Introduction to the Text
This week, we turn to another parable
of Jesus. Last week, we heard the story
of the 10 young women who were bridesmaids at a wedding. Five were prepared and five were not able to
complete their job. Jesus reminded us to
actively do the work of our faith.
This morning, we hear the parable of
the wealthy man who leaves his gold invested with his servants as he goes away
on a long trip. Some of the servants do
a better job of expanding the gold reserves than others.
Listen to this familiar parable as we
read from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25 verses thirty-one through
forty-six:
Scripture Reading Matthew 25:31-46
14 “Again, it will be
like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his
wealth to them.
15 To one he gave five
bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according
to his ability. Then he went on his journey.
16 The man who had
received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained
five bags more.
17 So also, the one
with two bags of gold gained two more.
18 But the man who had
received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time
the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.
20 The man who had
received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you
entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’
21 “His master replied,
‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few
things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your
master’s happiness!’
22 “The man with two
bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of
gold; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “His master replied,
‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few
things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your
master’s happiness!’
24 “Then the man who
had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a
hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not
scattered seed.
25 So I was afraid and
went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26 “His master replied,
‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and
gather where I have not scattered seed?
27 Well then, you
should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I
would have received it back with interest.
28 “‘So take the bag of
gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags.
29 For whoever has will
be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even
what they have will be taken from them.
30 And throw that
worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.’
Here ends this reading of the word of God
for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
Amen.
Prayer for Understanding May the
words I speak be those You want spoken, may the words we hear be those You want
heard, may we live to Your glory. Amen.
Message
Extravagant Opportunity
Since Covid-19 came to America, we
have heard stories of amazing generosity in the midst of health information and
dire warnings. If you google “Free $100
Bills,” the first story that appears comes from April. An anonymous man in Moberly, Missouri stood
outside his local Aldi store and passed out $10,000 in one hundred dollar bills
to shoppers. When the store employees
asked him why he was giving out money, he replied that he had no immediate
family members and he wanted to spread hope and relief in this scary time.
When some of our church members got
their Covid-19 relief checks, they passed their check on to the church. Some people told me they felt the church needed
the money more than they themselves needed it.
Other people shared their relief money with the Daily Bread Community
Food Pantry to help people in our area who are in dire straits. In fact, despite the Daily Bread serving more
families than ever before, they have also received more food donations than
ever before. As the pandemic drags on,
people are more and more concerned that our neighbors have enough food to eat,
enough diapers for their babies to wear, and warm coats that fit their
children. They give to make sure others
have enough.
In today’s parable, Jesus tells the
story of a wealthy man who entrusted his servants with his gold before he went
away on a long trip. Each servant was
given different amounts of gold. Two of
the servants put the gold to work and doubled the amount of gold. The third servant was scared of losing the
money and buried his gold in the ground.
He kept it to himself instead of risking it. When the wealthy man returned, he was happy
with the two servants who doubled their money.
But, he was disappointed with the man who buried his gold….his fear had
paralyzed him.
This parable has a lot of
interpretations—we have all heard sermons about this text. Some ministers
choose to talk about investments and capitalism. Some ministers choose to talk about
evangelism and sharing the Word of God with others. Some ministers choose to talk about the way
we share our gifts and talents.
Jesus told this story right before his
arrest. Like the wealthy man in the
story, Jesus knew he was going to be going away for a long time. Jesus knew he would be killed. Jesus knew he would be resurrected. Jesus knew he would ascend from living among
living people to living in another dimension with God beyond Earth. But, embedded in the story of scripture is
the promise that Jesus will return to this earth. Jesus will return to earth and be with us,
the people who live here now.
When we meet Jesus, be it on Earth if
he returns during our lifetimes or in Heaven if we meet him there, I hope we
will each have the opportunity to talk to Jesus. I suspect we will have a lot of
questions. I suspect we will have a lot
to learn.
One of the things about Jesus that was
apparent when he was on earth the first time is that people found him easy to
talk with….people seemed comfortable opening up to Jesus. People opened their hearts and opened their
mouths when they were in his presence.
And, when we talk to Jesus, I suspect
this topic will come up – how do we live out our faith? Do we increase Jesus’ investment in us? Do we work to live Jesus’ teachings? Do we work to love God? Do we work to love other people as much as we
love ourselves? Do we keep our
word? Do we love our enemies? Do we do unto others as we would have them do
to us? Do we pray? Do we forgive? Do we work to make and baptize
disciples? Do we welcome the gifts of
the Holy Spirit into our lives?
Although living out our faith is in
some ways is a tall order, the Gospel of Luke reminds us: “From everyone
who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been
entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” God gives us a lot to do because
God believes in us. God gives us
important work on God’s behalf because God trusts us. God grants us incredible blessings.
I
pray that remember that God gives us the tools to do much in God’s world. We each are born with unique talents and
opportunities. We are called by our
faith to share those gifts with other people.
God doesn’t want us to keep them to ourselves or bury them in the earth,
but God wants us to share them. We are
to reach out to other people – share our gifts with others, share our resources
with others, share our extras with others.
We who have been given much have a lot to give.
May
we do so in love. Amen.
