Astounding Gifts
A Sermon for the Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost
November 19, 3023 Preached at St. James’s
The Rev. Robin Teasley
Jesus said, “It is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” Matthew 25:14-30
What would you do if you won the lottery? What would you do if you unexpectedly received a great inheritance from a distant relative you didn’t know you had? Sometimes we sit around and dream about our answer to questions like these. Maybe we would quit our jobs, give away some of it, pay off loans, buy a new house or car for a family member or friend in need. Maybe we’d invest some, save some, travel the world. Maybe we would give a portion of it to the church, or to a nonprofit organization.
How many of us would bury the cold hard cash in the backyard? That would be an outrageous thing to do, don’t you think? Money is great in and of itself, but it has no value until you employ it. It’s wise to want some return on our investment, is it not?
The Gospel reading today might be about money. It’s a parable, so we know right off the bat that it can have many meanings. A parable can be exactly what we need to hear in any given time and place, because that’s how the Word of God works. Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies scholar, Amy Jill Levine, notes that “what makes parables mysterious or difficult is that they challenge us to look into the hidden aspects of our own values, our own lives. They bring to the surface unasked questions, and they reveal the answers we have always known, but refuse to acknowledge.” (Short Stories by Jesus, p 3)
Parable of the Hidden Treasure, Rembrandt
Our lectionary gives us an abundance of judgment parables every year around this time. These end of year texts often coincide with stewardship season and have us considering time, talent, and treasure. So, if you need to hear this as a parable about what you should do with your money, by all means listen, but I wonder if we might hear something more in today’s reading.
God has invested lavishly in us. We have been given the Gospel, the good news. We have been given God’s very self in the life of Jesus, the ultimate expression of God’s love for us. And each of us has been given unique gifts because we are made in God’s image.
Thinking about what God gives us, and the investment, the trust, that God has placed in us, perhaps we can begin to see that generosity and faithfulness and sharing the gospel are all connected. When we are passionate about something we can’t help but talk about it and share it, and we become brave about living into it. What we do matters. What we do shows others our faith and reveals the love of God.
You already know this at St. James’s; you are doers of the Word, investing in the kingdom here and now, in ways that reveal God among us. Even so, we all need reminders from time to time to live lives of generosity and action in a world needing tangible evidence of God.
The Talents, Eugene Burnand
Today’s Gospel, the parable of the talents, is really a story about the way three people react to winning the lottery. One talent is an astounding amount, equal to about twenty year’s salary. The first two are so overjoyed that they cannot contain the good news and they invest their winnings, we aren’t told how, but they go off at once and do amazing things. They are trusting and trustworthy. But the third one lives in fear, and we wonder if he really knows God at all because he digs a hole and hides what has been entrusted to him. He buries it. Buried treasure is no good to anyone until it has been found. Buried treasure is not meant to stay buried.
Jesus tells this story to his disciples knowing that he is about to leave them, knowing they will soon be the bearers of the good news of the kingdom following his death and resurrection. Jesus knows they are going to be grieving, they are going to be afraid, and they are going to feel overwhelmed with all that is being entrusted to them. They are going to think they don’t have the gifts needed, that they are inadequate to the task. And they are not going to know whom to trust.
They do not yet know about buried treasure; they do not yet comprehend that Jesus will be buried and then be raised! The disciples were being given the work of investing their gifts; entrusted to be the caretakers of this Word from God, this promise of new and unending life in Christ!
As disciples of Jesus, we too are caretakers, entrusted with the Word from God, with the amazing promise of new life in Christ. How are we doing with that? Are we being trustworthy? Or are we choosing to bury what we have been given, instead of investing it in the work of the kingdom?
The third person in the parable lived his life in fear, and was unable to trust God and take risks. For whatever reason, he held an image of God that made relationship with God impossible. We cannot know how his ideas about God were formed, what his life had been like before. Perhaps, if the people in his life had been more trustworthy and generous, he would have come to know that God is just that, trustworthy and generous. Instead, in his fear, he buried his gifts and his future.
What might that look like in our lives, burying what has been entrusted to us? Do we blame others when we know we have not lived up to our potential? Perhaps we procrastinate, or sacrifice integrity. Maybe we fear letting go of what is comfortable and safe. Do we live our lives with a mindset of scarcity or abundance? How we live our lives is the most powerful witness we can make to the love of God. Investing our money in the bank is a good thing, but investing in the work of the kingdom will bring even greater dividends.
Most of what we do to share the love of God requires only that we trust God more than we fear failure, that we give because we are grateful for all we have been given, and that we work to alleviate the suffering and injustice in our world. As we celebrate U2charist this morning, we hear in the music the call to address human suffering, to not only notice poverty of body, mind, and spirit, but also to work to alleviate it, and to acknowledge that there is always pain before a child is born, and that many are still waiting for the dawn. Through our actions we begin to reveal the kingdom of God.
The good news is that we have already won the lottery; we have already been given the most astounding gift. What if we were to stop digging holes of fear, selfishness, and inadequacy, and instead wisely invest all that has been entrusted to us? Buried treasure will not stay buried. It will be raised up into new life! In God’s kingdom, sharing our faith in every small act of kindness and generosity ensures a rate of return that is eternally abundant.
Title Image: Parable of the Talents, Jorge Cocco
Comments
Post a Comment