Matthew 25:14-30
“Will We Run With the Ball in 2008?”
The front page of a Texas newspaper a few years ago carried the picture of a young and beautiful African American mother born without arms and legs!
The State Department of Public Welfare had charged in court that she was incapable of taking care of her five-month-old daughter.
During the court hearing the mother surprised everyone by proving she was competent to take care of her baby.
There…before their eyes…she undressed and then dressed the baby again by using only her lips and tongue!
The judge was so impressed that he not only awarded custody of the baby to her, but said, “I have to commend you very much for your courage, spirit, and ingenuity….You have proven that physical endowments are only a part of the spectrum of resources that human beings possess.”
The young mother was a good steward of her wounds.
She did not dwell on what she did not have.
Rather, she chose to use to the utmost what God had given her!!!
Have we chosen to use to the utmost what God has given us?
I’m sure that many of us have heard people excuse themselves from becoming involved in the Kingdom Work of the church by appealing to what they do not have…
… “I’m too old.”…
… “I’m too young.” …
… “I’m not educated.”…
… “I’m don’t have time.” …
… “I’m not good enough.”…
… “I could never do that.”
Remember when God asked Moses to tell Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go?
Moses used a number of phrases to complain about what he did not have:
“Who am I that I should go…?”…
… “Suppose they do not believe me…”
… “I have never been eloquent…”
After listening to Moses’ complaints, God said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
In essence, God was saying: “Moses, I am not interested in what you do not have; I am only interested in what you do have…reach out your hand…and certainly I will be with you.”
For years an army recruitment advertisement has been challenging young men and women to “Be all that you can be.”
As Christians the challenge to us is: “Be all that God created you to be!”
Are you being all that God created you to be?
If not, thanks be to God, we all have a brand new year in which we can move more and more into being just that!
The parable of the talents tells us that God creates and that God calls us to be co-workers for the unfolding of history.
To help this become a reality, God invests in us and expects a return on that investment.
In the parable of the talents, a man set out on a journey, entrusting his property to his servants.
It is important to recognize from the outset that this man represents God.
It is God Who owns the world.
We are His servants.
The word “talent” has come into our language from this very parable.
Rather than money, however, it has come to mean abilities and special gifts.
We must be careful, though, not to interpret the parable of the talents simply on the meaning of the word “talent” as it has evolved over the years.
Rather, the question each of us must ask is: “What did Jesus mean by the talent?”
I would submit that everything we have and everything we are comprise the talents entrusted to us by God.
This includes our abilities…
…each precious moment of every day, every week, every month, every year given to us…
…our material and financial resources…
…our relationships with loved ones and friends…
…the gift of God’s salvation and redemption in through Jesus Christ…
…in short—our very lives!!!
All of this is entrusted to us by God and we are called to be God’s stewards!
Now, the work of the Kingdom is so great that many people may wonder why God left it to us…
…but He has…
…and we must keep this in mind…
…because people’s souls are at stake!
But just think of how exciting this makes the Christian life!!!
Yet how often do we forfeit this excitement, this joy, this fulfillment in life by living like the one-talent man?
When we live like this, our faith…
…instead of being an adventure, becomes a heavy chain of obligations.
We cling to the status quo…
…hoping we can get by without too many crises or challenges.
We are content with the usual routine.
We don’t invest ourselves into the work of the Kingdom of God.
We don’t live into our calling.
The one-talent Christian fails to see how much she or he is really needed…and the result is deadly.
In actuality, no Christian is one-talented.
We are all multi-talented!
We can all pray.
We can be present at church for worship, Sunday school, Bible study and other activities and we can invite others to come with us!
We can share our faith at work, school and play.
We can share our gifts.
We can serve!!!
Just imagine what can be done for the Kingdom of God and this community with every one of us doing these simple things!!!
The possibilities are endless!
This church is alive with potential, and that potential has been given to each one of us individually and collectively by God to be used and lived into!
We are to pulsate with the very life and love of God!!!
We are to be the Kingdom of God in this community.
We are to be the light of this community.
We are to be the instrument which God uses to bring others into a relationship with Him.
God calls each of us to realize the potential of our lives…
…to maximize the years of our lives!
And this is exciting!!!
There is an urgent purpose that God has given to each one of us, and this purpose demands the very best that we can believe and give!!!
In our Gospel Lesson, one servant is given five talents…
…one servant is given two talents…
…and the other is given one.
When the time came for accounting, they were not judged on an absolute scale.
They were judged in accordance to what they had been allotted!!!
So the important factor is not what we have or what we have gained…
…what is important is what we have done in relation to what we have been entrusted with!
What has God entrusted you with?
What are your talents?
Are you putting them to use for the Kingdom?
I have always been a promoter.
It just happens to be who I am.
When I was a little kid I would pick brands, and then drive my parents nuts about using those particular brands…
…Shell gasoline…
…Coke-not-Pepsi…
…Holiday Inn…
…Chrysler cars.
And if my parents didn’t vote for the person I had been hounding them to vote for…I was left dumb-founded!
I think my dad may have told me a few white lies just to keep me happy, but I can’t be certain.
When I was a teenager and had become a full-fledged KISS fan I used up an inordinate amount of energy trying to persuade other kids that KISS was indeed “the hottest band in the land!”
I’m a promoter.
When I began the ministry inquiry process with my pastor way back when, my pastor said to me, “Satan must have loved to have you in his camp!”
God has entrusted each and every one of us with talents in order to build up the Kingdom of God and display the love of Christ to the world.
We are to be peace-makers, comforters, filled with love and mercy…doing everything for the good of God and neighbor.
We have been created in Christ Jesus to do these things, to live as Christ to a lost and dying world.
Are we doing this?
Are we living into our potential?
God wants God’s stewards to be action oriented.
The servant who received the five talents went “at once” and put his talents to work…
…and so did the servant who received two talents.
The first two servants had a completely different view of the master than the one-talent servant.
They saw him as a person who would appreciate bold and daring action.
He liked to give a great deal of freedom to his servants and he expected them to be self-starters—to take the initiative.
If they give it their best shot and fail…he would be fair and understanding.
The one-talented fellow viewed the master as hard and calloused.
Should he lose the talent, the master would be unmerciful, because he was a stingy and tyrannical kind of man.
What image do you have of God?
Is God loving, merciful and full of grace?
Or do you have another image?
Many times our image of God guides our behavior.
Sometimes our perceptions are distorted, and this leads to difficult, unhappy self-defeating behavior.
Sometimes a distorted view of God leads us to have a poor self-image.
Remember, my friends, while we were yet sinners…God showed His love for us…while we were yet sinners—Christ died for us!!!
And it was God who went searching for us when we were lost, not the other way around.
As we are told in 1st John, “We love because God first loved us.”
The master in this parable is Jesus Christ and we are those to whom Jesus has entrusted His mission.
Everyone who has been born of God is being fashioned by God into a new creation…in order to accomplish God’s loving works.
My friends, we are richly endowed with that which is Christ’s!
What a chance Christ is taking!
Quite a gamble!
But that seems to be Christ’s way.
During His earthly journey Jesus invested His love and time in those whose lives were out of control…such as prostitutes and tax collectors.
He scattered the Seed of the Gospel wildly, letting it fall where it may take root—where it was able.
And the Cross…
…the Cross was the biggest gamble of all!!!...
…as the devil whispered in His ear: “They aren’t worth it. They won’t believe it. You’re dying in vain!”
Some of those wagers paid off and others did not…
…but to those who have caught the gambling fever and know the excitement and joy of wagering their lives for the redemption of the world…
…well, God will say to them: “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!”
This parable makes it very clear that, as stewards, we are accountable to God…
…and with accountability comes consequences.
Jesus’ point is that talents are entrusted to us to be used!
If an opportunity is not taken, it is lost.
An arm not used will atrophy.
If we don’t use our talents we will lose our talents.
The servants given five and two talents, respectfully, used their talents and received again as much for their efforts.
The one-talent servant refused to use his talent and lost not only his talent but his life.
Now it should be noted that throughout the entire 25th Chapter of Matthew Jesus is talking about what will happen at the end of the age—when Christ comes again to judge both the living and the dead.
And throughout the blazing and uncomfortable light of this parable, we see the truth about the standard by which we will be judged.
It will not be so much a question of what we’ve gained or lost but what we’ve ventured for the sake of the Master.
The truth is that the person who ventures with God’s talents will always reap a return!
So, the challenge for us is:
“How can we use our resources of time and talent for God?”
At the very least…we should put our talents on deposit with the bankers, so that when Christ returns He will receive it back with interest!...
At the very least, we must keep our promise to God that we made upon joining His Church—to be loyal to it, and to uphold it by our prayers, our presence, our gifts and our service!
But we can go further than this!
What is the special thing you can do that nobody else in the world can do in quite the same way?
Is it a laugh?...
…a smile?...
…Is it an ability to encourage and enthuse?...
…is it an ability to earnestly pray?...
…is it a loving tone people hear in your voice?...
…is it a skill in music or art or teaching or managing or…or…
What are those things that the Owner of all things has entrusted to you?
How have you responded to that trust?
What will you do with that trust in this brand new year?
Let us pray: Lord Christ, You have shown us that the road to discipleship is never easy or safe. Your commitment to the Father led to a Cross. Give us the boldness to fully invest ourselves and our abilities in the cause or Your Kingdom, for Your sake we pray. Amen.
