OUR GIFTS - Nov. 16, 2008
Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 18:18-25
It would seem that it might not be a great time to talk about money, funds, our pledge to the church. It also might seem like the scripture in Matthew is making an unfair judgment, because we know many people who were trying to be responsible in their investing, either in an I.R.A. buying a home. And it is a reality that the world seems unjust, with CEO's of large corporations that are losing money receiving huge salaries and bonuses. The CEO's of AIG who received millions of dollars of bail-out funds celebrating at an expensive spa was a slap in the face to people who have lost their homes because they couldn't come up with a $20,000 down payment to refinance.
So in this topsy-turvy world, what is Jesus saying to us.
First, yes, we do have to be responsible with our money. We are to do the best we can, with the best advice available.
But Jesus is talking to the disciples in this parable, not to a huge crowd of investors. We have to go back to the beginning of Matthew, chapter 24, to find that the disciples came to Jesus as he was leaving the temple, and after they asked Jesus a question about the buildings. Jesus tells them that someday, all these buildings will not be there any more -- they will all crumble, and become the ruins that we know about today. Then they walk on to the Mount of Olives, and Jesus begins to teach them about the new kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven. He warns them to stay strong during times of suffering and war, during times of famines and earthquakes. He tells them to keep awake, and alert. His teaching includes the parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids that we read last week.
Everyone knew the custom of the day, that before a young man could go and claim his bride, he would have to have a house ready in the family compound. The groom's father, the tribal chief or patriarch of the family, would have to approve the home. It was a game, as well as a time for the young man to prove himself. He would prepare the home, the father would come to inspect. The young man could not go to get the bride until the father gave his final approval -- and to test the young man's patience and skill, there would always be improvements necessary. The bride and bridesmaids never knew how long this would take -- everyone knew that there would be at least several improvements to be made before the young man could come. All the maidens knew that they would need extra oil. Jesus was telling a joke that must have made them laugh, as well as getting the point across that not only do we need to watch and be prepared, but the bridegroom would listen to the father and do his bidding, no matter how long it would take.
Jesus follows the parable of the wise and foolish maidens with the story we have today, about the wise and foolish investors. He is again preparing the disciples for when he will go away. What was the investment he was concerned with? What are the talents that the disciples were given to invest?
We know that Jesus wasn't as concerned with worldly wealth as with their understanding of who he was as the Messiah -- who he was as their savior and teacher.
The scribes and pharisees had been given the gift of the law of Moses. They had been given the gift of the temple in Jerusalem, which to them was a sign of God's presence among them. They had been given the gift of God's blessing for them, which they were to invest by sharing it with the whole world.
And what had the scribes and pharisees done with those talents? Had they invested them by sharing the teachings, and inviting others into the temple? No. They had been the worthless slaves, hoarding the gifts of God, keeping the gift of God's love and grace to themselves. And now, Jesus was there, calling them to account.
Jesus is warning the disciples to invest his teachings. Jesus is telling them not to hoard the grace of God. Jesus is asking the disciples to make wise use of the time they had with him, time that was of great value.
It is time to ask, "How much was a talent? How much money was Jesus talking about?"
A talent was worth 15 years of a laborer's salary. If we use round numbers and make a low estimate of a part-time migrant worker's salary at $10,000 X 15 years, we get $150,000. An estimate of $20,000 gives us $300,000. We are talking about fabulous sums of money -- far more than the disciples could even imagine.
The other thing that is important is that it is no mistake that the sum of money in the parable is a talent, and our word for special abilities is also a talent. The word Talent comes from this parable, and is defined as:
- An ancient unit of weight and value,
- The natural endowments of a person,
- A special often creative or artistic aptitude (and we can include aptitude for sports, business, organization, and others),
- Mental power or genius.
These are our God-given talents, which we are to invest and use, as fully and as completely as we can. We are not to bury them, or keep them locked up.
Jesus also gives us this warning in the parable of the rich young ruler, who knew what was important. He was like most of us, who have heard the teaching of Jesus, and know what God expects of us.
Amos had told the people hundreds of years before Jesus, that God expects them to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God.
The rich young ruler knew the commandments, and Jesus doesn't even list all of what we call the "10 Commandments," or refer him to the hundreds of commandments in the book of Leviticus. Jesus simply said, "You know the commandments: Don't commit adultery, don't kill, don't steal, don't swear falsely, honor your father and mother."
And the man replied, "I've kept them all since I was a boy."
But sometimes, our soul is hungry for more. Sometimes God is pulling us toward a deeper sense of grace. Sometimes we hunger and thirst after righteousness. Jesus saw that this young man had a sense that he could do more, and be more, and understand more. But something was holding him back. Oh, if he only knew what that was. So the young man came to Jesus, and Jesus saw that although he followed the commandments, his in his heart he loved his possessions and his money more than God, more than anything else, or anyone else. I imagine that he cared for his house, his fine clothes, his furniture, his camels and livestock, more than his parents, more than his wife, more than his children. So Jesus looked into this young man's heart, and challenged him to face what was his real truth. And the young man could not do that, and went away sorrowing.
I would like to think that Jesus' words sunk into that young man's heart, and through the years he thought about them, and that he grew to understand that his family, friends, and yes, the poor, were more important to his happiness than his possessions and wealth.
Jesus comes to us today, to remind us that we have been given talents: five talents, two talents, one talent -- every one of us has talents to invest.
Jesus comes to us today, to remind us that even if we follow the commandments, it is what is in our heart that determines our happiness, and our deepest longing is for God's gift of love. We will not be truly satisfied until we find it.
When we join the church, we pledge to support it with our prayers, our presence, our gifts and our service. The gifts we bring, even the gifts of our tithes and offerings of money, are a result of the talents we invest through the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen
Pastor Fran
