Sermon for September 27th, 2020 - Revision history

Iraneal at 03:05, 27 September 2020

2020-09-27T03:05:28Z

Iraneal at 02:52, 27 September 2020

2020-09-27T02:52:58Z

Iraneal at 02:52, 27 September 2020

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Iraneal at 02:52, 27 September 2020

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Iraneal at 00:57, 27 September 2020

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Iraneal at 00:52, 27 September 2020

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Iraneal at 23:56, 26 September 2020

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Iraneal at 23:43, 26 September 2020

2020-09-26T23:43:07Z

Iraneal at 23:20, 26 September 2020

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Iraneal at 22:51, 26 September 2020

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 Verse 14: "For it (and the "it" here is the Kingdom of Heaven, which Jesus has been talking about since the beginning of the chapter) is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them."
-The word used in this passage for slave is, in the original Greek "doulos."  Sometimes in modern translations in order to avoid controversy, this gets translated as "servant" but in the first century world of Jesus, slavery was a real thing.  I don't think Jesus viewed slavery in a positive way--in Luke chapter 4 he says that he has come to set the captives free--but in all of his parables he uses the realities of his day, the things people understood, in order to make his point. And the reality was that slaves were at the very bottom of the social order.  They had no rights, no property, and no hope for advancement.  And yet, this master does something completely unexpected:  He entrusts his entire property (which, as we'll see was considerable) to three slaves, and then completely disappears for a long time. Who does that?
+The word used in this passage for slave is, in the original Greek "doulos."  Sometimes this gets translated as "servant" but in the first century world of Jesus, slavery was a real thing.  I don't think Jesus viewed slavery in a positive way--in Luke chapter 4 he says that he has come to set the captives free--but in all of his parables he uses the realities of his day, the things people understood, in order to make his point. And the reality was that slaves were at the very bottom of the social order.  They had no rights, no property, and no hope for advancement.  And yet, this master does something completely unexpected:  He entrusts his entire property (which, as we'll see was considerable) to three slaves, and then completely disappears for a long time. Who does that?
 Verse 15: "to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability."  Now, on the surface that may seem a bit unfair.  But before you feel too sorry for the poor slave who only got one talent, let's look at what exactly a "talent" was.  It's not like the modern word talent, which refers to our skills and abilities. In the 1st century world, a talent was a weight of silver, equivalent to about 15 years of wages.  Think about what you make in one year at your job, multiply that by fifteen, and now you probably don't feel nearly as sorry for the slave who was given only one talent.  It's still a ridiculous amount of money.
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 Then comes the third slave.  Now, in theory, the same rule should play out here.  This guy could have taken his one talent, his fifteen years worth of wages, and done the same thing as the other two, and he would have only had two talents to give his master.  If he had done that, the master would have given him just as much praise and recognition.  But instead, the man buries his master's money in the ground.  Why?
-Because unlike the other two, he has a different perception of his master.  He is afraid of his master, saying in verse 24, "I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed."  If you think about it, this is clearly not true--the master has already proven to be generous (maybe even foolishly so) and now he is clearly reaping (or gathering) exactly where he scattered seed (or wealth).  But because his fear, he plays it safe.  He takes the money, says to himself "that's not mine, so I'm not going to touch it." And thinking he is being cautious, he sets it aside and then gives it back to the master.  You didn't gain anything, but hey, you didn't lose anything either.
+Because unlike the other two, he has a different perception of his master.  He is afraid of his master, saying in verse 24, "I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed."  This is not true--the master has already proven to be generous (maybe even foolishly so) and now he is clearly reaping (or gathering) exactly where he scattered seed (or wealth).  But because of his fear, he plays it safe.  Thinking he is being cautious, he sets the money aside and then gives it back to the master.  You didn't gain anything, but hey, you didn't lose anything either.
-And the master goes ballistic, calling him wicked and lazy, saying that he could have at least put the money in the bank to gain a small amount of interest.  He takes the money from the slave, gives it to one of the others, and throws him out into the darkness--which perhaps justifies the slave's fear that his master is "harsh."  But more on that later.
+And the master goes ballistic, calling him wicked and lazy, saying that he could have at least put the money in the bank to gain a small amount of interest.  He takes the money from the slave, gives it to one of the others, and throws him out into the darkness--which perhaps justifies the slave's fear that his master is "harsh."
 Most perplexing of all, the master (or maybe Jesus) proclaims as the moral of the story that "to all those who have, more will be given . . . but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.
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 It may be helpful here to remember what a parable is:  The word parable comes from the Greek word parabolein.  Para means "next to" and bolein means "to throw."  A parable is a story you "throw" not directly at the thing you're talking about...but next to it.  Parallel to it.  But different from it, near it, next to it.
-What that means is that when Jesus is talking about talents or money in the parable, that money could represent any number of things.  But the only thing it CAN'T represent is the one thing it is in the story:  Money.
+When Jesus is talking about talents or money in the parable, that money could represent any number of things.  But the only thing it CAN'T represent is the one thing it is in the story:  Money.
 In other words, this story is not about money, even though it has sometimes been preached and understood that way:  Invest wisely the money God gives you, and don't bury it (or sock it away) or else you will be punished.
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 To the second person in the story, God sent 5,000 people.  And the last person in our story perhaps only had the opportunity to meet 1,000 people over the course of a life.  Maybe it was a short life, I don't know.
-But the first person invested herself in the lives of those around her.  She treated every one of those 15,000 people she met with dignity and respect.  Many of them she cared for as best as she could, and tried to make their lives better in some small way.  A few of those people she touched in a deep and abiding way, changing their lives forever.  And blessed with that kind of love, many of the people who knew her went on to share that love with the 10,000 people they met.  When her days came to an end, Jesus came to her and said, "Look: the love you spread to others has multiplied, and will continue for many years. When all is said and done, 30,000 people in this world will remember you as a source of inspiration, hope, and light.
+But the first person invested herself in the lives of those around her.  She treated every one of those 15,000 people she met with dignity and respect.  Many of them she cared for, and tried to make their lives better in some small way.  A few of those people she touched in a deep and abiding way, changing their lives forever.  And blessed with that kind of love, many of the people who knew her went on to share that love with the 10,000 people they met.  When her days came to an end, Jesus came to her and said, "Look: the love you spread to others has multiplied, and will continue for many years. When all is said and done, 30,000 people in this world will remember you as a source of inspiration, hope, and light.
-The second person was shy--she was a little awkward at parties, and preferred to stay home with her family most of the time.  But although she didn't say much, she loved much, and would quietly help those around her, friends and strangers alike in time of need. She didn't go out of her way to meet new people, but when she met someone new, she listened carefully, and remembered important details, and always found something to appreciate about each of the 5,000 people she met in this life.  And when her days came to an end, she told Jesus "No one will remember me."  But Jesus said, "You might be surprised--the love that you spread to others has multiplied, and will continue for many years.  When all is said and done, 10 thousand people in this world will think of you, and remember, and know their lives were better for having known you.  And she smiled a little smile, which was a big smile on the inside.
+The second person was shy--she was a little awkward at parties, and preferred to stay home with her family most of the time.  But although she didn't say much, she loved much, and would quietly help those around her, friends and strangers alike in time of need. She didn't go out of her way to meet new people, but when she met someone new, she listened carefully, and remembered important details, and always found something to appreciate about each of the 5,000 people she met in this life.  And when her days came to an end, she told Jesus "No one will remember me."  But Jesus said, "You might be surprised--the love that you spread to others has multiplied, and will continue for many years.  When all is said and done, 10,000 people in this world will think of you, and know their lives were better for having known you.  And she smiled a little smile, which was a big smile on the inside.
-But the third person was afraid.  She was afraid that if she loved someone, they might hurt her.  She was afraid that if she offered to help someone, they might take advantage of her.  She was afraid that if she created something, someone might destroy it.  She was afraid that if she spent time with someone, it might be time wasted.  And believing all this, she became critical of others, and most of all, of herself.  She became indifferent to the suffering around her, so that it could not hurt her.  Like all of us, she had plenty of love to give--but seeing those around her who loved much, she thought "I don't have as much love as they do, so my love will never be enough."  And she loved less and less with each passing year.  And when her days came to an end, she told Jesus, "take it all back--it was really yours to begin with, and so I couldn't possibly have given away was never mine. And clearly you didn't love me very much, since you gave me so little compared to others."  And Jesus said, "couldn't you have at least given that love to just one other person, I don't know, maybe your investment manager?  He seemed friendly enough."  And she replied, "He only liked me for my business. It was his job."  And Jesus said to her, "look back at your life, and look forward at your legacy.  What do you see?"  And she said, "I can't see anything.  It's rather dark." And she was suddenly very sad, and very lonely. And she wondered what her investment manager was up to.
+But the third person was afraid.  She was afraid that if she loved someone, they might hurt her.  She was afraid that if she offered to help someone, they might take advantage of her. She was afraid that if she spent time with someone, it might be time wasted.  And believing all this, she became critical of others, and most of all, of herself.  She became indifferent to the suffering around her, so that it could not hurt her.  She had plenty of love to give--but seeing those around her who loved much, she thought "I don't have as much as they do, so my love will never be enough."  And when her days came to an end, she told Jesus, "take it all back--it was really yours to begin with, and so I couldn't possibly have given away what was never mine."  And Jesus said, "Couldn't you have at least given that love to just one other person, I don't know, maybe your investment manager?  He seemed friendly enough."  And she replied, "He only liked me for my business. It was his job."  And Jesus said to her, "Look back at your life, and look forward at your legacy.  What do you see?"  She said, "I can't see anything.  It's rather dark." And she was suddenly very sad, and very lonely. And she wondered what her investment manager was up to.
 People of First Presbyterian Church, you have love to give, and you have time in which to give it.  You really do, no matter how busy you think you are.  What will you do with the greatest treasure you have been given in this life?  And if you're still wondering what that is, let me help you out, with some assistance from some old friends:
 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2bbnlZwlGQ who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?]

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	People of First Presbyterian Church, you have love to give, and you have time in which to give it. You really do, no matter how busy you think you are. What will you do with the greatest treasure you have been given in this life? And if you're still wondering what that is, let me help you out, with some assistance from some old friends:		People of First Presbyterian Church, you have love to give, and you have time in which to give it. You really do, no matter how busy you think you are. What will you do with the greatest treasure you have been given in this life? And if you're still wondering what that is, let me help you out, with some assistance from some old friends:

−	[~~who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?~~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2bbnlZwlGQ]	+	[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2bbnlZwlGQ who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?]

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:52, 27 September 2020
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	People of First Presbyterian Church, you have love to give, and you have time in which to give it. You really do, no matter how busy you think you are. What will you do with the greatest treasure you have been given in this life? And if you're still wondering what that is, let me help you out, with some assistance from some old friends:		People of First Presbyterian Church, you have love to give, and you have time in which to give it. You really do, no matter how busy you think you are. What will you do with the greatest treasure you have been given in this life? And if you're still wondering what that is, let me help you out, with some assistance from some old friends:

−	[[who Are the People in Your Neighborhood? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2bbnlZwlGQ]]	+	[who Are the People in Your Neighborhood? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2bbnlZwlGQ]

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 Like many of the parables we've already considered, todays "Parable of the Talents" is really about generosity and selfishness.  Let's dive into the parable.
-In verse 14, Jesus says "For it is as if..." and you might be asking yourself, "what is the "it" he's talking about?  This parable comes in a rapid sequence of parables, and the one right before this one begins "For the kingdom of heaven is like..." Then in the the subsequent parables (like ours today) he simply begins by saying "it is like" -- meaning the Kingdom of Heaven.  Two weeks ago, we saw that when Jesus talks about the Kingdom of Heaven, he's not talking about the place you go after you die.  He's talking about this life, on this earth, and how we can live that life in a way that better reflects God's values and God's principles.  Right now. Today.
+Verse 14: "For it (and the "it" here is the Kingdom of Heaven, which Jesus has been talking about since the beginning of the chapter) is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them."
-So what does that look like?
+The word used in this passage for slave is, in the original Greek "doulos."  Sometimes in modern translations in order to avoid controversy, this gets translated as "servant" but in the first century world of Jesus, slavery was a real thing.  I don't think Jesus viewed slavery in a positive way--in Luke chapter 4 he says that he has come to set the captives free--but in all of his parables he uses the realities of his day, the things people understood, in order to make his point. And the reality was that slaves were at the very bottom of the social order.  They had no rights, no property, and no hope for advancement.  And yet, this master does something completely unexpected:  He entrusts his entire property (which, as we'll see was considerable) to three slaves, and then completely disappears for a long time. Who does that?
-Again, verse 14: "For it (the Kingdom of Heaven) is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them."
+Verse 15: "to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability."  Now, on the surface that may seem a bit unfair.  But before you feel too sorry for the poor slave who only got one talent, let's look at what exactly a "talent" was.  It's not like the modern word talent, which refers to our skills and abilities. In the 1st century world, a talent was a weight of silver, equivalent to about 15 years of wages.  Think about what you make in one year at your job, multiply that by fifteen, and now you probably don't feel nearly as sorry for the slave who was given only one talent.  It's still a ridiculous amount of money.
-I want to pause here and say something about slavery.  The word used repeatedly in this passage for slave is, in the original Greek "doulos."  Sometimes in modern translations in order to avoid controversy, this gets translated as "servant" but in the first century world of Jesus, slavery was a real thing.  I don't think Jesus viewed slavery in a positive way--in Luke chapter 4 he says that he has come to set the captives free--but in all of his parables he uses the realities of his day, the things people understood, in order to make his point. And the reality was that slaves were at the very bottom of the social order.  They had no rights, no property, and no hope for advancement.  And yet, this master does something completely unexpected:  He entrusts his entire property (which, as we'll see was considerable) to three slaves, and then completely disappears for a long time. Who does that?  Clearly someone who is more invested in the lives and livelihood of his slaves than your typical 1st century master.
+Continuing on (and I'm paraphrasing here) the master eventually returns and asks the three slaves what they've done with the money entrusted to them.  The man with five talents has doubled his money, and the master says 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."  I like how the master refers to those five talents as "a few things."  This guy was given more money than he could have earned in 75 years--but to the master, that's just "a few things" and now he's prepared to give this man even more than that.
-−
-Verse 15: "to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability."  Now, on the surface that may seem a bit unfair.  But before you feel too sorry for the poor slave who only got one talent, let's look at what exactly a "talent" was.  It's not like the modern word talent, which refers to our skills and abilities, although ironically that meaning comes directly from this parable, which over the last two thousand years has often been interpreted to mean "whatever resources God (or the master) has given you."  More on that later.
-−
-But when Jesus told this story, a talent was a weight of silver, equivalent to about 15 years of wages.  Think about what you make in one year at your job, multiply that by fifteen, and now you probably don't feel nearly as sorry for the slave who was given one talent.  It's still a ridiculous amount of money.
-−
-Continuing on (and I'm paraphrasing here) the master eventually returns and asks the three slaves what they've done with the money entrusted to them.  The man with five talents has doubled his money, and the master says 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."  I like how the master refers to those five talents as "a few things."  This guy was given more money than he could have earned in an entire lifetime--but to the master, that's just "a few things" and now he's prepared to give this man even more than that.
 The next man, the one who got two talents, has also doubled his master's money and gets exactly the same praise!  That's an important lesson here:  It's not about how much you were given, and it's not about how much you end up with--it's about what you did with it!  Both slaves did the exact same thing, even though their totals were vastly different.  And the master praises them both.
-Then comes the third slave.  Now, in theory, the same rule should play out here.  This guy could have taken his one talent, his fifteen years worth of wages, and done the same thing as the other two, and he would have only had two talents to give his master.  Presumably, if he had done that, the master would have given him just as much praise and recognition.  But instead, the man buries his master's money in the ground.  Why?
+Then comes the third slave.  Now, in theory, the same rule should play out here.  This guy could have taken his one talent, his fifteen years worth of wages, and done the same thing as the other two, and he would have only had two talents to give his master.  If he had done that, the master would have given him just as much praise and recognition.  But instead, the man buries his master's money in the ground.  Why?
 Because unlike the other two, he has a different perception of his master.  He is afraid of his master, saying in verse 24, "I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed."  If you think about it, this is clearly not true--the master has already proven to be generous (maybe even foolishly so) and now he is clearly reaping (or gathering) exactly where he scattered seed (or wealth).  But because his fear, he plays it safe.  He takes the money, says to himself "that's not mine, so I'm not going to touch it." And thinking he is being cautious, he sets it aside and then gives it back to the master.  You didn't gain anything, but hey, you didn't lose anything either.
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 What is the most precious, valuable thing to God--worth more than all the silver and gold and talents in the world?  It's the people God created.  The people Jesus gave his life for.  The people that God has entrusted to our care, the lives God wants us to reach and connect with and invest ourselves in, multiplying his love throughout the earth.
-According to reference.com, the average person will meet 10,000 people over the course of a lifetime.  In the age of social media, I imagine some of us will meet more.  If you live in a small town, or on a remote island, you might meet fewer people.  In any case, let's read the parable of the talents again in this light:
+According to reference.com, the average person will meet 10,000 people over the course of a lifetime.  In the age of globalism and social media, I imagine some of us will meet more.  If you live in a small town, or on a remote island, you might meet fewer people.  In any case, let's consider the parable of the talents again in this light:

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 What is the most precious, valuable thing to God--worth more than all the silver and gold and talents in the world?  It's the people God created.  The people Jesus gave his life for.  The people that God has entrusted to our care, the lives God wants us to reach and connect with and invest ourselves in, multiplying his love throughout the earth.
-Read the parable of the talents in this light:
+According to reference.com, the average person will meet 10,000 people over the course of a lifetime.  In the age of social media, I imagine some of us will meet more.  If you live in a small town, or on a remote island, you might meet fewer people.  In any case, let's read the parable of the talents again in this light:
-−
-−
-−
-−
-*Talents represent people--the most valuable resource to God.

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	But Jesus did actually tell us what he wanted us to do while we wait for him to return. In fact, it was his very last words to his disciples before he ascended into heaven. He said, in Matthew 28, that we are to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”		But Jesus did actually tell us what he wanted us to do while we wait for him to return. In fact, it was his very last words to his disciples before he ascended into heaven. He said, in Matthew 28, that we are to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
		+
		+	What is the most precious, valuable thing to God--worth more than all the silver and gold and talents in the world? It's the people God created. The people Jesus gave his life for. The people that God has entrusted to our care, the lives God wants us to reach and connect with and invest ourselves in, multiplying his love throughout the earth.
		+
		+	Read the parable of the talents in this light:
		+
		+


	*Talents represent people--the most valuable resource to God.		*Talents represent people--the most valuable resource to God.

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	So the real question this parable boils down to, then, is "what do the talents represent," if they don't in fact represent money or our skills and abilities?		So the real question this parable boils down to, then, is "what do the talents represent," if they don't in fact represent money or our skills and abilities?

		+	And to answer that question, we have to think a little bit more like Jesus, like God, which means flipping upside down our perceptions about what IS the most valuable thing? Is it money? Is it success or achievement? Is it skill or talent? I don't think so. What is the most precious, most valuable thing, to God? Hold that thought.
		+
		+	In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells this parable just two chapters before his crucifixion and death. He knows that his time on earth is coming to an end, and that he is leaving all of his life's work in the hands of his followers. He's a lot like the master in our story, who is going away for a long time, but will someday come back. What does Jesus want his followers to do in those intervening days, years, and centuries? Does he want us to make a lot of money? Does he want us to achieve greatness and leave our mark in the pages of history?
		+
		+	No. This is the same man who said to the rich young ruler "give away everything you have to the poor and follow me." This is the same man who told his followers that in the Kingdom of Heaven "the first will be last and the last will be first," and that "whoever wishes to be great among you must be your slave."
		+
		+	But Jesus did actually tell us what he wanted us to do while we wait for him to return. In fact, it was his very last words to his disciples before he ascended into heaven. He said, in Matthew 28, that we are to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”


	*Talents represent people--the most valuable resource to God.		*Talents represent people--the most valuable resource to God.

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 ==Jesus and His Pair of Bowls: The Talents==
 *"It is like" - what is "it"?  The kingdom of heaven.
-*A Note on slavery
+*A Note on slavery. Jesus also said that the servant/slave would be greatest.
 *Meaning of Parable: to throw alongside, or next to (things are not what they are)
 *Value of a talent (15 years of day labor)
 *Talents represent people--the most valuable resource to God.