Talents and Gifts - A Sermon for Sunday November 19 2023

Gospel: Matthew 25:14–30

The holy gospel according to _____________.

Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus tells a parable about his second coming, indicating that it is not sufficient merely to maintain things as they are. Those who await his return should make good use of the gifts that God has provided them.

¹⁴For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them;  ¹⁵to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.  ¹⁶The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents.  ¹⁷In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents.  ¹⁸But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.  ¹⁹After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.  ²⁰Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.'  ²¹His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'  ²²And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.'  ²³His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'  ²⁴Then 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;  ²⁵so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.'  ²⁶But 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?  ²⁷Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest.  ²⁸So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents.  ²⁹For 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.  ³⁰As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

The gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

A gift is given with intent.

When you give someone a gift,

you hope they will use it.

For example, When a couple get married,

Some of the gifts they receive

might be pre-selected on the gift registry,

like new pots and pans or a tool box.

The gifts they are asking for.

Some gifts are not asked for.

A beautiful garden planter

is an excellent and thoughtful gift -

unless you live in an apartment.

A Queen size bed comforter is a lovely gift,

unless you sleep in a king size bed.

A papier-mâché rooster might be a work of art,

but what do you do with it???

Some gifts are never used,

just kept it in the closet

in case the gift giver comes for a visit.

Regardless of the gift -

the hope of the gift-giver is that

the recipient will unwrap the gift,

and use the gift.

That’s the whole point.

You don’t give someone a sandwich tray,

hoping it grows mouldy in the bottom of the fridge.

Some gifts are more special than others.

When you are given special gifts,

they often come with obligations.

When you are given an engagement ring,

whether it be a cubic zirconium

or one of most valuable metals,

The gift comes with the obligation

that you will be faithful to your partner.

Imagine if someone gives you a hand-crafted violin

or Fender Stratocaster guitar -

it comes with the obligation

that you learn how to play the special gift.

Or imagine if someone were to give you a puppy,

it comes with the obligation that you feed it

and walk it,

and clean up after it.

So what happens if you are given a gift

that you just don’t want?

I think this describes us sometimes

when it comes to God’s gifts.

Faith is a gift from God -

given through God’s Word,

given through the Sacraments,

we receive the gift of faith

as convicted by the Holy Spirit.

In baptism, God claims us as children, heirs,

forgiving our sins,

securing our future,

and we do want this gift!

But the gift of baptism

comes with a list of responsibilities:

to raise our children in the faith,

to worship in community,

to learn the scriptures,

to pray,

to trust God,

to proclaim Christ in word and deed,

to care for others and the world God made,

to strive for justice and peace.

When we consider our responsibilities,

we might hesitate in using God’s gifts.

We are just fine with God’s gifts

until we hear words like “Share your faith”

or “Feed the hungry”

or “visit the sick and imprisoned”

or “welcome the stranger”

or strive for justice and peace,

Sometimes we just don’t want to do it.

Sometimes we don’t want to use the gifts God gives us,

sometimes we just want to give that gift right back,

or at least keep it safe in the closet

in case the gift giver comes ever comes for a visit.

Where do you fit in today’s parable?

Are you like the servant given 5 or 2 talents,

eager to multiply the gift,

or are you like the servant given 1 talent,

and not quite sure what to do with it?

It’s scary.

I do not want to hear Jesus call me a

“wicked and lazy slave”

But I’m not convinced

that this is where our focus should be

as we hear Jesus’ parable today.

Matthew’s version of this parable

is different from Luke’s version.

In Matthew,

the talents that these slaves are given

are the equivalent of 15-20 years salary -

It’s like being given a million dollars.

In Luke’s version,

they are given about 100 days wages.

It is still a significant amount of money,

but Matthew is trying to express

just how valuable and precious God’s gifts are.

Even the lowliest slave is given $1 million dollars,

which should not come as an insult,

but still an incredible honour

to be entrusted with so much.

There is grace in this parable,

each servant is entrusted with talents,

according to their ability,

the master entrusts us all.

In Luke’s version,

the master gives instructions to the slaves

“do business with these until I return.”

Whereas in Matthew, no instruction is given.

Each slave has creativity

with how they use their master’s gifts.

We don’t know how they worked with the money,

other than they worked,

and the first two slaves earned back double,

and entered into their master’s joy.

Matthew places the emphasis on the third slave -

the one who seems to have no love for the master;

he is afraid of the master.

Burying this treasure would not be uncommon,

it’s like making a deposit in the bank,

keeping the talent safe.

This slave does not bury the treasure

in order to keep it safe for the master.

He buries it to save his own behind,

afraid of what might happen to him if he loses it.

He does not want to be rejected by his master.

I can identify with this -

being entrusted with $1 million dollars

sounds daunting, and scary,

and I would not want to work with it

only to possibly lose it.

But that was their job.

That is our job.

This parable is about failure.

The first two were not afraid to fail

in investing the talents.

Failure happened only when

there was a failure to work with the gifts.

God gives us gifts that we can handle.

In the parable,

the one slave was given 5 talents because

the master was sure he could handle them.

The one slave was given 2 talents

because he could handle it.

Even the slave who was given 1 talent

was given it because he could handle it.

This slave didn’t want to handle it,

he was too afraid,

afraid of rejection by the master.

He didn’t want the gift.

I wonder if our own failure to use God’s gifts

is because we too don’t want to be rejected,

not so much by the Master,

but by those we might feel called to serve,

those we are called to use our talents with.

One of the biggest reasons we hesitate

to even invite someone to church

is we are afraid of them saying no,

so we just say no for them.

Fear of failure is real,

but for the Christian,

it really ought to not be a thing.

There is no greater failure

than the cross,

Jesus being killed on a Roman torture tool

is the greatest failure for a king,

But Jesus is the King of kings,

and God brought about the greatest success

through that greatest failure.

God brought about resurrection and eternal life

through the cross.

Believe that God can work with us

when we fail.

But failure really only happens

when we fail to try,

when we fail to use God’s gifts.

God has given you gifts -

the gifts of faith and hope.

God has given you skills, and abilities, and passions,

to borrow the word - talents -

all gifts that you can handle.

You do not need to be afraid to use them.

If you have a gift for teaching, it is not a fluke.

If you have a gift for cooking, or sewing, -

athletics, art, music,

hospitality, care, compassion -

God has given you gifts that you can handle -

and whether we like it or not,

these gifts come with obligation.

The servant cannot be something they are not.

You cannot be something you are not.

God does not expect the spruce tree

to be a maple.

The bunny rabbit is not expected

to act like a coyote.

God does not ask us to do the impossible,

God does not ask us to be anything we are not.

The gifts God gives us

correlate with who we are,

and who we are becoming.

God will not give you a gift,

God will not entrust you with a talent

that you are unable to use.

It is not as if God gives you a tool chest

for car repairs

and leaves you alone

to learn auto mechanics on YouTube.

God’s Spirit is with us,

God’s Spirit enables us to use God’s gifts.

This is one way

God is at work in and through us!

The Giver of the gift

is also the Giver of ability

to steward the gift.

You need not worry or be afraid to use the gifts

that God has given you

because God intends them to be used by you

based upon the person that you are today.

You do not need to pretend to be the 5 talent slave,

if you are the 1 talent slave.

God is calling you, exactly you as you are,

to use your God given gifts

at that place where your passions and skills and abilities

intersect with the needs of the world.

When it comes to faith,

simple things,

simple acts can bring forth a ten fold yield.

In today’s parable,

we don’t know how long the master was gone for,

except that it was a long time.

These slaves did not double their gift overnight,

but certainly they used their gifts as they were able -

and they did it out of love for their master.

There is a delay.

We find ourselves still waiting for the Master’s return.

Let’s not wait for the Master’s return

to dust off the gifts stored in the closet.

We all want to hear those words

“Well done, good and faithful servant

Enter the joy of your Master”

By your baptism into Christ,

that gift is yours.

Trust and believe

you are your Master’s joy.

May we live our lives

as a thank-you to the Gift Giver

May we use our gifts

trusting that God will use

our successes and our failures.

May we all hear the God’s voice, saying:

Well done, good and trustworthy servant

enter the joy of your master.

Thanks be to God. Amen.