Sermon for November 16th, 2014 - Revision history

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Iraneal: Created page with "==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,[f] to another two..."

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Created page with "==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,[f] to another two..."

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==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,[f] 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.’

==The Parable of the Talents==

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 years ago, in 1982, this church celebrated its 100th birthday.  It was a big celebration, and we were a big church, at the height of our membership and influence.  Over a thousand people filled this sanctuary on Sunday mornings.  A two-million dollar endowment filled our bank account, and our church calendar was filled with activities, ministries, and community outreaches every day of the week.
-We've lost a few birds since then.  Some might say we're down to our last talent.  We're holding it in our hand, and the hole is already dug in front of us.  If we bury it--preserving it unchanged for all time, exactly the was it was 32 years ago--maybe when the master comes back, he'll see it and recognize it, and remember it the way we used to be.  At least he'll see something.  The building is the same.  The committees are the same.  The music is mostly the same.  The ministries are mostly the same.    We're just missing a few people.  A few hundred people.  And we're afraid.
+We've lost a few birds since then.  Some might say we're down to our last talent.  We're holding it in our hand, and the hole is already dug in front of us.  If we bury it--preserving it unchanged for all time, exactly the way it was 32 years ago--maybe when the master comes back, he'll see it and recognize it, and remember it the way we used to be.  At least he'll see something.  The building is the same.  The committees are the same.  The music is mostly the same.  The ministries are mostly the same.  We're just missing a few people.  A few hundred people.  Forgive us Lord, we're afraid of losing it all.
-But I think we know our master better than that.  As we stand here holding our last talent in our hand, looking at the hole, then looking at the horizon, I think we can hear the sound of our master's voice.  He is whispering to us, "I gave up everything for you.  I risked everything for you.  Will you risk everything for me?  Will you
+But I think we know our master better than that.  As we stand here holding our last talent in our hand, looking at the hole, then looking at the horizon, I think we can hear the sound of our master's voice.  Gently, insistently, he is reminding us: "I gave up everything for you.  I risked everything for you.  Will you risk everything for me?  Would you give it all away, for the sake of those who have yet to come?  Will you?"

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 So if you want to know God's will for your life; if you want to know what God expects from you, don't do that thing where you close your eyes, open the bible to a random page and point to a verse.  How about taking the time to get to know the master? How about following his example, loving others as you have been loved, forgiving as you have been forgiven, making sacrifices, as God sacrificed himself for you?
-The next principle is related:  If you perceive the master as harsh and unfair, your perception might influence your reality.  I don't spend a lot of time in my sermons preaching judgment and condemnation, because in reality think we usually create our own hell, and then we wallow in it.
+The next principle is related:  If you perceive the master as harsh and unfair, your perception might influence your reality.  I don't spend a lot of time in my sermons preaching judgment and condemnation, because frankly, I think we're all too skilled, through our words, through our actions, at creating our own personal hell... and then wallowing in it.
-.  If you perceive the master as harsh and unfair, your perception might influence your reality.
+The third servant accuses the master of being harsh, but it's really his words that are harsh and judgmental.  Just as the master's actions reflect his personality, so the third servant's words reflect his personality.  And once he has spoken them, where is there for him to go but out into the outer darkness?  Why would he want to enter into the joy of a harsh and cruel master?  Just like the third servant, how we relate to God, how we relate to others, reveals a lot about who we are, and even influences who we become.
-.  Fear paralyzes.  The last talent is the hardest one to invest.
-οκνηρε -  does not mean lazy.  It means hesitating, unready, timid
+The Fifth and final principle is this:  The last talent is the hardest one to let go of.  Despite all I've just said about the third servant, I really do sympathize with him, and I can see myself in his words and actions.  At the beginning of the story, he watches the first servant get five talents, the second servant get two, and then his turn comes.  He gets one talent.  One chance.  One shot.  No cushion.  Don't blow it.  Don't screw up.

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 So the master, we read in verse 14, "summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them."  In Greek, there is no distinction between a slave and a servant: The word δουλοσ is the same for both.  I trust that none of you have or are slaves, so although the NRSV translates this word as "slave" I'll be translating it as "servant" to keep it just a little closer to our own context.  As I mentioned in a sermon last month, we are all servants, in one way or another.
 The first question that modern readers usually ask when reading this parable is this:  How much is a talent?  It's obviously currency of some sort, and as it turns out, a talent was the equivalent of 80lbs of silver.  Think about that when you think about the servant who buries his one talent in the ground.  That's a pretty big hole.
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 A talent was worth 6,000 denarii, and one denarius was a day's wages.  So one talent was approximately twenty years of labor, or calculated using today's minimum wage, about half a million dollars.  Servant number one in our parable turned 2.5 million dollars into 5 million.  In other words, forget the servant gig--today he would have a nice job offer waiting for him at JM's bank!
 .  If you perceive the master as harsh and unfair, your perception might influence your reality.
 .  Fear paralyzes.  The last talent is the hardest one to invest.
 οκνηρε -  does not mean lazy.  It means hesitating, unready, timid

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 ==The Parable of the Talents==
-υπαρχοντα - from υπαρχω: to be, to exist, to possess.  Not just his possessions, but his very existence, essence.
+A man went to see his banker one day and asked him, "What's the best way to go about starting a small business?"  The banker thinks about this for a moment, and then replies, "Start a large business and then wait six months."
-One Talent = 80 lbs of Silver (big hole to dig).
 .  Parable isn't about money.  In a parable, things represent other things.

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 ==Matthew 25:14-30==
-“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,[f] 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.’
+“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.’
 ==The Parable of the Talents==