( Matthew 25, 14-30 ) - [ Akündigungen397.9 KB ]
NELCSA Northern Circuit Sunday
9th Sunday after Trinity
Jesus said: 14 “Again, the kingdom of heaven will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.
15 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.
16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more.
17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more.
18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.
20 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.’
21 “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!’
22 “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.’
23 “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!’
24 “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.
25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26 “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?
27 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.
28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags.
29 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.
30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Dear sisters and brothers,
This is a bit of a tricky text, considering that my time as bishop is nearing its end, and I am preaching for the last time as bishop at this circuit event. So, in a way, it is as if the “day of reckoning” is coming closer. My term is coming to an end, and what do I have to show for it?
To be honest, the thought is a bit daunting, since I know that I did not always live up to expectations. Although many people express thanks towards me, I am aware that there are others that are deeply disappointed, that were hurt, misunderstood or neglected.
In that sense I can fully understand the last guy, who buried the bag of gold, rather than risking making mistakes.
Indeed, many people seem to have the attitude: Rather do nothing - then at least you cannot make a mistake!
At the same time we all know that often the biggest mistake is to do nothing - as the man in the parable also discovered.
Alas, this parable, and for this matter, the sermon, is not about me, at least, not only about me. It is about all of us, and our relationship to Christ and his kingdom.
Parables are sometimes tricky to preach on. Either one reads too much into them, or one misses important points. Some parables only have one message, others are allegories, where each item points at something else. Since Jesus did not start of by saying: This is a parable, or this is an allegory, we have to figure it out, see what we can learn.
What we do know is that Jesus says: This is about the kingdom of heaven. We also know that these parables are towards the end of Jesus´s ministry on earth, shortly before his crucifixion, death, resurrection and ascension to heaven. A large part of the gospel tells us about the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders of his time. They see God as the harsh ruler, who needs to be obeyed. Healing on a Sabbath needs to be punished, mingling with the unclean is not acceptable. Time and again Jesus breaks these rules and shows a God of compassion, of kindness, who lifts the fallen, hugs the children and brings life and hope to those who have been given up on.
This parable is now part of the final reflections between Jesus and his disciples. Although the Pharisees and scribes are not present, the conflict with them still features. Because the bottom line of this parable is: How do I view God, and how do I live my life in view of this?
With this in mind, let us look at some aspects of this parable.
Why does the master treat his servants so differently? One gets 5 bags, of gold, the next one 2 and the last one only one. (Original text speaks about “Talents”, with one talent being equal to 20 years of wages of a day labourer.)
The clue to this is in the little statement: “Each one according to his ability”.
Thus the differing treatment of the master is actually a very evenhanded one: He recognizes that his servants have different abilities.
What does that tell us about the master?
The master knows his servants - it is not a master who keeps his distance. He knows what his servants can achieve.
But, even more important, he trusts his servants - entrusting to them his wealth. This is in stark contrast to the opinion of the third servant who regards his master as a greedy tyrant.
This part of the parable is difficult to digest, because the friendly, trusting master then does indeed become the harsh punisher of this servant.
As said earlier on, Jesus is hinting at the Pharisees and Scribes, and how they see God. He wants his disciples to see the God as he really is.
Sadly, in the history of the church this harsh ending of the parable attracted a lot more attention than the story of the other two servants, where the emphasis is on praise, joy and celebration.
As a result, the image of a punishing, harsh Lord, that the religious leaders at the time of Jesus had, has been imprinted on the hearts and minds of many Christians, passed on from generation to generation. Many Christians are plagued by the thought that they too might have to hear: You lazy servant! Throw him out into darkness.
What does Jesus want to tell us?
As said earlier on: Jesus is sharing with his disciples, trying to show them that God and his kingdom is different from what the religious leaders are saying. Jesus says: I am not the harsh tyrant, rather, I am the caring, trusting Lord. When I give you tasks (bags of gold) I carefully discern what you are capable of. Some have bigger tasks, others smaller tasks - not because I like some more than others, but because I know you by name, and I distribute the tasks so that my kingdom will best be built.
The parable does not tell us how many times the other two servants almost lost everything, whether, at some stage, they had more than doubled the gold, and then lost some again. All it tells us is that they worked with what they had to the best of their ability, whereas the third servant had a broken relationship with his master and did not see trust and encouragement, but feared punishment and felt resentment towards the master.
Thus, this parable is about the relationship between us and the Lord: Do we see him through the eyes of Jesus, or through the eyes of the religious leaders? Do we see a distant God who is unfair, harsh and ready to punish? Or do we see the Lord who gives himself to make us his own? The one who reaches out to the fallen, who picks up and hugs the children? The one who serves, rather than serving, the one who knows me by name?
With this parable, Jesus invites us to hear: this loving, caring Lord, is entrusting his church and the expanding of his kingdom to us - some with very small, others with enormous tasks. His aim is to build his kingdom, not to punish his servants.
I pray that I, when I am faced with my failures and shortcomings, will not fall into the trap of being afraid of God´s punishment, but rather be reminded that he knows me with my shortcomings. He does not expect me to be perfect. Rather, he says: I trust you! You will fail - but stand up again. Don’t bury your talents because you are afraid to make mistakes. Serve me with joy, not with fear!
I hope and pray that in our church we will move again and again towards joyfully serving, and joyfully standing up again after failing, because we know that our master is not a harsh, greedy and unforgiving tyrant, but a Lord who wants to build his kingdom and trusts us enough to make us his helpers!
Amen.
Horst Müller, Bishop NELCSA,