SERMON for the 27th SUNDAY after PENTECOST: November 16, 2008
"Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant"
For both barrells and all the blanks filled in, you can hear this sermon as
preached from the pulpit at Trinity Lutheran Church of Layton, UT by going
to http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=1105
and clicking on the MP3 link therein.
Have a most blessed week in the Lord as His redeemed.
Rev. Kurt Hering
Layton, UT
TEXT:"For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have
abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken
away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Matt 25:14_30, NKJ, NKJ
"Well done, good and faithful servant[s];you have been faithful . . . "
What sweet music to the ears. Everybody loves a compliment.
These are God's words, this is God's Word to you today. it is God's Word
first to His Son who is THE Good and Faithful Servant. And now, you s the
body of Christ now here them addressed to you as well.
But as sweet sounding as they are now, imagine how much more so they will be
on the Last Day. When all those countless souls on the left hand will fall
before the Lord in dead fear and begin weeping and gnashing their teeth, you
will be among those to whom the Lord Jesus Christ in all His splendor judges
you, speaking those sweet, musical words, Well done, good and faithful
servant; you have been faithful."
And Jesus is not going to say this as a reward based upon how much work you
did as a member of a church board, guild, recognized service organization,
or missionary league. The Son of God is not going to be issuing this
judgment based upon how much time you put in to maintaining the property or
even how much you have put in the offering plate, either.
He is going to say Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been
faithful" because you have heard His Word and kept it and treasured it as
the bread of life and heavenly gift that it is. He is going to say "Well
done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful" to fulfill the
promise He spoke 2000 years ago:
"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these
things shall be added to you." (Matt 6:33, NKJ)
You see, this parable of the talents isn't about the stewardship of your
time, talents, and treasures. They're not yours anyway, are they?
This parable is not even primarily about the stewardship of God's earthly
gifts to you rightly understood as the time, talents, and treasures that He
has given you in such abundance. Oh, sure, one can make that application and
there is some good and right use that comes from it.
But please understand, above, and beyond, and underlying everything else,
this parable is about the stewardship of God's grace. It is about the
kingdom of heaven:
"For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who
called his own servants and delivered his goods to them."
And since we are sinners in a fallen world that cannot participate in the
kingdom of heaven by works or even by sight, that necessarily means this
parable is about faith - faith in the goods, that is to say the grace, God
the Father has delivered to you in Christ and the Holy Spirit continues to
deliver to you in and through the holy Christian Church. In other words,
this parable is about nothing more nor less than the forgiveness of sins.
What this means is that the parable is about your stewardship of the means
of grace, that is the forgiveness of sins, both in your life together with
the congregation of saints to which you belong and in your everyday life as
you interact with your neighbor in and around the home, and at work, school,
or play.
This is why we pray together every Sunday, and urge every Christian to pray
when they rise in the morning, when they sit at mealtimes, and when they lay
their heads to sleep:
Fifth Petition of the Lord's Prayer:
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
What does this mean? We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven
would not look at our sins, or deny our prayer because of them. We are
neither worthy of the things for which we pray, nor have we deserved them,
but we ask that He would give them all to us by grace, for we daily sin much
and surely deserve nothing but punishment. So we too will sincerely forgive
and gladly do good to those who sin against us.
So given that the kingdom of heaven is about the reign of God in souls of
faith, there are two, really three, things to consider based upon this
parable:
1. Is the church you attend, and the pastor you have called, faithful to
deliver God's goods of forgiveness of sins?
2. Are you faithful in receiving the goods of forgiveness of sins God
delivers on a regular basis?
3. Are you faithful in delivering to the people with whom you interact
everyday the goods of forgiveness of sins God has delivered first to you?
And since Jesus is using this parable to reveal the mystery of the kingdom
of heaven, it has implications for the whole Christian Church on earth and
its individual congregations like Trinity, Layton as well. For what is the
Church if not the kingdom of heaven opening its doors, the King and Lord of
heaven Himself opening His arms to shower the reign of His grace upon His
people by gathering them together for the proclamation and hearing of the
Word of forgiveness?
Speaking to His beloved apostle, John, the Alpha and Omega, the Word of God
made flesh, Jesus the Christ instructs him to write these words to the
church in Ephesus as a warning and exhortation to all Christian
congregations:
"Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first
works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its
place__ unless you repent. . . . He who has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from
the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God."'
(Rev 2:4_5, 7 NKJ)
It is rather funny, in an ironic sort of way, and coincidental, if there is
such a thing as coincidence in the kingdom of heaven, that this parable of
our Lord recorded in the Gospel of Matthew pops up in the church calendar at
the same time that many, if not most, congregations are meeting to draft and
adopt their budgets for the next earthly calendar year. It is also in some
respects unfortunate, because in our angst over the use of our money, and
sometimes in our anger over its misuse or abuse, we lose our focus on the
one thing needful - that is Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sins He has
bequeathed to us.
But as with all things that men mess up and bungle because of their own
sinful desires and thinking, God means and works it for good.
"For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who
called his own servants and delivered his goods to them."
Today that kingdom is here, in Christ's church. And on the Last Day you, and
all who dwelled in the faithfulness and security of the Lord in His church
on earth are sure to hear the sweet music of your Savior's voice:
"Well done, good and faithful servant[s];you have been faithful . . . " For
you have received the goods of God and have lived in the forgiveness of
sins--
... in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
____________________________________________________________
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