{Prayer}
As I was struggling in developing this sermon, I came across a devotional from an old professor of mine which I want to use as a guide as we go through Jesus’ parable of the talents from our gospel lesson this morning.
At first glance, when we read this parable, it’s very easy to think that the parable is all about stewardship. And honestly, that is where a lot of pastors tend to go when they preach on this parable and try to make sense of it. You see, we have two sets of servants. We have the faithful servants and then we have the one unfaithful servant. We see the faithful servants using the gifts, the talents which they have been given and upon the master’s return, they are welcomed by their master. The unfaithful servant, he hides his gift and doesn’t use his talents and because of that, when the master returns, he is condemned. The parable seems to say, “Work faithfully with what God has given you … or else.”
In a world where many people see institutions, especially the institution of the Church as being an oppressive, money-grabbing institution, this parable only seems to confirm their misconception. Some people believe that God is a demanding master and you had better obey Him … or else. These people believe that the Church, that her pastors use God’s judgment to inspire guilt and fear among people in order to get their money, to get their time, to get their brainwashed minds, and their unquestioning service. My professor’s friend once said … “I already have enough guilt in my life. I don’t need the church to add any more.”
The thing is, the ministry of Jesus is totally different than that. The ministry of Jesus reveals a totally different kind of God than what some may think. God did not come to get. He came to give. Listen to that again, God didn’t come to get. He came to give. He came to entrust and deliver. Jesus cleansed lepers, he healed the sick, cast out demons, and he even raised the dead. He did this for others … not himself.
Unfortunately, though … the religious leaders of Jesus’ day used their power. They used their power to capture Jesus, sway the masses, and wrongfully try him. Jesus would die at the hands of a very corrupt and abusive religious system. However, when God raised Jesus from the dead, God revealed the true nature of His rule. God didn’t come to get but instead sent Jesus to bring the forgiveness of sins, to bring the promise of eternal life, and to bring salvation to a fallen and corrupt world.
The Church, the body of Christ which contains you, me, and all believers, it is the dwelling place of that God. Our God is a God who gives, who delivers. The Church at large is not an institution that uses its power to get from people what it wants … rather the Church at large is a place where God dwells to give, to deliver His people who then in return give to others in a selfless and sacrificial way.
If you read the parable more closely instead of just giving it a cursory glance, you’ll see this vision of God and of His Kingdom.
When you read the parable more closely, you’ll notice how Jesus is less interested in stewardship and more interested in the relationship people have with God. It’s not about the money the master gives to the servants. The error of the unfaithful servant is not that he did not use his money or invest it. That’s not it at all. The problem is that the unfaithful servant believed a lie about God. A lie which even people today believe. At the end of the parable, the unfaithful servant confesses what it is that he understands about God. He says, “I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed” (Matt. 25:24). Can you hear the misconception? Do you see the error in his thinking? Instead of serving a God who gives, this unfaithful servant believes in a god who demands and takes.
The tragedy of this parable is not the failure to serve, not a failure to take the talent, the gift which God gave and use it to better the kingdom. The tragedy is in the failure to truly know the Savior and who he really is. Because the servant didn’t know his master … he died in his own lie.
So this brings us to another question. Who is this master who Jesus desires for us to know?
Well, at the beginning of the parable, Jesus shows us exactly who he is. He is a master who is personal, who is generous. The master is personal in how he gives, how he entrusts and delivers goods to his servants. Jesus calls each servant in to himself and speaks to each one individually. He sits down and gets to know them. He knows what it is that each servant can do and what it is that each servant can handle. Jesus gives, “to each according to his ability” (Matt. 25:15).
So not only is the maser personal in how he knows you … he is also personal in what he gives. The master doesn’t go out and order something off of Amazon and then give it to the servants. No, the master entrusts, he delivers to the servants out of “his property” (25:14). The gift the master gives is a gracious and generous one. It’s not like the master just gave one a dollar, one two dollars, and the other five dollars. No, he is giving them years and years of wages at a time. And he is delivering this out of an amazing act of grace and trust.
This is the God who Jesus came to reveal to a world which is full of misconceptions. Our God who Jesus came to reveal is the one who created you and me, who made you the way you are. As it says in the psalms, you are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Our God is the one who forgives you and who claims you in Christ to be his own. He is the one who makes you a member of His eternal Kingdom. Our God is the one who provides you with the gift of His own Spirit. He is the one who commissions you, who sends you out to serve Him exactly where you can be productive.
When Christ returns on that unexpected day, He will reward you for doing what it is that He has created, equipped, and commissioned you to do. God has an overflowing generosity which is personal and powerful in each of our lives. God will not abandon the lost nor will He break the broken. Rather, He invites all people, He invites each of us to come to know the wisdom of His love and to know Him personally and intimately.
And He does this for you this morning. We read in James 4, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (4:18). As you draw near to this table, you are drawing near to God and God is becoming a part of you.
As we look at our lives, as we look at our service in God’s kingdom, questions of stewardship do and can come up. But before we begin talking about the service we render to God, it’s important to talk about the service God delivers to us. God is not our taskmaster. He is our Savior. He is our Deliverer. Not only has He delivered us from our sin, but He has equipped you with gifts, He has given you talents according to your ability. And He promises to rejoice with you in those works when He someday returns.
Knowing God means we know ourselves as His children, totally forgiven of sin and equipped for service in the world. To know the joy of service is to know the joy of the Master … both in this world and in the next. Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus our Lord, now and forever. Amen.
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