1.
Grace, mercy, and peace
to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The
message from God’s Word this 23rd Sunday after Pentecost is taken
from Matthew 25:14-30. Here Jesus
teaches us in His Parable of the Talents
that our relationship
to God and the world is one of stewardship. We are to use everything entrusted
to us in such a way that it benefits God’s kingdom. Though we who live in the
21st century often have far more material and technological means
than any previous generation before us, Jesus reminds us that we often use
these tools selfishly. But, Jesus gives
us a promise attached to faithful stewardship: if we use the things entrusted
to us for God and His purposes, we will be blessed here and in heaven. The message is entitled, “Use
it or Lose It” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.
It’s true, skills or
abilities diminish and deteriorate after long periods of disuse. Believe it or not, I used to run cross
country and track in high school and college, but I haven’t been running for
quite awhile. Don’t expect me to run 5
miles in under 30 minutes like I used to be able to do. Today, I’d be lucky to run and probably walk
5 miles in 50 minutes or so. If you
don’t use it, you lose it. It’s the same
with financial wealth. Money must also
be invested wisely and put to work lest it depreciate. There’s truth to the expression “use it or lose it.” The talents described in today’s parable are
sums of money rather than particular skills, but the principle still applies. Our Heavenly Father desires that His
resources be used by us, not shelved, hidden, or wasted.
3.
It’s
not difficult to see here in Matthew 25 that Jesus is telling his disciples
that before long he will be leaving them. He will suffer and die and rise again
and ascend into heaven. But that won’t mean the work of his kingdom will stop
in this world. No, he will rather provide his disciples with everything they
need in order to continue that work.
And, the fulfillment of that promise came on the day of Pentecost, when
Jesus sent the Holy Spirit upon his disciples at Jerusalem. He supplied them
with the necessary understanding of the Word of God and God’s whole plan of
salvation—as well as the courage to proclaim that message unto the ends of the
earth. But, that was only the beginning.
Jesus continues, and will continue until the end of time, to provide all
believers with everything they need in order to carry on the work he wants them
to do in his kingdom.
4.
The
talents that Jesus distributes to all believers are never exactly the same for
any two people (see 1 Corinthians 12:4–11). But one gift is basic, and that’s
faith. Each of us must confess with Martin Luther, “I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord,
or come to him.” The apostle Paul insists that faith isn’t something we
earn; it;s the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8, 9). And it’s not a gift we can get
along without, for “without faith it is
impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). But the gifts or talents that are
added to faith are infinite in number and in variety.
5.
A
“Talent” in ancient times was first used for a unit of weight and then for a
coin, which is how Jesus uses it in this parable. Interestingly enough, when we
use the term for an ability or a skill that’s a meaning which is derived from
this parable. The talents that Jesus gives us include all the intellectual and
physical abilities we’re born with and those we develop as we mature. Our
talents include all the material possessions that come into our hands. And they
include the many opportunities God provides us for using our talents to serve
him and our neighbor.
6.
Considering
the fact that the talent, as Jesus uses the term in His parable, is money, it’s
surprising how seldom this parable is applied to our stewardship of money. We’re
quick to apply it to our skills and abilities, and even to our time, but Jesus
also has something to say here about how we spend our money. It’s not only the
envelope we put into the offering on Sunday that concerns Jesus. The money we spend
on groceries and entertainment is also part of our Christian stewardship. Whether
you’ve been given five talents, two, or one, God is looking for faithfulness.
7.
And,
the Lord distributes these talents to “each
according to his ability.” He gives to each of us the gifts that are
exactly right. In every case he provides the correct combination of abilities,
talents, responsibilities, and opportunities, so that all of us can be of real
service to him in God’s kingdom. Sometimes
we imagine that it’s our humility that causes us to refuse to be of any special
service to God and his kingdom. We say, “I’m
not qualified. I’m not well enough acquainted with the Scriptures. So let
someone else serve on the church council. Let someone else teach Sunday
school.” It’s one thing to be humble, but it’s another thing to use false
modesty as a cloak for laziness, selfishness, or indifference. Jesus is
reminding us in this parable that we can count on God to give us the necessary
wisdom and courage, so we can go ahead with confidence and do the work he’s
given us to do.
8.
Notice
in the parable that the master pronounces the same verdict upon both of the
servants who doubled the talents entrusted to them, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a
few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your
master’s happiness!” They had been faithful with their respective talents,
and that was all their master asked of them. It’s for their faithfulness that
they are commended rather than for their accomplishments.
9.
Jesus
had a reason for making the servant with only one talent the unfaithful one. If
it had been one of the servants with more talents, we would have probably said,
“What a shame! What a terrible thing that
a person so blessed by God should be so ungrateful! But, of course, my gifts
aren’t very numerous or great, so the Lord can’t expect much from me.”
10.
Most
of us would place ourselves into the category of the servant who received only
one talent. And, that may be where we are at. But that’s no excuse for being
unfaithful with the talent God has given us. It won’t do at all for any of us
to say, “I can’t do much; so it is all
right if I don’t do anything. It won’t really make any difference.”
11.
It
may be true that the work of God’s kingdom will get done without the support of
those who have very limited means and talents. But we need to realize that God
calls each of us to serve him with our talents, not because he can’t get along
without our help, but because faithful service to him is of great value to
those who do the serving. As Jesus said on another occasion, “It is more blessed to give than to receive”
(Acts 20:35).
12.
An
unused talent can’t be kept for long. Like an unused muscle, it gradually
wastes away. If you don’t use it you
lose it. In the kingdom of God, an unused talent is taken away and given to
someone else. God will see to it that his work will be done and that his
kingdom will come. If we are careless toward the opportunities that God gives
us to serve him in his kingdom, he will surely give those opportunities to
someone else.
13.
Martin
Luther’s explanation of the Lord’s Prayer in his Small Catechism says it very
well: “God’s kingdom certainly comes by
itself even without our prayer; but we pray in this petition that it may also
come to us.” And: “God’s good and gracious
will certainly is done without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it
may be done among us also.” We can’t stop God. We can’t prevent him from
doing his gracious work in our world. But Jesus reminds us here in the Parable
of the Talents that we can deprive ourselves of the blessed opportunity to
share in that work. “From this preserve
us, heavenly Father!”
14.
In the final analysis, the
performance that this parable emphasizes isn’t ours but Christ’s. Because of Jesus, the “Good and Faithful Servant” serving the Lord is for us a blessing
rather than a burden. Remember where this parable occurs.
It comes near the end of Jesus’ mission that the Father sent Him here to earth
for which is about to reach its great climax. And that climax comes when Jesus
‘gives his life as a ransom for many’
(20:28). When Jesus speaks of someone being thrown into the darkness outside,
where people weep and grind their teeth, we must never forget that he was on
the way into the darkness, where even he would sense himself abandoned by God
(27:45–46). This was all for you and
your salvation. By the power of the Holy Spirit, our Savior
transforms us from servants to sons and then to heirs (Gal. 4:1-7). “Use it
or Lose it?” God used His Son to
serve us so that we would not be lost eternally. Amen.
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