Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] November 19, 2023 “Because of You, Our Church Changes Lives” Matthew 25: 14-30 – Common English Bible “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who was leaving on a trip. He called his servants and handed his possessions over to them. 15 To one he gave five valuable coins,[a] and to another he gave two, and to another he gave one. He gave to each servant according to that servant’s ability. Then he left on his journey. 16 “After the man left, the servant who had five valuable coins took them and went to work doing business with them. He gained five more. 17 In the same way, the one who had two valuable coins gained two more. 18 But the servant who had received the one valuable coin dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money. 19 “Now after a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The one who had received five valuable coins came forward with five additional coins. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five valuable coins. Look, I’ve gained five more.’ 21 “His master replied, ‘Excellent! You are a good and faithful servant! You’ve been faithful over a little. I’ll put you in charge of much. Come, celebrate with me.’ 22 “The second servant also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two valuable coins. Look, I’ve gained two more.’ 23 “His master replied, ‘Well done! You are a good and faithful servant. You’ve been faithful over a little. I’ll put you in charge of much. Come, celebrate with me.’ 24 “Now the one who had received one valuable coin came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man. You harvest grain where you haven’t sown. You gather crops where you haven’t spread seed. 25 So I was afraid. And I hid my valuable coin in the ground. Here, you have what’s yours.’ 26 “His master replied, ‘You evil and lazy servant! You knew that I harvest grain where I haven’t sown and that I gather crops where I haven’t spread seed? 27 In that case, you should have turned my money over to the bankers so that when I returned, you could give me what belonged to me with interest. 28 Therefore, take from him the valuable coin and give it to the one who has ten coins. 29 Those who have much will receive more, and they will have more than they need. But as for those who don’t have much, even the little bit they have will be taken away from them. 30 Now take the worthless servant and throw him out into the farthest darkness.’ “People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth.” Let’s just be clear up front. This is a terrible parable. Or it sure ends like one. Why would Jesus say these awful things? Or did he? Before judging this as a terrible parable, perhaps I should give Jesus a break and ask Matthew – why did you put these terrible words into the mouth of Jesus? Did Jesus say these things? You may have heard of a group called the Jesus Seminar – a group of scholars in the study of the historical Jesus who built on the work of previous scholars. I respect and mostly trust their words of wisdom. These scholars notably went through all four gospels plus the Gospel of Thomas to determine what Jesus undoubtedly said, what he may have likely said, what he didn’t say, and what he undoubtedly didn’t say. Each word or phrase was printed in corresponding red, pink, gray and black. There are shockingly few words in red – like love your enemies, meaning Jesus undoubtedly said it. More are in pink, which means Jesus would have likely said it or something similar – “Don’t fret about your life, what you’re going to eat and drink.” Even more are in gray, words, in their opinion, Jesus didn’t say but are perhaps in the spirit of his teaching. But the vast majority are words they assert Jesus did not say, put in his mouth by the gospel writers who represented different perspectives and different traditions. It wasn’t done with malice. We all tell stories that advance our point of view – as each gospel writer did. Plus, these were all oral stories not written down until decades later. During the time Jesus walked the earth no one was recording what he said because no one knew what would happen to him. So, according to the Jesus Seminar, very little was undoubtedly said by Jesus. But, I was quite surprised to see that these scholars think Jesus likely did say today’s parable or something similar. Without, however, the offending verses at the end. “Those who have more will be given more and from those who don’t have, even what they have will be taken away.” That may describe how it really is in the world – rich getting richer – but it’s hard to believe, and it’s unlikely, Jesus would say such a thing as a promise of punishment. Maybe about hypocrites whom he regularly called broods of vipers, but he reserved those words for religious authorities and legal experts, not ordinary people trying to survive. Such harsh words are consistent, however, with Matthew’s penchant for stories about final judgment, along with threats of outer darkness and the weeping and gnashing of teeth. It’s not only unlikely Jesus said that but highly doubtful. Of course, we can’t go around picking and choosing what we like. Seminar scholars cautioned: beware of finding a Jesus who says only the things you want Jesus to say. Very true, because there are things Jesus said that I would prefer not to hear – things that challenge my point of view, things that challenge my privilege. Whenever we get too comfortable or complacent, Jesus calls us to change our hearts and lives. But back to the parable, without that terribly offensive ending, there is wisdom here to explore. The master gives the first servant five talents. Let’s see, I’ll take singing, dancing, fiddle-playing… but maybe I should ask for talents in accounting and financial planning because Jesus isn’t talking about talents in the way we think. A talent in this context isn’t a skill or special ability, it’s explicitly about money. And a talent, Greek for talanton, isn’t just a valuable coin given at the end of a day’s labor. According to my study Bible, one talent is worth approximately 16 years’ worth of wages for an average worker.[1] According to ZipRecruiter, the average annual salary in San Diego is $69,337. Of course, remember that this is a story and not a literal description of a real transaction, but in this parable, that would mean the first servant was handed the equivalent of $5.5 million to handle – which he then doubled. And the second servant $2.2 million – which she doubled. But the third buried 16 years of salary, $1.1 million, in a hole, accusing the man of being wealthy through ill-gotten means. Harvesting crops he didn’t plant. Maybe it’s true that he’s a no good SOB. But behind it, this servant was afraid of failing. Therefore, he put nothing at risk so he wouldn’t fail. Which is how he failed. He failed by doing nothing. Doing nothing so nothing will be lost. That’s not you. That’s not this church. Rather, because of you, our church is changing lives. You might think that sounds overly dramatic, but here’s a couple of examples:
Correction: Because of you, our church is changing lives. Back to the parable of the talents. The third servant doesn’t trust himself, perhaps because he’s been told he is worth-less than the others. Theologian Eduard Schweizer says the one who won’t risk also doesn’t trust God. After all, is Jesus really talking about the power of investing in the market or the wisdom of a good business venture? Or is this a lesson that God multiplies all gifts entrusted to us when we use them – true of money, and love, as well as talents like singing, dancing, fiddle-playing, using your leadership, cooking, being good at taking care of the details behind the scenes, and every other skill and ability that each of us have to invest in the common good. Like the third servant, it’s easy to get caught in fear and therefore, put nothing at risk so we don’t fail. It’s safer to do nothing so nothing will be lost. Except that’s how he lost everything. Rather, invest everything into loving – with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Your time, talents, and treasure without fear. Because then, only then, can they be multiplied. [1] Different sources cite different numbers ranging from 15 to 38 years’ worth of average salary
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