Monday, November 20, 2017

Acting at Once in God's Abundance - Sermon Matthew 25:14-30

Matthew 25:14-30
“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.16The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20Then 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.’ 21His 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.’ 22And 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.’ 23His 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; 25so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26But 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? 27Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest.28So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents.29For 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. 30As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” 

Today’s text comes as a continuation of apocalyptic, end-times texts in the book of Matthew. These are Jesus’s final moments with the disciples.  His final days and hours before facing Jerusalem, the high priest. Final moments before he is tried, beaten, and crucified.  And in Matthew’s Gospel account, Jesus spends his last few moments with his disciples and the crowds teaching about the end-times.  A day of judgment and reckoning when the Lord returns.  God will return and cast judgement upon all who have been waiting.

So today’s parable, one of a master entrusting his wealth to his three slaves is the 3rd of 4 end-time, judgment texts.  We might recall last week’s parable about 10 bridesmaids.  5 wise and 5 foolish as they wait for the bridegroom to arrive to wedding banquet.   Next week we’ll hear about the separation of sheep and goats.  

But as for today’s difficult text, Jesus continues to speak to his disciples, and this time he addresses how they should carry on in his absence.  More specifically, Jesus is preparing the disciples for his inevitable absence.  And in doing so he is notifying them that they will be entrusted with his ministry.  His work and his deeds.  His healing and teachings.  They will be entrusted with the good news of his resurrection.

The disciples have been instructed by Jesus on multiple occasions that Jesus will soon die and rise.  And the time will come when the disciples must carry on without him.  But despite their hearing, they never fully understand what is about to occur.  They still do not believe that Jesus will leave them in their lifetime.

But we, on this side of the resurrection, of course know it to be true that Jesus will be killed and be raised.  And therefore the disciples, soon to be apostles, will be entrusted with the ministry of Jesus until the Master returns.   So Jesus launches into this 3rd Judgment parable.

I suggested last week that we acknowledge the difficulty of these parables.  And I think it is true again today because elements of these parables run counter to our expectation of Jesus and the Kingdom of God.  So they can be hard to hear, especially since none of us want to find ourselves in the role of the 3rd slave, cast to outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

I think then, it is important to reflect for a moment on the reason these parables have their place in Matthew’s Gospel account.  Matthew is writing to audience some 30 to 40 years after Jesus has been killed and raised.  The early Christian church has had its struggles and particularly within Matthew’s audience is a group of naysayers.   Disbelievers.  Those who are intentionally spreading false truths.   For whatever their reason, they are challenging the early Christians by dismissing their beliefs.   Even more so, these naysayers and their leaders continue to oppress large groups of people.  They continue to act counter to the gospel message, counter to the very work and deed of Jesus Christ.  

So Matthew, with this context and audience in mind, intentionally includes these four harsh parables regarding the end-times and the judgement for those who fail to participate in God’s kingdom through Jesus Christ.   That’s why Matthew continues to write about Jesus shutting the door on the foolish, casting the lazy into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

So, we encounter today’s parable of a Master entrusting his wealth to the three slaves.  All three slaves are given talents according to their abilities.  Talents in this context is a sum of money.  The first two slaves receive 5 and 2 talents respectively.  They go at once to invest their gift and return a 200% profit while the master is away.  The third slave is given 1 talent, which is still a significant amount, but out of fear of losing or misusing the gift he buries it.  Burying one's money, literally making a deposit, was common practice.  And of course upon the master's return, the third slave yields no interest or gain.  He excuses his actions behind his preconception of the Master, and is later tossed to outer darkness….with the weeping and gnashing of teeth. And I suppose it is the fate of the third slave then that can have us on edge.   That implores us to ask the question, what is at stake?

What is at stake in the meantime?  While we wait for Jesus’ return?  Entrusted with God’s grace, law, gospel, truth and light.  Entrusted with God’s promise of grace, forgiveness, mercy, and Love, what is at stake while we wait for the return of the Lord?  

Well certainly for this parable and the audience of Matthew what was at stake was the outer darkness. The weeping the gnashing.  And more importantly, what was at stake was not being invited to enter the joy of the master.  So brothers and sisters, perhaps the question is the same today….is there still something at stake for us today as we wait for the Lord?  If so, what is this parable teaching us?

One of the more popular interpretation of this parable lends itself to a discussion on stewardship. The tendency then is to interpret the masters gift to the slaves as God’s gifts to us.  The Master entrusts the slaves in this case with talents or money.  Whereas God entrusts us with talents, money and otherwise.  We are gifted with abilities and interests, the things we are good at, the things that bring us joy when you use them.  And therefore the message of the parable would be that we are to wisely invest our gifts, use them to their fullest potential, steward them we might say until Christ returns.  To do as the first two slaves, risking our gift, investing fully into the work of the kingdom, growing God’s gift 200%.  After all they were given to us by the Master to use, so why not use them for the glory of God in God’s kingdom.  This often leads to a conversation about money as well, especially being that this is the time of year when pledges are due and the budget is being formed.  

But friends, I don’t want to dwell on money, or stewardship, or the use of God’s gift, because maybe this parable holds a much deeper meaning for us today.  A bit more depth than simply the stewardship of God’s gifts and resources first given to us.

First, we might take notice of the Master’s generosity.  To the three slaves he entrusts, 5, 2 , and 1 talent respectively.  Now a talent in that day was equal to about 20 years worth of wages.  So to the slave who received 5 talents, he received nearly 100 years worth a wages.  And the second slave received about 40 years.  Even the third slave, who received only one talent was entrusted with 20 years worth of basic wages.  The emphasis here is not on wealthy-ness of the Master but rather the Master’s generosity.  Jesus makes no mistake in the amount of money he choses in his parable, because it isn’t about a quantity for Jesus but rather the abundance and generosity.  The slaves were entrusted with more than they ever had and more than they would ever need.  It was more than they could ever, ever steward, so rather than focus on their use of the gift we might be drawn to the abundance of the gift.

Second, we might reflect on the reaction of the first two slaves.  Jesus says that the first two slaves “acted at once.”  Immediately upon receiving their abundance they couldn’t help but spend it. Invest it. Risk it. Trusting fully that not only would the abundance last, but its fruit would produce two fold.

We might recall here Luther’s assertion to sin boldly but believe even more boldly in Christ, and rejoice.  This parable isn’t giving endorsing gambling or high-risk banking investments, nor is it giving permission for frivolous spending and stewardship, rather the parable is lifting up the way of life when entrusted by God with every good gift.  It’s not about careful and meticulous use or misuse of gifts but rather acknowledging that we are given gifts and called in baptism we become people who act immediately.  People of God who CAN NOT help but use our gifts.  So much so that we are no longer conflicted by whether or not to use a gift entrusted by God but rather we embody it and act because that is who we are.  We are God’s and therefore can’t help but always and instinctively be stewards.  It’s our calling.  Our vocation.  To steward boldly the life and promise entrusted to us through baptism, believing even more boldly in Christ, who will return in joy.

Third we might note the motivation of the third slave.  Fear. He understood the master as a harsh, and therefore acted out of fear.  Fear of losing his talent.  Fear of risking all that the master entrusted him.  So he dug a hole, planted his talent, so that upon the Master’s return there would be no risk of loss.  The digging and hiding of the talent echos the popular, “hide it under a bushel, no...I’m goinna let it shine...let it shine let it shine, let it shine.”

Imagine if the disciples, after learning about jesus’ death and resurrection remained locked away in the upper room. If they had closed the door and turned off the lights so that no one knew they were there.  Dug themselves a hole, and hid in fear.  Fear that they might mess up.  Fear that the risk they take would not be worth.  Fear that spreading the gospel message might be in short supply or worse, a fruitless investment.  Fear that sowing seeds, investing their entrusted gift would not return a positive investment for the day the Lord returns.

What’s at stake in this parable perhaps is not necessarily the weeping and gnashing of teeth but rather the missed opportunity to use God’s abundant gift.  What’s at stake is the missed calling or dismissing vocation.  What’s at stake is life motivated by fear rather than abundance and joy.  

Friends, the good news is that Jesus absolutely and unconditionally gifts us with an abundance. Entrusted with an abundance of love, mercy, and forgiveness.  Entrusted an abundance of grace.  And God’s grace in Jesus Christ will be more than we can ever ever steward on our own.  And as it was for the two slaves, the disciples then, and us today, it is our calling to go at once, immediately, washed in our baptism and fed by the body and blood, to embody the abundance to which we have been entrusted.   Taking risks, investing ourselves, our time, and our possessions for the glory of God and the return of the kingdom.  To go boldly, and trust even more boldly the promise that we will be entrusted into the Joy of the king upon his return.
Amen


© Pastor Daniel Locke Nov. 19, 2017 @ St. Mark's JAX 


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