Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 28A)

November 19, 2023

Text: Matt. 25:14-30

            The question is, what do you think of God?  Who do you think He is, and how do you think He is toward you?  Do you think He is a miserly and greedy tyrant, a hard God who demands and takes for Himself, and exacts penalties on those who fail to live up to His impossible expectations?  Or do you trust Him as One who knows you and loves you… One who wants what is best for you and all His servants, wisely distributing to each according to his God-given ability, entrusting to each one a stewardship of that which belongs to God, but is given the steward (you) to be used in freedom, for the steward’s own use and enjoyment, yes, and then ultimately for God’s glory?

            What do you think of God?  And then, how do you view yourself in relation to Him?  A mere house-slave, just trying to placate Him enough that He’ll leave you alone, meanwhile taking what you can, when you can, so you can enjoy a little peace, and perhaps a little fun, when He’s looking the other way?  Or a child of your heavenly Father, redeemed by the blood and death of His own dear Son, Jesus Christ, baptized into Christ, enlivened by the Spirit of the living God, generously provided with all your needs of body and soul, and entrusted with the things of your Father to invest in this world, for the sake of His Kingdom?

            There are three servants in our Lord’s parable, and they act according to their view of the Master, and how they view themselves in relation to Him.  Now, the Master distributes to each of the three “according to his ability” (Matt. 25:15; ESV).  This is a clue that the Master knows His servants intimately.  He cares for them.  He gives them what is right.  He does not want them to fail.  He is invested in their success.  And the point is, before the servants even have an opportunity to act, the Master has acted on their behalf.  On the basis of His wisdom, and for the good of each servant.  He gives to each one according to what He knows is best.

            The first servant must be a pretty special guy, as far as we fellow servants can tell.  He is entrusted with much, five talents!  Presumably of silver, though it could be gold, the text doesn’t say.  In any case, if it’s silver, that would be about equal to 7,300 denarii, a denarius being a day’s wage, so you do that math.  If it’s gold, it’s about 30 times that amount!  In either case, we’re talking about a lot of money here.  Now, we’re okay that the first guy received more.  Or, at least we should be.  Let’s not be envious of our fellow servants who have more than we do, for those who are given much have much greater responsibility.  Repent of all jealousy, and rejoice with those who have great wealth.  And support them.  They have a lot on their shoulders.  This guy must be up to the task.  The Master certainly thinks so. 

            The second servant, well… he has a lot, too.  Two talents!  Again, do the math.  About 14,600 days’ worth of salary.  The Master knows that is what he can handle.  And see, really, the point is not how much each servant is given, but what they will do with it.  Each of these two servants uses the money faithfully.  They put it to work in the Master’s interests.  For the Master’s Kingdom.  Now, it’s a risk.  Sure it is.  Investments are never guaranteed.  But you know what the Master didn’t say upon entrusting His wealth to these servants?  He didn’t say, “You’d better make X percentage return on this, or you’re done for!”  No, no.  When the Master entrusted His wealth to His servants, He expected the servants to use His wealth as He, Himself, would have.  And now, that is just what each of the faithful servants does.  Faithfulness over the Master’s wealth means to use that wealth as the Master would.

            Now, each of these two servants recognized three things about their Master and their relation to Him as stewards.  First, the wealth belongs to the Master, but He has entrusted it to them entirely, as though it were their own.  Second, He wants them to use it.  In His interest, which is really their own interest.  As it goes with the Master, so it goes with them.  And third, what if the whole investment goes awry?  What if the bottom drops out of the market, and they lose everything?  At the end of the day, no matter what happens, they know they are still servants of the Master.  They belong to Him.  And He will not fail them.  He will catch them.  He will continue to provide for them.  They will still have a place with Him in His house, as His servants.  You see what this means?  They have faith in the Master!  The heart of faithfulness is faith.  The servants act according to the way they view the Master, and their relation to the Master.

            This is highlighted all the more with this third servant.  What’s with this third guy?  The Master entrusts him with only one talent.  But that’s still a whole lot.  7,300 days’ salary.  What would you do with that kind of money?  So, it’s not that the Master expects him to fail.  Frankly, you and I probably fall into this category of steward.  Generously provided for, but nothing like the guy with five, or even the guy with two, talents.  Again, don’t get caught up on how much each steward is given.  Look at what the steward does with it. 

            This guy… he buries it in the ground.  Hidden.  Safe.  Why?  Because he thinks… he believes he knows… the Master to be a hard man.  A greedy man who takes what isn’t his.  A miserly man who would never forgive a servant who lost His money.  And in that case, the servant would be out on his keister, left to provide for himself.  Or worse, in the dungeon, or perhaps even the gallows.  That’s what he thinks of the Master.  So that’s how he acts.  He has no faith in the Master!  The heart of unfaithfulness is unbelief.

            Well… I’m sure by now you’ve realized this is a stewardship sermon.  I can’t slip one past you.  Not when Church is no longer in the morning.  And you know you should examine yourself in light of the three stewards, and ask yourself whether you’re being faithful with the things God has given you.  And you further know that this isn’t just about money, and what you put in the plate.  It’s about your whole life.  Everything.  The three t’s, “time, talent, and treasure,” as we say.  But even that falls short.  We’re talking about your very life, every breath, every beat of your heart.  It all belongs to God.  He has given it to you to steward, to care for, to invest.  And He wants it used for His purposes.  You know all this, but we have to preach it, because old Adam chafes to hear it, and he’d rather forget.  We have to drown him.  Kill him.  Repent.

            But more, this is a sermon about faith.  What do you think of God?  Who do you think He is, and how do you think He is toward you?  And who are you in relation to Him?  The way you answer those questions will determine how you steward the things He gives you.

            Unbelief sees God as uncaring at best, and cruel at worst, and so, life is basically luck of the draw.  You can’t count on God’s help.  You better get what you can, when you can.  And when you get it, you’d better save it all up for a rainy day.  You’d better look out for number one.  Dig a hole in the ground and bury it.  Because the time, the talent, the treasure, will run dry, and what then?

            Faith, though, looks at the cross.  And it answers all the questions through the lens of the cross.  What do you think of God?  Who is He, and how do you think He is toward you?  He is the God who so loved me and the world, that He gave His only Son into that excruciating death for me, to make me His own.  Then, who are you in relation to Him?  I am baptized into that, into the Son of God, Jesus Christ.  Into His death for my sins.  Into His resurrection for my justification and eternal life.  Into the Son Himself.  And that means I am a child of God.  See, not just a servant.  No mere house-slave.  A child of the heavenly Father.

            The Father gives His children everything… everything they have, everything they need.  It belongs to Him.  But the child uses it as his own.  I often remind my children (usually with a twinkle in my eye) that their stuff is really my stuff, that I paid for.  Of course, I’ve given it to them, and so it’s theirs to use and enjoy.  But this strikes me every once in a while, whenever I go to my mom’s house… and now, I’ve been away from home for decades now… but whenever I enter her home, I come in like I own the place, and I use her stuff like it’s mine.  That’s how it is between parents and children, isn’t it?  It’s not my house.  It’s not my stuff.  But I am her son.  I come in like this, because I have faith in who she is toward me… my mom… and who I am in relation to her… her son. 

            So it is between our Father in heaven, and we who are His children.  If we don’t regard God as our Father, who loves us, we will be like the third servant.  Having no faith, we’ll be faithless.  But when we know and trust that God is our Father, who has redeemed us by the blood of Christ, we know He will never forsake us.  We will never be destitute.  He will always provide.  And having such faith, we’ll be faithful.  So, use my money in support of His Kingdom and for the needs of my neighbor?  You bet I will.  What is this wad of paper in my pocket, and few shiny, round pieces of metal, compared with God’s great love for me, and the holy, precious blood of Christ?  Spend my time at Church, and in prayer and Scripture reading, and then in action for the people around me?  Of course.  God has been devoted to me for eternity, and ever shall be.  What is my time in comparison with that?  Dedicate my every breath, my every last heartbeat to Him?  Absolutely.  For His Son, Jesus, gave His very life for me.  And now, even when I stop breathing, and my heart is still, and my flesh is buried in the dust, I know that soon… soon!... I will stand again upon the earth, and with my own eyes, see Jesus, my Redeemer, who lives, and who will raise me from the dead.  We can give everything, use everything, invest everything in God’s Kingdom, because He has given everything for us.  “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32). 

            That Day is coming.  It is a Day of judgment.  A reckoning.  A giving of account, like the servants.  But the question on that Day will not be what rate of return the Lord receives on His investment.  In the case of the first two servants, the rate of return is a whopping 100%, and that ought to be a clue as to what is really going on here.  The investment is entirely in the hands of the Master, and it is all by grace.  The question will be, what do you think of the Master?  What do you think of God?  What is your relation to Him?  And faith, looking through the cross, will answer: “He is my Father, who loves me, and gave His Son for me.”  And then, your God will say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant.  Enter into the joy of your Master.  Come into the House like you own the place.  For you are not only a servant.  You are My beloved child.”  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.