October 16, 2022
Hope Lutheran Church
Found Faithful Series
Rev. Mary Erickson
Psalm 8; Matthew 25:14-16, 19-21
Faithful with All
Friends, may grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and Christ Jesus our Lord.
If you go to a beach, it’s fun to watch people get in the water. Some people test the waters very cautiously. They stick a toe in the water to test the temperature. Others will delicately wade in up to their waists or chests. Maybe that’s as far as they go. But then there are other people who are “all in.” They run full speed across the beach and into the water. As soon as they can, they dive in head first.
“All in.” It’s an expression we use to indicate that we are fully committed to a cause. We dive into the endeavor with everything we’ve got, 100%.
There are projects and pursuits that you totally commit to. On D-Day, the Allied assault on the shores of Northern France, they were all in. During a football or a volleyball game, each of the players on the team need to be all in. When a couple commit themselves to one another in the bonds of marriage, they are all in. You can’t be half-committed in parenting. Your child demands your full commitment.
The theme for our stewardship emphasis this fall has been “Found Faithful.” St. Paul prayed that he might be found faithful as an evangelist of the gospel. Likewise, we pray that we might be found faithful in all that God has entrusted to us.
Today’s theme is “Faithful with all.” Our faithful stewardship isn’t one-dimensional. It’s a multi-faceted responsibility covering every aspect of who we are. It covers our entire lives. We are “all in.”
We’ve heard two Bible passages this morning. They’re both connected to being faithful with all.
We heard the expansive poetry of Psalm 8. King David rhapsodizes over God’s majesty. He is dazzled and awestruck by the magnificence of the night sky. The planets move according to their assigned orbits. The moon shines its peaceful, silvery light onto the earth. It hangs in the sky like a jewel. The stars and Milky Way twinkle high above us with their million lights.
It’s an awesome thing. We don’t see it much, living under city lights as we do. But on the occasion when we can see the night sky in its full brilliance, or when we see the dynamic display of the Northern Lights, it’s truly awesome. We’re left feeling very tiny under this brilliant, sparkling canopy.
David utters our response so profoundly: What are we? What are we tiny, insignificant human beings in comparison to the majesty of your heavens, all that you have made? We have those moments when we encounter nature. It can be as small as seeing the brilliant fall display of a changing maple or as large as standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon. In both cases, we’re just awestruck. We have to stop and say, “My God, how great Thou art!”
And yet…and yet, David says. Look, despite how very small we humans are, still, you have placed EVERYTHING in this world under our command! You have left us in charge…of everything! We are all in, we’re in charge of this good earth. We are the stewards of all its animals, rivers, prairies, glaciers, mountains, farms, cities – the whole kit and kaboodle. May we be found faithful.
The second reading is from one of Jesus’ parables. A very wealthy landowner must go on a lengthy journey. He calls in his servants to take care of his property. To one servant, he entrusted five talents. It was a huge sum of money. It’s a heavy thing, to be entrusted with a great responsibility.
This servant went all in to be faithful to the trust his master had in him. He used all of his know-how and effort to put the funds to good use. When the estate owner returned, the servant was able to return ten talents to his master, twice the amount he was given.
All in. Our Lord Jesus Christ came among us as one “all in.” God chose to be involved in our world in a unique way. Christ came to dwell among us. He dove in, head first. Jesus became incarnate, the divine Son of God took on our human flesh to live among us in a form just like us. He was born into a family; he had friends; he felt all of the emotions we do. In every way he was in our form. He was all in. He was all in to life with us, but even more, he was all in to death, even death on a cross.
Jesus Christ is the evidence, the proof, that God’s love is all in for us. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God through Christ Jesus our Lord. Jesus didn’t come among us half-heartedly; his commitment and faithfulness to us was all in.
And knowing this makes all the difference for us. It changes everything because we know that we are victors through him. This blessed assurance releases us to live our lives all in. We can be faithful in all that has been entrusted to us:
- Our bodies and minds
- The care of our souls
- Living the gospel in word and deed
- All our possessions and means
- Our relationships
- Our time, our abilities and wisdom
- This beautiful earth
It may seem like an awesome task. But we are all in, one day at a time, walking with Jesus.
The Israelites were all in when they left Egypt and walked through the Red Sea waters. They moved forward one day at a time. They didn’t know where their food or water would come from. But they trusted in the guidance of God to see them through their yet uncharted path. The pillar of fire went before them. It led them one day at a time.
That pillar of fire was the Holy Spirit of God. And friends, that Holy Spirit is with us still. It leads us forward, one day, one step at a time. May we be found faithful: in little and with much, faithful with all.
