When Jesus speaks a parable in which there are several characters, the emphasis often falls on the third and final character to be mentioned, such as the Samaritan in the parable of the good Samaritan and the elder son in the parable of the prodigal son.
In the parable of this morning’s gospel reading, the focus again falls on the third character, the servant who took the one talent his master had given him and simply hid it in the ground. His reason for doing this was that he considered his master an overly demanding person and was afraid to take any risk with what he had been given. Rather than risk losing what he had been given, he hid it so as to be able to give it back.
The other two servants obviously had a different view of their master; they had the freedom to invest what they had been given. They seemed to have understood that their master would not blame them for trying and failing. The master had given them a gift; he never intended to look for it back; he simply wanted them to make good use of what he had given them.
We have all been gifted and graced in different ways by God. God wants us to serve one another out of what we have been given. Fear can sometimes hold us back, as it held back the third servant, fear of God, fear of others, fear of failure.
It was Mother Teresa of Calcutta who said that God does not ask us to be successful, just to be faithful. Jesus is suggesting through this parable that if we have enough trust in the God who loves us unconditionally we will have the freedom to give from what we have received, without worrying too much about success or failure