Risky Business: a sermon for Year A, Proper 28

Preached on Sunday, November 13, 2011 at Christ & Saint Stephen's Church. The lectionary readings this sermon is based on can be found here.

Our gospel lesson today is a surprising one, and a hard one to take, quite frankly. It seems to contradict most of what we’ve heard from Jesus in our readings from Matthew in the last few weeks. Last week, we heard that the most blessed were the poor in spirit, the meek, the persecuted. And the week before, Jesus assured us that the exalted would be humbled and the humbled would be lifted up.

But then this week, the same Jesus tells us that those who have will be given more, the ‘haves’ will know even greater abundance; but those with nothing will wind up with less than nothing. Doesn’t sound like the same guy, does it, this Jesus who says the ‘have-nots’ are to have nothing at all; and the ‘haves’ are to have even more.

That’s certainly proves to be true for the first two slaves in our gospel reading this morning. The first slave is given 5 talents. We’ll call him our large-cap guy. He’s got a lot of assets to invest, lots of capital to play around with. 

There’s been quite bit of research out there on just what a talent was equal to in ancient times. It is a measure of weight primarily, and is used to measure gold and silver. Some sources say a talent of precious metal would today be worth nearly a million dollars. Others look at it differently, and say a talent would be worth about 20 years’ wages for a manual laborer at that time. Regardless, it was a lot of money. 

So our large-cap slave is given 5 talents and our mid-cap slave, let’s call him, was given 2 talents. And each of these rather shrewd and talented businessmen, was able to double their money. This is an unheard of rate of return, these guys put all the mighty barons of Wall Street to shame, don’t they? The large-cap slave comes up with nearly a 200 years’ worth of wages, the mid-cap slave nets out 80 years’ worth of salary. Not too shabby at all. 

Then there’s our small-cap slave. One lousy talent is all he’s given, but remember, that’s quite a sum of money. But instead of risking his talent, he protects it, he hoards it and makes sure he’s not going to lose out if the market goes south or his business associates turn out to be swindlers. He plays it safe, he engages in no risk whatsoever.

“Saving” money by burying it was a common practice in the ancient world and one recommended by the rabbis. It was a good way to keep money safe from theft or from volatile markets. It was forbidden for Jews to profit by usury, earning interest at sometimes excessive rates, so when the master scolds the slave and says he could have at least put his one talent in the bank to earn interest, he’s not quite right. It would have been considered sinful by most people for one thing, and banks in the ancient world were highly unreliable – kind of like how they are today. Most of those hearing this parable in the ancient world would have commended our small-cap slave’s actions. His path was the safe one, the commendable one, the sure one; his methods were the most risk-free. 

Then why did things come out so badly for the small-cap slave? He is stripped of all he has and cast out into the outer darkness to weep and gnash his teeth. But why? After all, he does exactly what would have been expected of him, he plays it safe, he’s above board and prudent. He doesn’t risk a thing...

And that’s his sin. God doesn’t want us to play it safe, any more than the master wants his slaves to play it safe in our parable today. We are not to rest ‘complacently on our dregs’ as our Old Testament reading puts it. We are to risk what God has given us, we are to put it out there. We are to take what God has so generously granted unto us and share it with the world.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary notes that the contemporary meaning of the word ‘talent’ comes directly from this parable. When we say someone has a talent for something – music or art, caring for children, communicating – what we mean is that they have a particular skill, they have acumen in a certain area. When we say someone has a talent for something what we mean is, they have a gift. 

And that’s what Jesus means in this parable in Matthew. Each of the slaves is given a gift – some large, some small; gifts that were apportioned to them in accordance with their abilities. And it’s what they do with those gifts that matters. 

We too are given gifts by God. Some of us are given what we refer to as talents, for playing the piano, for acting, for investing perhaps. Some of us have gifts for listening or for healing. Some have gifts for leadership. Others of us have gifts for what I call followership – we’re not cut out to be generals, but we make great lieutenants. Some of us have gifts for joy and happiness. Some of us know just when to call, just what to say in time of trouble, our gift is for companionship. There are many gifts God gives us, large and medium and small, gifts that have been given to us in accordance with our abilities. 

And it’s not news to you, I know, that we are to share these gifts with the world. Whether it is our talent for singing or painting or cooking or listening. A good Christian uses whatever talents or gifts she has been given to serve others. 

But we have been given other gifts too. Whether our talents are grand or humble, we have all of us been given some very large gifts, extraordinarily huge gifts, gifts worth more than a many lifetimes of labor. We are the recipients of God’s grace, we have been granted God’s mercy. We have been given God’s eternal, unfailing, unconditional love. And it’s what we do with these things that matters. Having received these gifts, these extraordinary, what do we do with them?

For those who have been granted God’s mercy, it seems clear – we are to be merciful to others. Quick to forgive, patiently understanding; to those of us who know so well that God is merciful, the only response we can have is to be merciful to others.

For those who know they have been given God’s grace, the way seems clear – we are to share that grace with others. If God has been generous to us, we are to be generous with others. If God has been kind to us, has shown us favor, then it is quite plain, is it not? We are to be kind to others, we are to be as favorable to others as we can manage to be.

For those of us how know what it is like to feel God’s love, then our path is quite clear. We are to love others. Love them until they know that God loves them too. There is no excuse for us to give up, or to let hate take over our hearts. God has loved us, we have no choice but to love others. 

Though these responses to God’s gifts may be apparent, they are not easy. And Jesus knows that. In today’s parable, the slave with one talent says what we all believe, in one degree or another, to be true about the world around us. The slave says to the master, “I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid...” (Mt 25: 24-25a) 

We say the same things don’t we? It’s hard out there for a Christian, isn’t it? People are harsh, often cold. The kindnesses we try to do are not returned. And the world seems to be completely controlled by people who reap and gather more than their fair share, much more than they have a right to, while the rest of us, the 99%, struggle on.

And we are often afraid, aren’t we? Afraid of what the markets may hold for our retirement portfolio, or what the next election will mean for the world, for our country, for the rights we hope someday to gain; afraid even of what the next election might mean for our diocese. We are often afraid of what some hate-filled terrorist might do next to our city or our country, afraid of what some hate-filled tough might do on a darkened Greenwich Village side street, or what some belligerent bully might do on the playground tomorrow.

But Jesus makes it clear, if it’s a tough world out there, if it’s a risky world out there, then that’s all the more reason for us to share what we have been given. The brokenness of the world is no excuse, rather that should be our motivation to do something, to try anything, to show forth God’s grace and mercy and love in just such a broken world as this. 

And we have been given yet another gift from God with which to do God’s will. We have each other. We don’t face the world alone. We are members of the body of Christ, we are the church, called together in faith as we are called to be witnesses of God’s grace, mercy and love to the world. And as the Apostle Paul tells the Thessalonians, we are to “encourage one another and build up each other.” (1 Thess 5:11) We have each other and it is together that we can go forth into the world with a reflection of God’s love for us on our faces and in our hearts.

And make no mistake, this is risky business, we may not reap what we sow in our efforts. We may not see a healthy return – at least not in this life – on what we have shared with others of the many gifts granted unto us by God. It may well be true that our risks will not be matched by rewards, at least not the kind of rewards that this world tends to dole out. But risk we must. That is the only sin of the poor, small-cap slave in the parable. With the least amount to lose, he couldn’t risk even that. 

So, take the risk. Dare to be merciful and full of forgiveness, if for no other reason than God has been merciful to you. Be kind; honor the lives and efforts of others, if for no other reason than God has been gracious to you. Take the risk to love, to really love, others; to love your enemies, to love those who hate you. It’s a risk, a big risk. Go for it. Risk it all. It’ll pay off, on the bright morning when we hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Now, enter into the joy of your Master.” + Amen.

© The Rev. Mark R. Collins