Walking with the Word

+Psalm 90:1-8, 12 + Judges 4:1-7 + 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 + Matthew 25:14-30 +

This week’s Gospel passage is a parable that can be unsettling and confusing on the first, or even fifth, reading but in fact is a great joy and comfort to those who know Jesus.

Essentially, Jesus tells a tale of a wealthy man going on a trip, leaving three of his slaves to look after some of his property. “To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.” (v. 15 – 18)

So how much is a talent? From what I can tell it’s a measure of gold that would be worth around 15 to 20 years worth of wages for most people of the day. By any measure, these slaves were entrusted with an enormous amount of money, “each according to his ability,” and each stewarded over his funds in a different way with different results.

After a long time has past, the master returns to the slaves to “settle accounts.” “And the one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me; see, I have gained five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master.’ The one also who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted to me two talents; see, I have gained two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground; see, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’ For to everyone who has shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. And cast out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (v. 20 – 30)

A cursory reading of the passage can result in confusion because it doesn’t seem to portray the Jesus we know. The Jesus we know surely doesn’t reap where He didn’t sow or gather where He sowed no seed. The Jesus we know also wouldn’t punish those who fear Him and surely wouldn’t take away from those who have little only to give it to those who have much. Surely that can’t be the meaning of the passage, can it?

In fact, a careful reading of the passage demonstrates the master as one who is incredibly generous, like Jesus. Think of a master entrusting twenty, forty, or one hundred years worth of wages to a slave with no instructions for its use or care, and then leaving town! That is an act dripping with trust and generosity. Our God has blessed us with riches beyond our wildest dreams, certainly far surpassing what we have earned or what we deserve. But He is a generous and trusting God who loves to give good gifts to His children.

However, like the slaves in the parable, we too will have a day of settlement with our Master when we will have to give an accounting of our stewardship over what we have been given. Now, St. Paul makes clear in his letter to the Romans that we are “justified by faith,” (Romans 5:1) and not by works. I don’t dispute this and I don’t think the parable does either. But James says that “faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” (James 2:17) That, I think, is completely consistent with the parable. Similarly, St. Luke tells us that, “from everyone who has been given much shall much be required; and to who they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.” (Luke 12:48) The parable makes clear that although God has given us unspeakable riches, freely and without compulsion, He does expect us to put them to work for His glory. As my faith tradition prays after receiving communion each Sunday, “And now, Father, send us out to do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord.” At some point, we will have to settle accounts with God with regard to this work.

So what of the fearful slave and taking from those who do not have? In the parable the fearful slave accuses the master of reaping where he did not sow and gathering where he did not scattered seed, but the master never admits to that behavior and it isn’t something that concerned the other two slaves. Instead, the third slave was so infected with a spirit of lack that it colored the way he viewed others around him. When I talk about a “spirit of lack”, what I’m referring to is when we get in the mood where all we see is how little we have and how much everyone else has. It’s a common problem today but it isn’t unique to our period in history. I believe that when Jesus talks of “the one who does not have,” He is addressing this very attitude. It is true that some of us have enormous material wealth and others of us have modest means. But remember, the parable says that to each was given, “according to his own ability,“ and that in the parable, the slave with the comparatively modest means had been entrusted with twenty years wages! It also shouldn’t be overlooked that the master never reprimanded any of the slaves for taking excessive or unnecessary risks. It is entirely likely that in our efforts to do the work God has given us to do that we will make huge mistakes. So, to paraphrase Martin Luther, if you must sin in the service of God, sin boldly. Take huge risks in the name of Christ. Know that He has your back and will catch you when you fall.

The point is this. Our God is a generous and loving God who has entrusted each of us with more than we can ever dream. Part of that trust is the implicit understanding that we are to use the talents (pun intended) we have been given to further the kingdom and it is only through living a life of lack, of seeing how little we have compared to those around us, of constantly being so afraid of doing the wrong thing that we never do anything, that we could ever disappoint or displease the One who loves us so very much. Never, ever forget that, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

May we all have humble spirits, simple lives, and loving hearts.

In Christ.

Matt

+ Psalm 70 + Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 + 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 + Matthew 25:1-13 +

In this week’s Gospel message we are told the parable of ten virgins who were waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom. For reasons that aren’t clear, the bridgegroom arrived at the wedding feast at midnight. Evidently, this was much later than originally planned as five of the virigns discovered that during the protracted wait for the bridegroom, all of the oil in their lamps had been consumed. At first, they turned to the virgins who had enough oil for assistance but their request was denied. “No, there will not be enough oil for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.” (v. 9) Unfortunately, by the time they returned with a replenished supply of oil, the feast had begun and the doors closed. These five called out to the bridegroom saying ,”‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ But he answered and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’”. (v. 11-12) The passage concludes with the warning to ”be on alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.” (v. 13)

So what are we to take away from this parable? It shouldn’t take a huge amount of imagination to determine that Jesus is the bridegroom and we are the virgins. So the first takeaway is that we do not know the time or place of Jesus’ return and, in fact, it’s a now and later type event. Just because the parousia, or the return of Jesus, hasn’t happened in the last two thousand years doesn’t mean that His return isn’t imminent. It could happen tonight or it could take another two thousand years. The point is we don’t know. The other side of that coin is that we don’t know when our days on earth will come to an end. We tend to assume that we will have long lives, but it could be that our appointment with our Lord is for tonight. Again, we don’t know.

Since we don’t know when the wedding feast will begin, we must ensure that we are prepared for it to begin now. We must ensure that we have truly committed our lives to Jesus such that we will indeed be seated at the banquet table. But we must also ensure that, like the five virgins invited into the feast, we can endure a long wait for the bridegroom. This may be the hardest task for believers today, as all of our cultural forces actively act against our life in the Kingdom. If the Bridegroom arrives later than we would prefer then we may be forced to endure decades of Satan’s attacks, all the while consuming the oil of our faith.

The most important thing we can do to ensure the endurance of our wait is through the daily application of the scriptures and prayer. Regular installments of both these disciplines are like daily refills of the oil in our lamps. It is the only thing we can do to strengthen our resolve in Kingdom living because our life of faith in Jesus is not something we can accomplish through force of will. It is only something that can be accomplished through and with the strength of Christ. A strength that is made available through our submission to Him and, like a stone rolling down hill, builds momentum over time.

One final, subtle point. What were the visible differences between the virgins who were prepared to wait and those who weren’t? In fact, there were no differences. They appeared to be exactly the same and it was only through testing that some were found to be worthy of the bridegroom and others not. This too, is the case with us. We often cannot tell who is a believer in Christ and who isn’t. We also can’t tell who professes to be right with God and who is merely deceiving themselves. However, it isn’t up to us to make that judgment. Jesus does know the condition of our hearts and, as the parable makes clear, will not waffle when it is time to the feast to begin. He will be decisive when it is time to divide the prepared from the unprepared, the wheat from the chaff.

Therefore, we have an inward and an outward obligation. First, we must be absolutely certain that we have devoted our lives to Christ, that He has no competition within our hearts, and that we are refilling the oil of our lamps daily, through prayer and study of God’s word. Secondly, we have an obligation to spread the Gospel to everyone we can reach. We must share the good news of Christ with all who will listen, making them aware of the grace that is available by virtue of Jesus’ death on the cross, warning them to ”be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour” when He will return.

May we all have humble spirits, simple lives, and loving hearts.

In Christ.

Matt

+ Psalm 99 + Isaiah 45:1-7 + 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 + Matthew 22:15-22 +

In this week’s Gospel passage we find the Pharisees trying once again to trap Jesus. Upon being asked whether or not it is lawful to pay Caesar’s census tax, Jesus asks to see the coin used to pay the tax, “and they brought him a denarius. And He said to them, ‘Whose likeness and inscription is this?’ They said to Him, ‘Caesar’s.’ Then He said to them, ‘Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.’” (v. 19-21)

The Pharisees’ trick was unsuccessful because they still believed they were dealing with a man they could outwit and suppress. They didn’t accept that they were dealing with the Son of God. Still believing they were in control, “the Pharisees were speechless. They went off shaking their heads.” (The Message, Matthew 22:22) I can only imagine the ensuing discussion was one worthy of a Monty Python sketch.

However, the unasked question is of critical importance to both the Pharisees, the early followers of Jesus, and to us today. The question is, what belongs to God? The simple answer is that everything belongs to God, but we make this answer more complex that it should be and often find ourselves speechless and shaking our heads too. You see, most of us are people who rationalize whether tithing means 10% before or after tax. We hide candy from our spouses and children. We fudge our taxes and are always looking to receive something for nothing. In reality, most of us live like Jesus said to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to me the things that are mine.”

I am as guilty of this as anyone. When I am quiet before God and honest with myself, I have some clarity and conviction about the direction and calling God has on my life. I am not willing to render to God the things that are Gods’, however. I continually pull my life back from Him and reclaim it for myself. Yes God, I hear You but what you’re asking doesn’t fit into MY plans, My image, My selfworth. I love you God, just not as much as I love myself.

There is a scene in Monty Python’s “The Holy Grail”where a young man of questionable intellect is about to be wed, well and truly against his wishes. His father, a wealthy land owner, attempts to comfort and encourage his son before the wedding by gesturing out the window, telling him, “One day, lad, this will all be yours!” To which the son replies, “What, the curtains?”

The tragedy is we think just like the imbecile son. Jesus has stretched out His arms on the Cross and said, “One day, lad, this will all be yours!”, but we are so shortsighted that we can’t see past the here and now of this world. This world is so good that we can’t imagine something better and so we latch on to everything in reach with a white-knuckled grip, blind to the bigger picture.

The bigger picture is that all that we are, all that we have, and all that we ever will be is the property and province of God. If we insist on behaving like spoiled children screaming “mine!”, God will allow us to have everything we can get our hand on. But I believe it grieves Him to do so, because He has so much more in store for us. God didn’t send Jesus, His only Son, to suffer and die on the Cross so that we might wear Prada. Jesus didn’t die a sinners death so that we could drive big cars and live in big houses, oblivious to the pain and suffering around us. Jesus was crucified so that we could be freed from the sin that will result in a sinner’s death, but we often cling to like so much treasure.

Our salvation in Christ is assured through our belief in Him as our Lord and Savior, but part of that belief is the understanding of our relationship with God. When Jesus tells the Pharisees to, “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s,‘” (v. 21) He is really saying that it’s all His. Every breath, every heart beat, and every dollar “we” earn, is in fact a gift from God and a right relationship with Him requires us to understand and submit to that. It requires us to die to ourselves and really know that He is God and we are not.

It’s time that we let go of the things we cling to, to allow God to bear our burdens, to acknowledge that it is all from Him, and to get a white-knuckle grip on our love for Jesus.

May we all have humble spirits, simple lives, and loving hearts.

In Christ.

Matt