WARMING UP:  How good are we at imagining the sums involved in corporate fraud & collapses?

TREASURES OLD & NEW: Identify God at work in anything this week?

ENTERING INTO THE STORY:

14-18    Given that Jesus is illustrating God's Rule, what might the fact that the man hands so much over to his workers say about God's way of working? Is this the principle behind all stewardship, or is there more to it than that? But shouldn't God give everything to everybody equally? What explanation do we have / do we need for the fact that God doesn't appear to  give everybody a level playing field? What have we done with, how have we 'invested' what God's invested in us?

19-28   Is it easier to see how others aren't applying what they've been given, than it is to see that we're not returning much on God's investment in us either? Might one spiritual gift we need be to focus on what we're doing for God, & not what someone else is doing? Is there a connection here with the famous 'protestant work ethic'? Given the rises & falls in financial markets, is what the third person does a tempting strategy to follow? Would God survive as a Finanical Adviser in today's world?

29-30   Can we think of ways in which we see this principle being applied today? Is it too easy to use it to justify some of the 'ripping off' practices we complain of big business employing today? Or isn't that the same issue? Where does any of this leave people who're 'left with nothing', literally in some cases? Have they just not used what God's given them well enough? And deserve to be punished for it? Is there a remote possibility that Jesus has his tongue in his cheek in this whole episode?

            What is the worst kind of 'outer darkness' we can imagine? Or, is Jesus talking about something beyond imagining? What would make us weep & gnash our teeth as Jesus says?