Now, you've been told the person with ten returned with ten more, the person given five came back with five more, and the single-talent person was fearful and just buried his talent in the ground. The writer is never heard from again. Shows you what happens when an editor goes to work. Or the price of news stock rises.

The person with ten talents actually had only six, but he went into politics and his media manager added topspin to the campaign bio; the rest of the story is essentially true. He eventually became a Senator and pushed through bills that would clean up the nation's air and water, provide job retraining that would take tens of thousands of people off welfare, finding them jobs with information and service employers, and supply medical insurance to everyone who couldn't afford it. All the bills were vetoed, because they made too much sense. He then chaired hearings which revealed that the national debt could be retired permanently by doing the same to all IRS employees. He was run out of office and taxed into oblivion. Nevertheless, his ideas and his speeches inspired a generation to continue reaching toward his goals. At the end of his career, God said, "Blessings on you. You have labored valiantly in my most fertile ground and brought forth a mighty tree, which will feed and shade a host of people for many years to come. Enter into my kingdom with joy."

The reported recipient of five talents actually received only three, two of which came C.O.D., but with a money-back guarantee. She went into entertainment, and quite naturally some of the details of her story got fuzzed a bit. She became a superstar. Her movies made millions for the producers, but strangely never quite made enough to trigger the profit-sharing clauses in her contracts. She had her pick of the plum roles, but would as likely be found premiering an unknown playwright's work in a semiconverted barn in New England, or playing a minor supporting roll in a civic theatre's annual melodrama, or working with young actors preparing for school productions. She brought grace, imagination and wonder to every role she did, from her earliest days as an ingenue to her last powerful parts as a rickety old woman. The Actor's union finally got her barred from professional work because she was willing to work extra hours without pay to prepare for a performance. At the end of her illustrious career God said to her, "Blessings on you. You have toiled diligently in my fruitful garden and brought forth a radiant stand of flowers which have made the world more beautiful for all who pass its way. Enter into my kingdom with joy."

We'll return to the one-talent servant in a moment.

The writer was just that and a bit of a musician, no more. He went to work for a large, metropolitan church where he offered his talents freely, writing articles for various church publications, songs for the choir, and sometimes just writing for the sheer joy of it. And the church rejoiced in his work and looked on him with great favor.

But after a time some in the church began to complain that the articles were too long, the songs too confusing, and the lyrics in questionable taste. Finally they said, "Don't write this and don't write that because we have to be very careful what we hear in God's House." Reflecting that God had thoughtlessly neglected to mention anything about being careful to him, much less said anything about a house, but figuring it was probably buried in the Environmental Impact Statement he never got around to reading, the writer left.

And somewhat to the writer's surprise, God said, "Blessings on you. You have lived and worked and striven in my fertilizer pit. You're through with that, but your work's not done; go clean up and I'll send you out on your next assignment. And try to keep downwind."

And that's the Parable of the Talents.

Oh, the one-talent man? He was Chairman of the Church Board.