A Trust From the Lord
Last Sunday, in what folks are now calling my “Tree-Hugger Sermon,” we talked about God seeing the potential in each living thing that God created and pruning away everything that inhibits its ability to reach its God-given potential. Today’s message takes us a step further… going beyond pruning away the dead wood and the vines to allow our lives to thrive and grow… to investing ourselves in what we have been given… and watching its yield increase.
First, God has given each of us talents… and our use of that particular word in today’s world comes directly from this parable. God has given each of us talents… both financial talents… or money… and other talents. God is the giver and God alone knows what our true potential is. According to this story, each person has been given talents in proportion to our ability to use them. The problem, as I see it, is three-fold: First of all, most of us do not know what our talents are. Secondly, many of us have not developed the talents that we have. And finally, some of us consider our own talents to be unimportant… to society… to the church… and to others around us. If we do not know what our talents are, then it follows that, perhaps, we have not developed them as we should. And, if we believe our talents are unimportant, then we are more likely to bury them in the ground and not to use them as we should.
Now, let me dispel the notion that one talent is not much to invest. When we read this story, many of us feel sorry for the poor slave that only received one talent. But one talent in Jesus’ day, was a substantial sum of money. It originated in the average weight that a man could carry. It later became systematized to be about 45 pounds of silver. If a denarius represented one day’s wages and was equivalent to half a shekel… and 3,000 shekels equaled one talent, then it would take 6,000 days of work to earn one talent… about twenty years’ wages for the average person… or, perhaps, half a million dollars in today’s world.
So, one talent was a substantial sum of money. And, if that slave received $500,000 dollars, then another slave received a million dollars and the third slave received $2.5 million dollars. What would you do with that money, if you were given charge of such a sum… if you were asked to be the steward of that money while your master was away? What decisions would you make about how to invest it… how to spend it… where to put it to show that you are taking good care of what had been given to you… entrusted to you? What are the lessons that Jesus wanted to teach by telling this parable? Let’s explore a few possibilities.
First of all, understand that, in God’s eyes, you have been given a small fortune to work with… whether you received five talents… or two talents… or just one. Paul tells us in his letter to the Corinthians, that all gifts are given by the Spirit for the common good… for the benefit of all. In some cases, the talents that you have been given are financial… and God expects you to invest them wisely and to grow that resource for the kingdom of God. In other cases, the talents that you have been given are not financial. You may have musical abilities… like Leesa Levisay. You may have the ability to create things… to build things… like Raymond Kenny… Bruce Boardman… Jim Durden… or Russell Bowden. Take a look at the CASA playhouse today and see what these men… and others in this congregation … have created with their own hands. You may have other talents. You may have the ability to teach others… like Trish Schreiber… Cathy Wittie… or Becky Nelson. Perhaps, like Wanda Solley… or Jo Nell Richardson, your gifts include the ability to organize and plan things. In scripture, Barnabas was known as the encourager… with the gift of motivating and sustaining others. Dee Williams has that gift. The Apostle Paul was an interpreter of the Word of God… helping others to understand what it means to be a Christian. Dick Bryant has that gift. And, we’ve all learned recently that John Darby has the gift of testimony… sharing a witness of what God has done in his life.
I could spend my entire time with you today just listing the gifts that God has given to the members and friends of this congregation... and I am still discovering what some of those gifts are! What I do know, is that we have been wonderfully blessed… that God has blessed this congregation amazing gifts and talents… both in terms of financial resources and in other gifts that are needed to build up and sustain the kingdom of God. I also know that we are called to be stewards of the gifts that God has given to us... whether those gifts are financial or talents of a different sort. And, as stewards of those gifts, we are called to grow them to their full potential... and use them for the common good.
What does that mean? Well, it is pretty straight forward: If you have talents, you are to work to develop them to the best of your ability. Each slave in this story was given talents in accordance with their ability. The expectation was that they would do the best that they could with those gifts. The slave receiving two talents was commended in the same way as the slave who received five talents. He had done the best that he could to develop the talents that he had. Those with financial acumen should develop that gift and use it to increase their financial holdings. Those with musical talents should work to develop those gifts. The point is that maintaining the status quo is not good enough. If God has entrusted you with a gift, you are to use it and increase its power… its presence… and its worth. You are not to hide it… to bury it in the ground.
But many of us do not know the gifts that we have. I believe this is true for two reasons. First of all, no one has helped us to identify the gifts and talents that we have. As a community, we do not spend much time edifying others… highlighting their gifts, giving them opportunities to use those gifts, encouraging them to develop those gifts, and recognizing the many talents that they have. What a different community of faith we would have if we would take the time to seek out the gifts and talents that God has given to others and helping them to reach their full potential in the use of those gifts.
But that’s not all. Some of us also believe that our gifts are unimportant. And let me tell you something about that. If you minimize the gifts and talents that God has given to you… then you minimize the work of God in your life. Furthermore, you have no concept of how important each little piece of the puzzle is. Some of you think that making tea for our community meals is a small task. Well, let me tell you, it takes an enormous burden from my shoulders to know that I do not have to worry about that… for I know that Lelia Surber will make the tea for each Thursday noon Share-A-Meal. That little task is a tremendous gift to me… to this community of faith. There are also people in this congregation who make telephone calls and keep tabs on other members of our faith community. They share a message of love and hope with each phone call. Ama Lee Taylor is one who has this gift. Betty Meers is another. It’s a wonderful gift… just picking up the telephone and calling someone… and it may seem unimportant to some, but I can tell you that it is a vital part of the foundation of this church… this family of faith. Like Anita Cisler, who folds the bulletins for us each week, it may seem like a tiny thing, but it is huge… a gift that is shared with all of us who benefit from it.
But that’s not all: God has also given gifts to this church and we are stewards of those gifts as well. Most of us will immediately think of the Anna Clare Boyd legacy… and I am happy to report that your Session has worked hard to invest those funds and to grow that investment to much more than its original value. But the Anna Clare Boyd legacy is only one of the many gifts that God has given to this church. This building that we worship in… that we study in… that we share so much fellowship in… is also a gift from God… and a legacy from the saints that preceded us… as is the land that it sits on and the new property that we have acquired right next door. Our Long Range Planning team is only now beginning the lengthy process of trying to discern the best use of this building and the property we own in order to invest in the future of this church… in this community.
But, once again, the gifts that we have do not stop with the tangible items that surround us. Take a look around this sanctuary. It is a sanctuary filled with talented people who have so much potential to glorify God by making disciples and reflecting God’s love in service to others. God has brought us together as a congregation… and that is one of the many gifts that God has given us. We are called to be stewards of this congregation… to nurture it… to grow it… to invest our time… our money… into it so that it, too, will increase in value. It is not enough just to unlock the doors on Sunday morning… for that would almost be like maintaining the status quo… like burying our talent in the ground. No, we are called to nurture… to support… to teach… to encourage… and to lead each other to be better Christians… to be stronger in our faith… to be more loving… more caring. God has challenged us to reach out to our community… to seek for and to find additional talents to strengthen and support this congregation. God has given us youth… by the score… our own children… and the children of others in our community. We are the stewards of this gift… of all these gifts. We are called to invest in them… to grow them… to increase their value.
And there is more. As moderator of the Session of this church, I consider our Session to be a gift from God… and each member of it as a person with gifts and talents given by God for the common good. I have to ask myself, “What am I doing to nurture… to encourage… to grow… to increase the value of Joe Ayres… Russell Bowden… Sue Durden… Peggy Kenny… Glen Levisay… John Rogers… Trish Schreiber… Russell Smith… Wanda Solley… and of the Session as a whole?” Do I invest myself in the Session of this church? Do I use this resource… this gift… these many talents… wisely? Am I a good steward of the Session of this church?
You see, at some point, Christ will return and ask for an accounting of all that we have been given. And each person will be asked to give an accounting of all the gifts that he or she has received from God. That means that I will be asked what I have done with what God has given to me… what I have done with my money… with my health… with my children… with my parents… with my voice… with my mind… my friends… my colleagues in ministry… with all of the gifts that God has given to me. You, too, will be asked what you have done with what God has given to you. Are you ready to answer that question? Can you show that you have invested your gifts… increased their value? What have you done with your financial resources… your home… your friends… your workplace… your job… your mind… your children… your community… your church? Can you say that your friends are better for having known you? Can you say that your workplace is better because you are there? Can you say that you have worked to improve your mind… to stretch it… to challenge it… to grow it? Can you say that your church is better… more valuable… more effective… because you are here?
We are all stewards of the gifts and talents that we have received from God. Today, we celebrate many of the gifts that we have received… the money that allows us to pledge our financial support of this church… the land that we have acquired to further the work of God’s kingdom in this community… the new members that we have receive to nurture and support… to challenge and teach… to take “with us” as we minister to others. My challenge to you today is to become more conscious of all the talents that God has given to you… and all the gifts from God that fill your life… and to ask yourself: What are you doing to invest them… to invest in them… to increase their value… so that, when our Master returns, we can each given a good accounting of our stewardship… and hear those wonderful words, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave.” Amen.
Matthew 25:14-30