Sermon , Pentecost 24thA, November 11th/15th

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11  

Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labour pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 

But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 

Matthew 25:14-30  

“Again, it 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 man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag 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 man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ 

“His master replied, ‘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!’ 

“The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ 

“His master replied, ‘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!’ 

“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! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 

“‘So 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.’ 

 In these days as this 2020 draws to a close, we are hearing from the Spirit in this Word of the truth of our bright future in Jesus and how that future shapes now.   

Again we hear that we don’t and will not know in advance the day or the hour of Jesus’ final and full revealing of himself for all to see, but we can know this hope-filled forever – and that forever shapes our hope for the now.   

Like someone breaking into your house while you sleep in the dead of night, this great and final resurrection day will simply appear. Everyone will finally see and know.    

Like a woman carrying a baby not yet born, this appearing across all placed and people will simply happen; it has to happen; you can’t stop this final resurrection day; this final and full revealing of who God is in all his glory will happen. Like birth of a little one, you don’t know the exact hour or minute of arrival, but you know it will arrive!  

As you hear that parable, I suspect you are a bit disturbed by the apparent harshness of the treatment God gives the third servant who does nothing with this gifts he has been given.  

“‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. ……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.’ 

 Is this the God we say we love and serve? A God who rewards the rich and makes then richer and condemns the poor, only making them poorer? Is God actually promoting a world we often see promoted – only the strong survive, so be strong and survive and get what is yours, at any cost!  

Let’s look deeper….  

First thing to notice about Jesus’ story here is that everyone gets a huge sum of money. A ‘bag of gold’ was about 33 kg of gold. As of yesterday, a kilogram of gold was worth about $61,487. Each bag is worth $2M!  

5 bags – $10M , 2 bags – $4M , 1 bag – $2M  

The master is very, very generous to ALL people according to what they can handle!  

He is also very trusting. It is tougher being wealthy than we might think. People of substantial means always have to be wary of who they trust because a lot of people call on them to support things. This master entrusts significant wealth and all that wealth brings to himself and the future of his family.   

So, the Master is very generous and fully trusting of these three people.   

The Master is also very patient.   

“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them”. 

 This master is generous to all – He gives all people a lot. He is trusting – He gives from his own wealth. He is patient – He gives people abundant time to use the gifts he gives.   

One more thing: This master wants all three people in his presence in his joy. Joy together is his goal. He wants people, not just what they can do or not do.   

Jesus is not promoting capitalism!  

“Come and share your master’s happiness!”, or, “Enter my joy!” 

This master is not only interested in increasing wealth or influencing his community or looking good. He is most interested in sharing his life with these people and others through them.  

He wants relationship above performance, and yet, as the servants live in his gifts for a long time, performance takes care of itself – joy is goal and joy is the end.   

Who is this manager? He sounds pretty good! In the journey who does all of this giving, entrusting, waiting.   

The master is not merely “God”. Matthew makes it clear that Jesus is talking about himself. The man on the journey is Jesus himself. Jesus is speaking of his own journey with people. He is the one who gives, entrusts, waits and wants a relationship of joy with people.   

Can we see that this parable is NOT mainly about the harsh end for the third servant? He is in the parable to bring the truth home, but he is not the heart or intent of this generous Jesus.  

This person too, was given plenty by the master. He was trusted by the master. He was given a life–time to enjoy the superabundant gifts and the trust of his gracious master, but for whatever reason, still saw Jesus as a ‘hard man”.   

How are you viewing Jesus? A ‘harsh man’ on the take: taking what is not his?  

Are you scared of Jesus, as a result of this belief? Where does that belief come from in you?  

The third servant was ungrateful, unaware, impatient and fearful in the life he had been given. He misjudged Jesus and rules himself. He therefore rules himself out of the joy with Jesus. Jesus does not do it. The person does.   

And the real ‘kicker? in the end, he knows this to his core.   

Why does any person gnash their teeth? Anger. What kind of anger here? Self-anger. When the master completes his journey and appears in town for all to see, this person now knows just how much he has blown it.   

This fear-filled person is angry at himself and at the master and at the world and at life. He is angry to the core; to the point of gnashing his teeth.   

Everything he has lived his life on has been wrong.   

All his plans have come to nothing much at all. His self-interest, his denial of the gifts of Jesus, his unwillingness to trust Jesus’ gifts and live in them with others and therefore earn ‘interest’ on the gift, have left him beside himself with anger at himself for just what he has missed and will miss once everything is put in final order by the man who ae him so much.   

I don’t know if you have ever been that angry with yourself of Jesus, but you don’t need to be. This generous, trusting, patient and joyful Jesus has not finally appeared for the great resurrection day yet.   

Jesus still longs for the joy with you. He still longs for the relationship way above your performance. Your future is open.   

Jesus speaks and keeps on speaking and gifting you with all your need for all of life.   

He is still obviously very patient – daily and over the decades so far.   

And here is what we do with our superabundant life in Jesus. Here is what we do with the hope of joy we know, now in part and one day in full.   

We ‘earn interest’. How? Opposite to how interest on money works!  

This ‘interest’ is earned by giving money away! Strange. Normally you save money to earn more interest on your money and increase wealth. The more you save for yourself, the more you earn.   

Not in this Jesus’ community! The more you give away your money, your gifts, your time, yourself, the more ‘interest’ or value or gifts seems to increase.   

The more you allow trust, exercise patience and build relationships despite people’s performance, the interest grows.   

Oh, can you receive the joy of this master today?   

In his community, we are invited into a realm where performance and earning and calculation is abolished. Here, the interest, the fruit, the harvest, the blessing, the hope happens in giving ourselves and what he gives away.  

“Come and share your master’s happiness!”, says Jesus, to you.  

 

“…….you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day”. (1Thessalonians 5: 4-5) 

 Receive him and his gifts. Give him and his gifts away. Enjoy the joy…. with interest!