FIRST READING Zephaniah 1:7–16
7 Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is at hand; the LORD has prepared a sacrifice, he has consecrated his guests. 8 And on the day of the LORD’s sacrifice I will punish the officials and the king’s sons and all who dress themselves in foreign attire. 9 On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold, who fill their master’s house with violence and fraud. 10 On that day, says the LORD,
a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate, a wail from the Second Quarter, a loud crash from the hills. 11 The inhabitants of the Mortar wail, for all the traders have perished; all who weigh out silver are cut off. 12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the people who rest complacently on their dregs, those who say in their hearts, “The LORD will not do good, nor will he do harm.” 13 Their wealth shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste.
Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them. 14 The great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter, the warrior cries aloud there. 15 That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements.
PSALM Psalm 90:1–12
1 Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to another. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or the land and the earth were born, from age to age you are God. 3 You turn us back to the dust and say, “Turn back, O children of earth.” 4 For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past and like a watch in the night; 5 you sweep them away like a dream, they fade away suddenly like the grass: 6 in the morning it is green and flourishes; in the evening it is dried up and withered. 7 For we are consumed by your anger; we are afraid because of your wrath. 8 Our iniquities you have set before you, and our secret sins in the light of your countenance. 9 When you are angry, all our days are gone; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. 10 The span of our life is seventy years, perhaps in strength even eighty; yet the sum of them is but labor and sorrow, for they pass away quickly and we are gone. 11 Who regards the power of your wrath? Who rightly fears your indignation? 12 So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.
SECOND READING 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11
1 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! 4 But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; 5 for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. 6 So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; 7 for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.
GOSPEL Matthew 25:14–30
14 For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15 to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17 In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18 But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29 For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 30 As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
RISKY BUSINESS
As you might have guessed from previous sermons, one of my favorite animated movies is Shrek. If you’ve seen the movie, you may remember that Eddie Murphy is the voice of the tactless donkey who is mouthy, arrogant, and can’t shut up to save his life. In one scene, our ogre and hero Shrek, travels to the edge of Duloc to rescue Princess Fiona, while Donkey tags along. Princess Fiona is trapped in a castle surrounded by boiling lava and to rescue her, Shrek and Donkey must cross a wobbly, unstable bridge, and Donkey, out of fear, wants to turn around. In great trepidation, Donkey yells, “I’m not going!” Shrek replies, “You’re already halfway.” To this Donkey responds, “Yeah, but I know that half is safe!”
Many of us, I believe, can easily relate to Donkey. We want to be on the half of the bridge we know is safe. So let me ask this; how many of you would consider yourselves risk-takers? For the most part, church people are a rather cautious bunch. In fact, that may be a major factor in why churches today are dying. We don’t take enough risks for Christ. We’re afraid to invite our neighbors to church. We’re afraid to plan aggressive evangelism campaigns or witnessing projects because we fear we may fail. Sometimes I think in J. B. Phillips words, our “God is too small.” I’m wondering if some of the most fearful people in the world are in church. With that said, let me ask you something and I want you to be completely honest in your answer. What would you say is the purpose of the church? Why are you a member of Bethel?
I asked myself this question and listed all the reasons to have a church. The list I came up with includes, a place to gather with fellow believers, a place to learn what it means to be a Christian, a place to worship God. Church is a place where we can pool our resources and help feed the hungry; it’s a place where we set land aside to bury our dead. Bethel is a place where we can gather as a church or as families for fellowship and celebrate different events. Bethel is a place for me to meet with other pastors and plan confirmation camp and the annual youth gathering. All the reasons I just mentioned are legitimate, good reasons to have a church. But are they the main reason to have a church? Now ask yourself this question.
Of all the reasons you came up with and the ones I just mentioned, how many of them are being done right now by non-religious or pan-religious organizations? How many social organizations do wonderful charity work, provide a place to gather and fellowship? Outside of worship and Christian education, how many places can we go to find social interaction? Maybe this is why Jesus told the parable we find in our New Testament reading for today.
Jesus, answering the disciples’ question about His second coming says, “At that time, the kingdom of heaven will be like, a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.” The first two stewards went at once and put the money to work and doubled what they had been given. But the third steward went off, “dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.” “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.”
The men who had doubled their master’s investment reported their gains to which the master said, ‘Well done, good and faithful servants! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came.
‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! Instead of hiding the investment, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so at least I could have received it back with interest. “‘Take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
This is probably one of Jesus’ best known parables and possibly one of His most misunderstood. Three men are entrusted with their master’s investment. Two put the gold to work and double the amount of wealth entrusted to them. The third man is more timid. He doesn’t like taking risks. He’s more afraid of failing than he’s excited about succeeding. He buried the investment in the ground. From reading the parable we can say several things about the third servant. First, we could say that part of this man’s problem was his view of his master’s character.
Consider how he defends his inaction in increasing his master’s wealth. “Master,” he says, “I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground . . .” Imagine for a moment that this man’s master represents God. I wonder how many people actually regard God in just this way? “Master,” this man says, “I knew that you are a hard man, and I was afraid . . .”
How many people today grow up being afraid of God: Afraid of God’s judgment, afraid of God’s wrath? I grew up this way. I don’t remember a Sunday going by that I wasn’t reminded that God could come at any moment, that the rapture could come at any time and if I wasn’t right with God I was going to be left behind. I grew up living in constant fear of God’s judgment and spending an eternity in hell. Seldom did I ever hear the gospel; rarely did I hear the good news of God’s love and mercy. The truth is Jesus is going to return and gather the faithful to Himself and only God the Father knows the day and hour of His return.
When He comes, yes, we will stand before Him to be judged. But this isn’t a reason to fear. God loves us. All God desires is for our best good. If we genuinely believe that Jesus is God’s only Son, if we truly confess our sins and short comings, if we love and serve God from a willing heart, obeying His commands, then we have nothing to fear of the end times. However, I’m concerned many are like the little girl who came running into the house one morning, sobbing. “What’s wrong?” her mother asked. Throwing herself into her mother’s arms, the little girl cried, “God doesn’t love me anymore.”
Why would you say that, you know that’s not true, said her mother, “God loves you more than you can know.” “No, He doesn’t,” the child sobbed. “I know He doesn’t because I tried Him with daisy petals. ‘He loves me, He loves me not, He loves me, He loves me not . . .’” Sadly, some people have a God that is, to them, just that fickle. If things go our way, God must be with us. If things don’t go our way, God has forgotten us. “He loves me, He loves me not . . .” God’s love is nothing like that children’s game. God’s love never fails. We know that we can always count on it. But again some people don’t feel that way and one possible reason for this is that much of their attitude toward God is a problem of our upbringing.
It’s a well-known fact that our first attitude toward God is a reflection of our earliest experiences at home. For example, George Bernard Shaw, the great English playwright and philosopher, had diffi-culty with God because his father had been a scoundrel, an absentee dad who cared mostly about cricket and pubs. It was difficult for Shaw to separate his feelings about his father from his feelings about God.
Likewise, C. S. Lewis, who, with his writings continues to inspire many Christian believers, struggled to overcome the imprint left by his father, a harsh man who would quote Cicero to his children when scolding them. When his mother died, Lewis said, it felt as if Atlantis had broken off and left him stranded on a tiny island. After studying at a public school led by a cruel headmaster who was later certified insane and committed to an institution, Lewis had to over¬come the impact of these male figures to find a way to love God. Some people can relate to that.
Some folks are unable to fully accept God’s unconditional love because they’ve never before experienced that kind of love, even at home. Believe me when I say that the one constant in this world is that God loves us. Even if our current circumstances are not all that great, we must never let go of that one central truth: God loves us. Which brings us to the next thing we can say about the wicked servant; he failed to see that God had made an investment in him. And this is the central meaning of this parable.
As most of you know, this parable has generally been known as “the parable of the talents.” That’s based on how the New Revised Standard Version and others translated the word, tal-an-ton, from the original Greek. But that was confusing to many people because of the way we use the word talent nowadays. It’s important to understand that Christ isn’t just saying to us that God has given us certain talents that He wants us to use to His glory. This is just one of the truths that come from this parable. But we also need to see that it’s more than that.
Everything we are and everything we have, our opportunities, our energy, our intelligence, our relationships, everything in life that is meaningful to us, including our financial resources is a gift from God. Life isn’t something to be squandered. Neither are we to hide our light under a bushel. We’re called to live boldly, creatively, in the knowledge that we are the children of God and His favor is upon us.
In the little devotional book Good Night, God! There’s an interesting story about a father who decided to take his young daughter for an evening walk along a country road. The family lived in a large city, but they were visiting other family members in a somewhat remote rural area. In the city, walking at night was not the custom nor was it considered safe. Plus the glow of the city’s lights obscured all but a few stars. The father could hardly wait to see how his daughter would react to a star filled sky.
At first, his daughter was playful, exploring the flowers and insects along the edge of the dirt lane. As dusk turned into dark, however, she became a little fearful and clung to his hand tightly. She seemed grateful for the flashlight he had brought along. Suddenly, she looked toward the sky and exclaimed with surprise, “Daddy, somebody drew dots all over the sky!” The father smiled. His young daughter had never seen a night sky away from the city lights. He was glad the moon had not yet risen and the stars appeared even closer and more distinct. “Daddy,” she continued in her enthusiasm, “if we connect them all, will they make a picture?”
The night sky had taken on the quality of a dot-to dot puzzle for the child! What an interesting notion, the father thought. “No,” he replied to his daughter, “the dots are there for another purpose. Each dot is a hope God has for your life. God loves you so much. He has lots of hopes that your life will be filled with good things. In fact, there are more hopes than you or I can ever count!” “I knew it!” the little girl gasped. “The dots do make a picture.” And then she added more thoughtfully, “I always wondered what hope looked like.”
Maybe that is what hope looks like. As her father said, “God loves you so much. He has lots of hopes that our life will be filled with good things. In fact, there are more hopes than you or I can ever count!” The third steward who dug a hole and buried the bag that was entrusted to him had a misunderstanding of his master’s character.
The third steward saw his master as cruel and vindictive. It’s possible that you and I do too. God isn’t a cruel judge who vigilantly watches to catch us doing something wrong. God is a loving Parent watching us to cheer us on, hoping to see us make our life count for something wonderful. This brings us to one last thing to be said. Today is a good day to begin investing your life in something that will make a real difference. And there are two ways for us to do this.
First, if you’re one of those stewards whose been burying your gold in the ground, now is a great time to begin investing your life in something wonderful. Canadian writer and teacher Martin Rutte is passionate about bringing into being what he calls Heaven on Earth. Consider that for a moment. What would Heaven on Earth actually be like? It’s a lofty dream, but Rutte believes it’s a realizable one. To that end he conducts workshops where he helps people visualize what Heaven on Earth would be.
He begins with a question to the group: “Tell me a time when you experienced Heaven on Earth.” And he encourages the participants to share a time in their life that they experienced something akin to heaven on earth. He then moves to a second question. He says, “I’m going to pick up a pen. Imagine this pen is a magic wand and with this magic wand you could create Heaven on Earth. What is Heaven on Earth?” And the participants describe their vision of Heaven on Earth. For some, it’s the end of poverty. For others, it’s the absence of war or hunger or violence, etc. Then Martin moves to a third question.
The third question is, “What simple, easy, concrete steps will you take in the next 24 hours to move that [vision] forward?” The results of Martin’s sessions have sometimes been amazing. For example a woman in one workshop was really, really bothered by homelessness in the world, but what could she do? She was a real estate agent and worked 80 hours a week.” Rutte said, “Okay, Brenda . . . What can you do?”
Martin says, “A little light bulb went on in her face . . . She went back to her agency . . . sat her fellow agents down and she said, ‘Look, what I’d like to do is . . . to end homelessness. I want to create a home for everyone in the world . . . [I need your help] . . . When you sell a home or an office building, would you agree to kick in $100 to a pot? We’ll create that pot and we’ll use it to help end homelessness.’” To date, this real estate agency has raised more than $50,000 to combat homelessness. They just launched a contest on their website asking the people of their community to come up with ideas of their own to end homelessness. A real start toward Heaven on Earth has begun, at least with regard to this one social problem in their area of the world.
Another woman Rutte encountered was concerned about violence against women. She’d gone to the police and other government agencies, but no one helped. When she asked Rutte what he would do, he said, “I don’t know Susan. You could donate $5,000. You could donate a penny.” She said, “What difference would a penny make?” Another woman spoke up, “Wait a second. What if everybody in [our] county donated a penny a day to help end violence against women?” Susan went, “Oh, my [gosh].”
Last October they set up a program called Making Change. They began handing out little mason jars with a picture of a woman’s face. Half of her face was beaten and the other half was vibrant and alive. Not only did their county respond generously, but the next county has started a similar program.
Martin Rutte is trying to bring Heaven on Earth. Jesus gave His life for that same purpose. He called it the Kingdom of Heaven. And he calls His followers to invest their lives in that Kingdom. He’s given us good minds and sound bodies. He’s given us all the opportunities and resources we’ll ever need. And He asks us this question, “What simple, easy, concrete steps will you take in the next 24 hours to move that forward?” This is the first way we can invest our lives and gifts to make a difference. The second is to share the gospel with others.
Earlier I asked, “what were the reasons to have or to be a church.” All the answers I gave and the ones you thought of were good, legitimate reasons. But what about the most important reason for us to be a church? What about the main reason we’ve been called and gathered? Jesus’ last command to His disciples and to us was to go. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded.
Jesus’ command for us is more than simply meeting the physical needs of those around us. And as a church, we do a great job of helping others with their physical and social needs, but what about their spiritual needs? How good are we at the challenge of taking care of our neighbor’s eternal soul? How well do we share the good news of God’s love and mercy with a world hurting and whose view of God is one of cruelty and judgment? The challenge for us is to do more and be more than a faith based social organization. Today we’re being challenged to be God’s hands and voice in a world in desperate need of what God has to offer.
The question is, are we willing to accept that challenge? Are we willing to be what God has called us to be; His hands reaching out to help others in their time of needs and to be God’s voice announcing His love and mercy? The truth is, God has made an enormous investment in us, and God wants us to take that investment and use it to further His kingdom in this world. We’ve got to be more than a faith based social organization. We’ve also got to use God’s investment in us to meet the spiritual needs of a world in desperate need of the gospel.
You and I have a choice, we can use God’s gifts given to us to their fullest extent, or we can dig a hole and bury what God has given us. What will we hear our Master say when we stand before Him? Will we hear well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Master? Or will we hear, you wicked and lazy servant, take what he has and throw him into outer darkness? The choice is up to each of us.
Amen