“Use It or Lose It”

Matthew 25:14-30

Pastor Deb Troester, STHPC, Nov. 3, 2024

You may have heard of the famous architect, Sir Christopher Wren. After the great London fire of 1666, he was commissioned to rebuild the magnificent St. Paul’s Cathedral. One day as he was supervising the construction of the cathedral, he observed three bricklayers hard at work. He asked them, “What are you doing?” The first bricklayer answered, “I’m working hard to feed my family.” The second bricklayer, responded, “Can’t you see? I’m building a wall.” But the third brick layer stood up tall, and proudly replied “I’m building a cathedral for the great Sir Christopher Wren and for the glory of Almighty God.”

In Ephesians the Apostle Paul envisions the church as “a temple, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.” In Christ, “the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.” Throughout the history of the church, some, like the third bricklayer, have caught that vision.

They saw that what they were doing, however humble the task, was contributing to an eternal project, to the glory of God, and the good of humanity.

Today we commemorate All Saints, remembering those who have gone before us. These are not saints in the sense of someone holier than everyone else, but rather all those who believe in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul begins his letters to the churches with phrases such as “To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints.” That includes us. So, you are a saint!

On All Saints Day, we remember those who served God and their fellow human beings throughout the ages. We give thanks for those persons in our lives who taught and guided us, without whom we might very well not be here this morning, worshiping God – those who shared their faith with us and encouraged us to follow the way of Jesus Christ. I think especially of my grandparents, who read Bible stories to me and took me to church when I was young. Maybe you might remember a special teacher or pastor. Who helped you find faith in Christ?

In the Bible we read of many saints who helped to build the church. Some, like Paul, traveled the world as missionaries, telling the good news of Christ to those who had never heard. David could sing so sweetly that he calmed the anger of King Saul. He wrote Psalms that still calm our souls, three millennia later. Esther used her beauty and her courage to save her people from genocide. Others were quieter and worked behind the scenes, such as the humble Dorcas, who sewed clothing for the poor, and Joseph the carpenter, who became Jesus’ earthly father. Even Paul himself might not have become the great apostle without the encouragement of his friend Barnabus or the prayers of Ananias. I could name many more. All of these found a way to use their skills and abilities to serve God and to help others. That is the message of our parable this morning. All of us have different gifts or “talents” we can use to help others and to build the Kingdom of God.

But first we need to get rid of a few misconception. Parts of this story seem scary and confusing.

It talks about slavery, and an angry master who casts people into darkness, where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth. This is more like a Halloween horror movie than a parable. What is going on?

To clarify, this parable is not about slavery or an angry God. It’s not even necessarily about money. Let me explain. In the 21st century we may be shocked to hear Jesus use the word “slave.” It’s not very PC – shouldn’t he have said “enslaved person”? Actually some translations try to soften this by using the word “servant.” Just to be clear: This passage and others in the Bible that refer to slaves were not meant to endorse slavery of any kind. Jesus is simply describing a sad reality of first century Palestine, where slavery was a common fact of life. Some slaves were well-educated, and might have been entrusted with running a household, or a business. If Jesus told this story today, it might be about a billionaire who invested his money in three different funds. The first two fund-managers were wise, but the manager of the third fund did nothing with the money; it didn’t even accrue interest. No wonder the master was upset!

Nor is the parable about eternal punishment. It’s a parable, not an allegory where each person or thing represents something else. In an allegory, we could say that the master represents God. But a parable is meant to teach a lesson, and the main lesson of this parable has to do with the gifts God gives us and how we use them. I don’t think Jesus is teaching that God is cruel and will throw us into hell if we don’t use our gifts wisely. We believe, as it says in Ephesians 2, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” Also, Jesus teaches that God is our Abba – our father. Abba is an Aramaic word more akin to “Daddy” or “Papa,” and indicates the loving, protective relationship that a good parent has toward their child.

In fact, if we see God as an unrelenting, demanding task-master, our fear may keep us from serving Him. Just like a child whose parents are too demanding, we tend to think nothing is good enough, so why try?  Our fears become a self-fulfilling prophecy. That might explain the behavior of the third servant in the parable.

Jesus’ main point here is not that God is mean and judgmental. So, what is this parable about? Jesus wants to help his listeners understand that all we have is given to us by God and we are responsible to God for how we use it. That is the essence of stewardship – wisely using the material goods and the abilities God has entrusted to us – our talents.

In Jesus’ day a talent was a unit of money, worth approximately fifteen years of a day laborer’s earnings. Each of the gifts the master gave to his servants was enormous – five talents was more than a lifetime’s worth of earnings for an average person. If we take the California minimum wage of $16 an hour, that comes to nearly $2.5 million. Two talents would be $1 million and one talent nearly $500,000. That’s a lot of money just to bury in the ground! Of course, Jesus purposely exaggerates for dramatic effect. But this huge amount points to the extravagant generosity of God who has given us so much more than we can ever comprehend: our families and loved ones, the beauty of creation, our work, our health, the love of God through Christ, his Son.

Today if we hear the word “talent” we probably think about aptitudes and abilities, not money. This parable is the reason the word “talent” changed in meaning from a sum of money to a skill. Through the centuries theologians rightly interpreted this parable to be talking about all our gifts and abilities, not just material possessions.

So what talents, has God given you? In his book The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren writes, “You were shaped for serving God.” God put us on earth for a purpose. Our job is to discover that purpose and live it out to the fullest. Each of us is unique. Each of us has something different to offer. In I Peter 4:10, Peter writes: “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” Cardinal Mercia, who resisted the German occupation of Belgium, said, “We must not only give what we have; we must also give what we are.”

The parable is realistic - some really do have more gifts than others. Some have more material wealth, some have more education, some have more skills and abilities than others.

But that does not make any difference. In the end what matters is what we did with what we had. The master said, “Well done, good and faithful servant to both the one who earned five talents and the one who earned two.” He was only displeased with the one who made no attempt to use what was given him.

What does that say about our relationship with God when we do not use the gifts He has entrusted to us for God’s kingdom? Some people believe in tithing – a worthy goal, but God does not want 10% of our lives – God wants all of our lives. That doesn’t mean we have to spend all our time in church, but it means that in everything we do, we try to honor God, whether raising our children, conducting our business, or enriching our relationships with love and compassion.

God has given all of us valuable skills and talents. Do we use our abilities to help others, to make the world a better place? Or have we used our God-given talents only for our own benefit, or maybe even just squandered them? All of our life belongs to God, and we can each make a unique contribution, something that only we can do.

This past week was the feast day of a little-known Catholic saint, Alphonsus Rodriguez, who served as a porter at the Jesuit College in Majorca, Spain, from 1572 -1617. Alphonsus had applied to join the Jesuits, but was turned down, due to his age and lack of education. Offered the humble job of porter instead, he embraced this duty as a calling from God, welcoming each person who entered the college as if he were Christ himself. It is said that “He performed his tasks with such infinite love that the act of opening the door became a sacramental gesture.”

No matter how humble the task God has given us, if we do it faithfully and with love, we will one day hear those words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” May it be so. Amen.

©Deborah Troester, 2024