leadership, mercy, and evangelism.
The Calling is for all of us. We all have a Calling.
“G-d dealt it I felt it others smelt it.” —Blayne Banting
Treasures. Money. Mathew 6:21 says “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Pastor Jeremy reminds us that, of 40 parables that Jesus teaches, 30 are about money. G-d wants us to give Him the first of our fruits.
“Gain all you canSave all you canGive all you can”— John WesleyThe pursuit of life calls us to balance three main life tasks — gain, save, give.
G-d calls us to be a bridge, He doesn’t calls us to be a bunker. Are you living in a bunker? Are you hiding? Why? Have you decided to hide because of disenfranchisement and hurt? Maybe when you’ve hidden yourself away in sorrow and despair, you really yearn for others to see you? That’s deep, isn’t it? It certainly resonates for me. What if being seen by Jesus sufficed? Can you hear Him knocking on the door of your bunker heart?
Note in the painting the door has no door knob? The door only opens from the inside, you must open the door to your bunker, no one else can do that, not even Jesus. Free Will requires us to choose Him … freely. The Holy Spirit, the felt sense and experience of G-d, beckons. When we still our hearts, as in a kind of diastole, when we open ourselves up to life’s possibilities, we stand a better chance of experiencing the movement of the Holy Spirit around us and even within us. We must answer the call, though. Come out of the bunker and live purposefully, acknowledge your blessings and share them in faithfulness. Communion with others requires us to make a commitment to use our time talents and treasures for the greater good.
Reader, how can you and I make ourselves good and faithful servants?
Hiding and protecting ourselves feels easy and alluring. Emerging from the bunker to serve and love and give of ourselves feels much more difficult and can seem quite scary—that’s the task G-d has given us when He gave you and I our life.
I wish readers a purposeful and joyful week and a productive and peaceful launch into September.