PENTECOST
27 B, PROPER 28
16 November AD 2008
Matthew 25:14-30
Let's put
it out there. The talent of which Jesus speaks is a unit of money.
The Concordia Self-Study Bible (Luke 19:11) says that a talent
is worth 60 minas, and a mina equals 100 drachmas, and a drachma
is about a day's wage. Thus one talent seems to be about sixteen
and a hal years' wages; and ten talents would be a little more
than a hundred sixty years' wages. Jesus was talking about a major
monetary investment.
In a sermon
based on the Parable of the Talents Robert Bohl observed, that
people are more likely to believe in God than they are to believe
in themselves. That reluctant servant in Jesus' story is us, we
are timid, we are afraid to fail. Secretly we hope that if God
wants something done, he'll ask someone more able than me to do
it. No one is more indicative of this than Moses. In EXODUS, Moses
is full of excuses for God why he should not be the one to march
into the pharaoh's court and demand Israel's freedom. Finally
he blurts out, "please send someone else!" (4:13)
Moses is
not alone. Jonah is more remembered for the time he spent in the
belly of the fish than anything else. However, Jonah is the epitome
of the reluctant servant; Jonah ran from God. Jonah wanted no
part of God's work and that's what landed him in the stinking
belly of a fish. What we forget is the graciousness of God, who
calls to Jonah in the darkness, a second time, and commissions
him to be his spokesman to Assyria-a nation full of Gentiles too
dumb to know "their right hand from their left."
At the end
of JONAH the prophet sulks because things didn't go his way; God
didn't do what Jonah thought should be done. Part of the problem
may reside in that we've got the picture upside down and inside
out. The Bible talks about our service to God. What happened to
the notion that "we are his people, the sheep of his pasture?"
Too many of us and our neighbors think that God exists to serve
us-to do our bidding.
That's not
how it is. The kingdom of heaven is like a certain wealthy lord
going on very long journey. Someone needs to be entrusted with
the affairs of the estate. The landlord calls together three servants
and empowers them to care for things in his absence. He gives
them trusts to work (talents), to the first five, to the second
two and to the last one-each according to his ability. You know
the story. The landlord does indeed return and when it's time
to account for what transpired in his absence, the first two doubled
what they had been entrusted with. They received commendation
and praise. But the last one came forward, returning the exact
same trust he received. He claimed it wasn't fair; he received
so little and there was too much responsibility; and the landlord
expected way too much from him. That last man lost his position
and he was tossed out. And the one who had the most received even
one more. Fairness has little to do with this story.
Jesus enjoys
raising up little things. Little things accomplish
much in the kingdom of God. "Blessed are the poor…"
Jesus hold's up the widow's mite, a young boy's lunch, and a mustard
seed as examples for the kingdom. The small and humble have an
infinite potential for God who, in the words of Mary, raises up
the lowly and sends the rich away empty. (Luke 1:46 ff.) What
makes blessed Mary so special is that she more than anyone had
reason to say, "no." But she did not. She believed the
Word of the angel who assured her that with God all things are
possible. (1:37) She didn't know how, but she was going to do
it.
Properly
understood, Mary is the Lord's servant, he would work through
her. God is used to working wonders. The key figure in the Old
Testament is a little old man of faith, who had a son at the age
of a hundred. From that single child sprang forth that nation
whose task was to bless the world; Israel.
Often overlooked
in today's parable is the meaning of the trust; it is the powerful
Word of God (the Gospel, Romans 1:16), a Word entrusted to the
Church. My Word, says the Lord (Isaiah 55), must accomplish the
things for which I sent it. The rain and the snow cannot help
but water the ground and cause plants to grow, so it is with my
Word..."
God's Word
is the gift, and the landlord gave each a portion of that gift
which made their salvation possible. The fearful man, burying
it and then giving it back as he did, denied its power. It was
tantamount to telling God, "I don't consider it worth very
much. I don't want it." Having nothing else for his lord,
he is tossed into outer darkness.
But, did
you notice that the landlord intended each recipient to prosper?
That's the surprise in this story. It is not really about giving
back. The man with five got to keep the gift along with the five
more he made! The one with two also kept his gift and the additional
talents he earned! It is the lonely talent, the one that wasn't
even invested, that was taken away and given to the one who already
had ten! God blesses his gifts, and then does it again! That's
how the economy in the kingdom works. God blesses his gifts and
we benefit.
My friends, you have been entrusted with the Gospel; you are its
stewards. Paul uses that term in one of his letters: "stewards
of the mystery of Christ." A powerful gift has been given
to you in the Gospel of Jesus Christ-his life and teachings, his
death and resurrection, and the promise of his return in glory.
You are to use and manage that gift every day. Like seed spread
it abroad on the face of the earth, liberally cast it everywhere
you go, using every means possible. What grows grows. And you'll
be credited with that growth! The more you sew, the more you'll
reap. The more you reap, the more you'll have to show for your
efforts when our Lord returns in his glory.
God is the
giver of all gifts, whatever the gift may be: faith, family, income
and abilities. All these gifts of God are resources which you
may use in the service of the Gospel. Those who use their gifts
wisely and profitably will be blessed abundantly.
Regarding
talents, drachmas, minas, denarii, sheckles, dollars; you can
figure that out for yourselves.
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church
Hamburg, NJ 07419
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