St. Matthew 25:14-30
There is a great risk hidden in the words of Jesus....and Jesus knew it. It speaks to us with unmistakeable clarity. 3 servants serve as our example. The question is what are you going to do with the deposit given by the master? St. Paul says it well, “The Lord comes as a thief in the night(1 Thessalonians 5). We mistakenly live out our days as though we have many. On the one hand, we think that we have time on our side, and so we are slack concerning the Lord’s deposit given to us. We concern ourselves with less important things. We trick ourselves into thinking the other responsibilities are equally as important, though. We also have a problem called slothfulness; laziness; fatigue. We say the world deals us the blows of life that preoccupy and wear us down. The harsh reality, though, is that every time we turn our gaze away from the deposit that the Lord has given us, we sin. Christ’s parable is hinting at a different problem, however. It comes out in the third servant’s response to the deposit given. This third servant does nothing profitable with the talent, because he is afraid of the risk--he is afraid of a bad result. If you will admit it, you will acknowledge that looking intently into the holy things of God makes you nervous. There is a reason. Sometimes blind faith is easier. The less we have to think about Jesus, God, eternity, salvation and damnation, the easier faith and life seems to be for us: We are afraid. Looking into the reality of things, in and of itself, will challenge our faith. Here is what we fear: we want to believe that God exists. We want to believe that we will get to go to heaven. But, when we search the scriptures--when we search things eternal and outside of us--we cannot help but wonder “is it really true? Or did some crazy ancients make all this up?” We don’t want to be in the place where we wrestle with these questions, because we are afraid of what we might conclude. We are afraid of losing the deposit given. We are afraid that we won’t believe anymore. This is the risk. This is is precisely the reason for the third servant’s fear. So, rather than risking losing the one talent and facing the wrath of his master, he goes and hides it. He tries to forget that it is there. Don’t you be that servant. This is your warning from God. Instead of searching the scriptures like the Bereans, you focus on things less important because you are afraid that if you look into the scriptures you will not believe. To consider God, eternity, creation, life, and death, means that we must necessarily wrestle with what it all means. Is it true? Did Jesus do what the scriptures say he did? As the parable demonstrates, the greater the risk, the greater the gain. This parable is not about your works. This parable runs much in the same way as the account of Mary and Martha. As you may recall, Mary sat and listened to Jesus teach, while Martha was busy working. Jesus reminds Martha that Mary has chosen the good thing--to muse upon the scriptures. Mary’s diligence was in searching into the depths of Christ and His eternal word. But faithfulness in pondering the holy scriptures is difficult to find. We like to craft our own Christian piety because it is often the way we like it. When we try to make Christian faith and devotion what is appealing to us, it is often under the guise of pushing aside the things that make us uncomfortable. A person will not come to Divine Service, because hearing the preaching is out of our control. We might hear something that will make us think of things we don’t want to think about. Perhaps something in the sermon will hit our conscience and we will be forced to think about those sins of our past that are painful. Maybe we will hear something about God that makes it difficult for us to believe. Maybe we will be forced to conclude that our faith is not as strong as we thought, or maybe we consider that our salvation is not as secure as we thought. But the parable shows us that doing nothing is even more dangerous. Being unaffected by Jesus is more dangerous. Being numb to what Christ has done on the cross is a horrible place to be. Not feeling guilt for our sins is an atrocity, because a conscience and a faith that is forced to take risks is a field ripe for the harvest. Some great cultivating is done in these circumstances. If you are afraid, you will search and Christ’s holy word brings life and illumination. Christ will give you abundant blessings. Christ’s holy word is not just idle syllables that flow out of the mouth or jump out as letters on a page. Christ’s holy word comes with substance. It is a word that creates. St. Paul says it: Jesus has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the good preaching. And it was for this good preaching(the gospel) that Paul was appointed. Those who abide in this preaching, who abide and find their lives embodied by this gospel shall find wisdom, peace, forgiveness, strength, and salvation.(Read 2 Timothy 1:9ff). Jesus is clear “not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father which is in heaven”(St. Matthew 7:21). The parable is telling us to be honest about our fears. On the positive side, the parable is telling us to search our souls to see what those fears are. We are to be honest about our weak faith. We are to be honest about our sins. We are to be honest about the stumbling blocks to strengthening the deposit of faith that have been given to us. We are to be honest with what that crucifix is preaching to us. We need a bleeding and dying savior more than we care to admit. When we are honest about these things, good things will happen if we abide in the preaching of Christ at His feet along with Mary. Good things will happen if we risk the deposit in order that more will be gained. The good preaching of Christ, the holy word that creates and sustain life will sustain you. Jesus is the eternal God that desires to give you far more than you ever thought possible. Peter denied Jesus because of fear. All the disciples fled the Garden of Gethsemane because of fear, but through their struggle with sin they repented and Jesus filled them up with far more than they thought possible. Jesus’ grace and mercy not only brought them forgiveness, but it also sustained them. They grew. They found peace and understanding. They found a joy the world does not know apart from Christ. This same gift is for you. Christ’s suffering and death is the payment for your sins and you rest in His care. Jesus explains His love in the parable for the two servants who took the risk with the deposit given: “for to every one that has more will be given, and he will have abundance...”(St. Matthew 25:29). This is Christ’s promise to you. Jesus gives you the deposit of faith to begin with through the waters of Holy Baptism, as He gives to you the Holy Spirit as a deposit and a guarantee of your salvation, but He proceeds to give to you the abundance from His cross through this preaching. His holy preaching covers you like a garment as the Holy Spirit goes to work through that preaching. Your soul and your heart--your very being--is cultivated, prepared, worked, planted, and begins to grow the goodness of Christ’s salvation. In it, you will find struggles with faith, with sin, with eternal truths, and you will find peace, joy, goodness, and love. Christ’s love shall cover you through all things. You cannot be taken from the arms of Jesus. His love holds on to His children, and the illumination of His love brings to you a way that you never knew before....He is working even now--changing you, shaping you, forgiving you. Amen. -- Rev. Chad Kendall Trinity Lutheran Church Lowell, Indiana www.trinitylowell.org http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=243282012833
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