Sermon – Risky
Business November 15, 2020
Matthew 25:14-30 Panzer Chapel Liturgical Service
Last week we talked about the parable of
the ten bridesmaids and what it means to be expecting and preparing for the
return of Christ to the world. This week we read another story, also about an
absent master, but instead of waiting in the short-term, he goes away for a
long time, having given them what was necessary for them to do well in his
absence.
Keeping these last four parables from
Matthew in mind, think about these ideas. Will we
keep pushing as we would if
the boss was standing nearby, or play it safe and try to keep the status quo? Will
we be prepared for his coming, and not caught up in the ways of the world? The
ultimate question is this: will we be found faithful or faithless at his
return?
In short, the Master asks his servants
this very question, “What are you willing to risk until I return?” In this parable we are faced with two portraits – those who keep pressing forward, in
effect willing to go all in, and the one who acts out of fear, literally
burying his opportunities like a cold, dead corpse and lucky to be able to even
find it when the master returned.[i]
I’m willing to guess that in churches all
over the US, preachers are using this text to fortress their stewardship sermons,
encouraging their members to be faithful in their giving and serving to the
church. It’s the number one text used in connection with stewardship campaigns
asking people to make commitments of money and service in the coming year.[ii] And money is good and
even necessary to the ministry of the church.
But is that all this parable is really about?
In this story, a wealthy man prepares for a
journey by entrusting his estate to his servants. Each receives an amount
according to his ability. Is the ability to make a wise investment or something
else? We don’t really know. We wonder, what is wrong with the third servant
that he only got one talent. And this is where the tale takes its first turn. Yes,
the first is bestowed five times more than the last, but even so, one talent is
a significant sum of money. We hear the word talent and we think “something I’m
good at.”
But a talent in biblical times had
monetary value equal to about 6,000 denarii. And how much is a denarius worth? One denarius is a common laborer's daily wage,
so a talent would be roughly equivalent to 20 years' wages for the average
worker. Five talents, the largest amount entrusted to any of the servants, is
comparable to one hundred years’ worth of labor, for most of us, an
astronomical amount of money.” [iii]
WOW! What would you do if your boss came
and gave you twenty years of wages in one sitting – maybe even tax-free? Would
you buy a fast car, a new house, or new clothes? Would you quit your job, buy a
fancy RV, and hit the road? Either of those seems less responsible than what the
third servant did.
We want to think that we would think
enough of the generosity of the master and invest the money wisely… but we
would expect the profit to come to us, not to the boss on his return. Or maybe we
would take a bigger risk and look for the best financial return possible, even
if it was a little risky. I’m not sure what my response would be, but I do hope
that I wouldn’t go out in the backyard and dig a hole in the ground to bury it
for safekeeping. As many times as we have moved around, there is nothing safe
or wise about that.
This story fits into the gospel at this
time and place for a particular reason. Jesus knows what’s coming. And to
prepare the disciples, he tells stories about faith being tested. These parables
depict how the disciples are to live out their faithfulness as they anticipate
the return of the Lord, even though he hasn’t left yet. And while the disciples
hear what he has to say, they think “SOMEDAY” when Jesus really means
“TOMORROW.” Again and again between his ascension and the day of Pentecost, Jesus
tells them the time is coming, but they had a difficult time understanding what
he was trying to say.
What does faithfulness look like in a time
of waiting? In Matthew's Gospel faithfulness is lived by emulating the ministry
of Jesus. Jesus has announced the arrival of God's kingdom by feeding the
hungry, curing the sick, blessing the meek, and serving the least, the last,
and the lost. As Jesus commanded at his ascension, we are to preach and teach
the gospel to the ends of the earth. We accomplish this by treating others as
if they are Jesus, feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and imprisoned,
clothing the naked, and welcoming the stranger. That is when we will be most
likely to hear the Master’s voice say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’”[iv]
So, knowing all of this, let’s think some
more about what faithfulness looks like in the in-between times. How much are
we willing to risk to make the Kingdom real for everyone, here and now? What
kind of chances are we willing to take to prepare the world for Jesus to come
again and claim what is rightfully his? Will we be foolish or wise? And how
will we know the difference?
On one hand, this is a story about talents –
riches – even opportunities used to serve a master. But it is also a story that
asks us what we believe about God. Do we see God as generous or do we see God
as harsh and someone to be feared? I remind people all the time that when we
read the English word “fear” in the bible, we should really hear “revere” or “be
in awe of” in God. Biblical fear isn’t always about being afraid of God. It’s also
about seeing the awesomeness of God, and understanding how blessed we are for our
place in his world.[v]
The first two servants were awed by the
generosity of their master and did everything they could to say, “Thanks for
trusting us with the work of YOUR labor. We tried to do right by you.” But the
third was only afraid of God, and therefore did whatever he could to just not
screw it all up.
I suspect that we all lie somewhere in
between these two faithful servants and the one who utterly failed at the task
given. It’s probably obvious what not to do to end up like the third poor
fellow, but how do we become more like the others? The answer is in the parable
immediately following… our gospel lesson for next week’s Christ the King
celebration. I won’t go on to preach a second sermon today, but I will ask you
to think about this series of parables as a whole and ask what opportunities
God is providing to help mold you into the person God knows you can become.
So, yes, this is a parable about using all
the resources we have to further the work of the Kingdom. Jesus intends for us
to be about that work, always ready and expecting his immediate return. But it
is also true that our resources will never be enough. God has this uncanny
ability to multiply our efforts in ways that we could never imagine. When we
don’t try or show ourselves willing to take a risk, it is often a reflection that
we don’t trust that God has our backs.[vi]
As I was pondering all of this, I was left
with two questions, which I ask you to think about this week. I don’t have the
answers, only more questions, so maybe together we can come up with some ideas on how they might help us grow in faith.
Is
it fear that keeps us from taking risks? Are we afraid that our mistakes will be
held against us so much that we make safe choices, hoping that maintaining the
status quo will be good enough? This certainly seems to be the case for the
third servant. He did the minimum required… he did not lose his master’s money.
Is that we want for ourselves – just believing or doing enough to stay safe? Or
do we want more?
Do
we even believe that it’s possible to be adequate representatives for God and
Jesus in the world?
By all indications, it looks like the first and second servants were very
successful surrogates for the master. They made a lot of money for the master,
securing a good future for all of them. But mostly they just did what the
master asked them to do. They were faithful in representing him in business and
in the world. Even if the master hadn’t given them all the profits to keep,
they would have been the success their master knew they could be. I’ll bet even
if they hadn’t made all those profits, but gave it a good try, he would have
been proud of them anyway. How about us? On the other hand, it must be
frustrating for God when we act out of fear instead of hope. The third
servant’s behavior is often the same behavior which causes many non-Christians
to say, “I like your Jesus, but I don’t like your church.”
What does it mean to be a disciple of
Jesus? Is it what we believe about Jesus? Or is it about how we live our lives
every day? Thankfulness is a byproduct of knowing that we are loved, and in
that love, we find our safety and security. Living out that love every day –
that’s what Jesus is asking us to do. And in the process, talents are being
multiplied. And we are thankful.
Yesterday I read this quote attributed to
Henri Nouwen, a 20th-century Catholic pastor, theologian, and mystic.
It was not the quote I was looking for, but it stayed with me so much that I’ll
use it to end today. It read: “For Jesus, there are no countries to be
conquered, no ideologies to be imposed, no people to be dominated. There are
only children, women and men to be loved.”
I want to be that kind of servant… that
kind of Christian.
It sounds easy, but it’s really hard. It’s a risky business to be a worker in God’s Kingdom. And it’s a very good thing
we’re not being asked to do it alone.
Thanks be to God.
[i] Peter
Woods, “Are You Ready to Risk?”, 2011, http://thelisteninghermit.com/2011/11/07/are-you-ready-to-risk-ordinary-33a/
[ii]
Carla Works, 2011, “Commentary on Matthew 25:14-30” http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1018
[iii]
Carla Works, 2011.
[iv]
Carla Works, 2011.
[vi]
Carla Sunberg, A Plain Account… Proper 28A, http://www.aplainaccount.org/proper-28a-gospel
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