Newsletter November 22, 2014

Here are my notes from Sunday:

Using What You Have, Matthew 25:14-30
Pastor Dan Damon, Richmond 1st UMC, 11-16-14

Introduction

I remember a basketball player at Sunshine Bible Academy who had a lot of
talent, but no desire to develop it. He didn¹t want to work that hard. I
remember saying to myself, ³If I had a talent like that, I would work hard
to develop it. I would try to be the best basketball player I could be.² At
the time I wasn¹t thinking of the talents God has given me. I was just
thinking about sports (and impressing the cheerleaders). I realize now that
I was not meant to be a professional basketball player. Now that I am older,
I read a parable like the one from Matthew 25 today, with new understanding.

Retell the Scripture Story

This week¹s reading, the parable of the talents, is the second of the last
three parables/allegories with which Matthew concludes Jesus¹ ³judgment
discourse.² Here again the focus is on the nature of Christian living until
Christ comes again. A ³talent² in biblical times was the equivalent of 15
years¹ wages.

“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and
entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two,
to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.³

Summarize the story: The one with five made five more, the one with two made
two more.

Now for the difficult part:

³Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying,
‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow,
and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went
and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his
master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap
where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to
have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have
received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and
give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more
will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have
nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless
slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.’²

The last phrase is used only in Matthew. It has been used to support the
idea of a literal, eternal hell, which I reject. The story does show the
consequences of our actions, however, in this life. If we fail to use what
has been given to us for good, there is a negative consequence.

Application

Matthew clearly wants us to understand that ³waiting² for the Second Coming
doesn¹t mean sitting on your hands. The slave who received the one talent
didn¹t lose it, but in fact preserved it. Yet he is condemned. In the
Christian life, it¹s not enough to have gifts and talents; it is absolutely
necessary to use them.

As John Wesley famously said, ³Do all the good you can, by all the means you
can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times
you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.²

Some of us receive the message, ³You are not good enough.² Some receive the
message, ³You are fine.² What message are you living with? The creative
writer hears something, writes it down, and assumes the idea is good enough.
Then the editor takes over and begins to develop the idea to improve it. The
talents are needed. The courage to develop and use them with humility is
also needed. The fear that makes us bury things in the ground is not
helpful, and leads to nothing good. My parents gave me the message that I
was good enough.

What are you doing with your gifts of time, talent, and treasure? Are you
part of the problem, or part of the solution to the troubles of this world?

Let us be in prayer.