“A man going on a journey

called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.

To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one--

to each according to his ability. Then he went away.

Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them,

and made another five.

Likewise, the one who received two made another two. 

But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground

and buried his master's money.”

We are all familiar with the fight or flight response. Triggered by fear and from an evolutionary perspective, it helps us to survive. We get amped up for the battle or we get ready to run. Every athlete will recognize that response, at least early on, at the prospect of the game winning shot. Every parent will recognize it when danger, physical or psychological, threatens their child. Some people seek this hyper sensitive state and the dopamine produced in the brain through roller coasters, extreme sports, horror movies, or haunted houses. Fear leads us to an excited state, but another response is also possible. Sometimes, fear triggers a freeze response. We become so overwhelmed by fear that we can neither fight nor run. We’re stuck, as it were, in place, unable to muster the ability to act. 

Trepidation, nervousness, anxiety, dread, desperation, panic, horror, and terror are all derivative of fear. They represent a spectrum of the intensity of fear in our lives. Each carries with it the possible response of fight, flight, or freeze. While many of us may have fears or phobias related to specific things like spiders, needles, or heights, most of us have some deeper anxieties around particularly human concerns. We are afraid of being left out, excluded, rejected, or shamed. We are afraid of being trapped, unable to exercise our own autonomy because of illness, economic factors, political realities, or, even, our responsibilities in marriage or parenting (or pastoring). We are afraid of death, the future, or anything unknown (like when is this pandemic going to be over). Each of these deep human fears may lead us to mobilize for action, avoid the conflict, or simply freeze. As an escape from fear, we may turn to addictive behaviors or substances. 

The man in today’s gospel who received one talent according to his abilities was afraid and he froze. He didn’t run away with the talent to another town to begin a new life (a talent could have been worth as much as 20 years worth of income to the servant). He also didn’t seek to increase the value of the talent (like the other two, or by putting it in the bank). Instead, he froze and buried the talent. He was overwhelmed by the responsibility and didn’t act. I have been there. At the first three Boy Scout meetings I attended when I was 12, I stood behind a pole in the church basement to observe, not talking to anyone. When assigned to ministry training on a college campus and needing to counsel a student on a difficult topic for his own good, I simply steered clear of the issue. I have occasionally buried my talent in fear. 

Yet, the invitation from Jesus in the midst of fear is to trust. It is to have faith that the giver of the talent knows what he is doing. Our response to fear does not need to be fight, flight, or freeze. With God’s grace, we can transcend the emotional and evolutionary response to our fears and intentionally trust God to act with purpose. So often, Jesus says, “Do not be afraid.” He is with us. We can stand and act with confidence as we trust in God’s love and providence for us. Jesus didn’t run, fight, or freeze. He took every step intentionally on the way to the cross trusting in the will and love of the Father. He transcended his fear with trust. May we follow in his footsteps.