Proper 28
16
November 2014
Matthew
25:14-20
Are your
talents at work?
Almighty and
ever-living God, since You have given exceedingly great and precious promises
to those who believe, grant us so perfectly and without all doubt to believe in
Your Son Jesus Christ, that our faith in Your Son may never be reproved;
At the Cathedral in Lubeck Germany is found the following
inscription:
Thus speaks Christ our
Lord to us:
You call Me Master, and
obey Me not;
You call Me Light, and
see Me not;
You call Me Way, and
walk Me not;
You call Me Life, and desire Me not;
You call Me Wise, and
follow Me not;
You call Me Fair, and
love Me not;
You call Me Rich, and
ask Me not;
You call Me Eternal,
and seek Me not;
You call Me Gracious,
and trust Me not;
You call me Noble, and
serve Me not;
You call Me Mighty, and
honor Me not;
You call Me Just, and
fear Me not;
The Master is taking off.
Leaving three slaves in charge. He leaves them with more wealth to tend than you
and I can possibly imagine. For the talents spoken of here are not aptitudes or
abilities. They are, in fact, piles of gold coins. Bushel baskets full, in
fact.
One talent of gold
weighed between fifty and seventy-five pounds. So even the 'least' of the
slaves received enough that he may have been challenged to carry it all on
his own. These piles of gold were left with each one of them to tend,
manage, and grow. And there is no growing without risk. There is simply no
growing without risk.
Love and faith, like
money, require the taking of risks in order to grow. Taking risks is not
easy. Risks always require relationships. And relationships require opening
ourselves to murky as well as mighty possibilities.
These words of Jesus should be stinging to our ears. To those who have, more will be
given, but for those who have not; even what they have will be taken away.
Like these three slaves,
God has richly blessed us in a thousand ways. Indeed, our bushel
baskets are so full we can't lift them on our own. God has given us all of
it. He asks only that we use it, spend it, invest it, grow it.
God has given it all to us. He only asks that
we love and trust Him enough not to sit on it, hide it, or bury it. So
what are you afraid of? Or, for that matter, what are you waiting for?
Jesus speaks about your attitude. And the way you use what
you have been given. If it is your attitude that God, and life, are harsh
and terrible masters, then like the servant, with only one talent, we turn away
from risk, and hide ourselves from the promise and prospect of divine glory as
if it were a delusion, or worse, as if it were only meant only for other
people.
Yet Scripture is full
of risks and challenges. Each time our Lord called a disciple it was in fact a
challenge of faith. “Come follow me…I dare you to believe.” The crucifixion is
a risk of faith. Here is your Lord, hanging on a cross…”I dare you to believe.”
The empty tomb is a taunt. ”I live and so shall you…I dare you to believe.” The
reason it is such a challenge is that it requires a belief in the absoluteness
of the promises of our Lord.
“Keep mercy and justice and draw near to thy God always. You
must therefore combine justice with mercy. Spending in mercy what you possess
in justice. Because God loves mercy and justice, those who take care to do
mercy and justice draw near to God. It remains, then for each to examine
themselves and for the rich to take careful inventory of the private resources
from which they are to offer gifts to God. To make sure that they have not oppressed
poor people or used force against the weak, or cheated those dependent upon
them, thus exercising license rather than justice.
Do not employ force because you are in command and do not
take advantage of another because it is within your power to do so. On the
contrary, show forth the deeds of justice because you are able to perform the
deeds of power. Your fear of God and your obedience to Him are not exhibited in
abstaining from acts beyond your ability, but in this - that being in a
position to violate the law, you refuse to transgress it.
If you give alms to the poor after you have despoiled them of
their goods, it were better for you neither to have taken or given. God will have no part in avarice nor will the
Lord be a comrade to thieves and robbers. He
has not left us the poor to feed because He is unable to do this. But He
asks from us, for our own good, the fruit of justice and mercy.[2]
God is not impressed with your awesomeness. Your works are
always ambiguous but never arbitrary. They are ambiguous as if our works make
God stand up and take notice. As if they get us into heaven. Or make us look
good. Or stand out.
Neither are they arbitrary. They are always done according
to faith. That’s what Christians do. They serve their neighbor. You live your
life by serving your neighbor by acts of charity, mercy and sacrifice. Your
works are played out according to the station of life you find yourself to be
at.
God does not need your works of mercy and acts of kindness. However, you neighbor
needs you compassion desperately. You
are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ alone. By His stripes, suffered for
you on the cross at Calvary - you are healed. So be at peace with your neighbor. The day is
surely drawing near. There will be a reckoning. And each shall give an account.
Invest in the kingdom! But invest wisely.
God guide me with thy
wisdom,
God chastise me with
thy justice,
God help me with thy
mercy,
God protect me with thy
strength,
God shield me with thy
shade,
God fill me with thy
grace
_________________
Words -1,078
Passive Sentences – 7%
Readability -82%
Reading Level -4.8
[1]
For All the Saints A Prayer Book For and by the Church Volume IV pg. 1014 ©
1996 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY
[2]Basil
the Great of Caesarea (329-379) On Mercy and Justice For All the Saints A
Prayer Book For and by the Church Volume IV pp. 1058-1059 © 1996 The American
Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY
[3]
Scottish Celtic Prayer For All the Saints A Prayer Book For and by the Church
Volume IV pg.1059 © 1996 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY
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