Using the Good China
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church
Matthew 25: 14-30, Rev. Marianne Niesen, November 16, 2008
What if
you were a toddler but never ventured a first step?
What if
you were a cook who never tried new spices or new recipes?
What if,
after the earthquake in 1935, the church family at St. Paul’s had decided not to rebuild and just call it quits?
What if
twenty five years ago, the leadership at St. Paul’s had decided not to develop a Walk to Emmaus program - too much work?
What if,
35 years ago, pastor George Harper and the St. Paul’s organist Anne Wix had not met Dave and Fay Buness at their new home as they were unpacking their moving van and personally invited them to St. Paul’s?
What if
. . . great novels are written and movies made centering on the great "what if" questions of life.
What if a little extra-terrestrial being came to earth and wanted to go home and met a little boy? The movie ET.
What if
a Jewish man, living with his son in the hell of an internment camp tried to re-interpret the reality around him? The movie Life is Beautiful.
Life is about choices. Those we make and those we don’t. Growing up, growing wise, growing at all, is making choices. Life is about risks. Without risk, nothing happens. Still, even with that awareness, most of us have trouble with this parable. We want to argue with it . . . you leave that third slave alone. At least he gave you exactly what you gave him! It’s just not fair that the master got so angry with him. But - be careful - as soon as we begin to argue with a parable, Jesus has us exactly where he wants us!
Still, let’s push back on the parable a bit . . . What if the first slave in today's gospel had taken his 5 talents (and one talent was equal to 16 year’s wages) and "traded with them" and lost them all? What if he'd failed? What if the second servant had traded with his talents and gone into debt? What would the master have said then? What if, when he returned, all that was left was what the third servant had hoarded. What then?
Then, Jesus would have smiled and said . . . this parable is about the kingdom of God. It is about the transformation of life in this world. The master's words stand. To the first and second servant who have risked all - Well done, good and faithful servants - you gave, you tried. And to the third (and the words are harsh and the translation is rough) You bonehead! The gifts you were given were yours to share, not hoard. The kingdom of God is about what people do with who they are and what they have. The transformation of life will happen only as we invest our talents and our gifts and our goods in bringing about the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.
There is a story told of a woman who loved opals. She had an opal ring and a beautiful necklace and earrings. These opals were so beautiful that she kept them in a safety deposit box, waiting for a special event to wear them. Well, years passed and the opals were safe, but the special event just never seemed to come - until her daughter announced her engagement. Finally, the special event had arrived! She went to the safety deposit box to get the opals. As she carefully removed the necklace, earrings and ring from the box, the opals crumpled in her hand. The woman had been so busy collecting her jewelry that she failed to learn that opals need to be worn. They need the oils on the skin to keep their luster and strength. It is the warmth of the body, the touching, which gives them life and beauty. You must literally risk their lives to keep them beautiful. If you don't, they die.
The Christian life is the same way. "Anyone who wishes to save their life must lose it -or risk it." One cannot live the Christian life and remain safe. Nothing will happen. And something is meant to happen. Transformation is not just a hope - it is an assignment!
Today's gospel from Matthew was written for people living at a difficult time. It was 70+ AD, the temple had been destroyed, Jerusalem had been conquered, sacked by the Romans. The Jews were dispersed and persecuted. Jewish/Christians (and that was the immediate audience to whom Matthew wrote) were especially vulnerable. They were thought of much like we think of cult members today. They were renegades, suspect. They didn't know where to turn. They hoped Jesus would return again soon and save them. Rescue them. Their temptation, like that we all feel when we feel threatened, was to hunker down, close the hatches, play it safe. Best we do nothing since every move we make could be dangerous. They were like we are when we aren't sure we want to say or do anything because we might step on someone's toes, or be misunderstood or be written off or be uncomfortable. They were like us when we ask - what if I offer to help and the person says no - I'll feel stupid. What if . . .
It is into that environment of fear and clutching for safety that Matthew recalls for them the parable Jesus told about the master going on a trip and the slaves given various gifts or talents. And suddenly the message is all too clear. Like the first servant who risked a lifetime worth of wages, risk your lives, in my service. Or, like the second servant, risk at least a part. Do what you can. Do not be like the third who played it safe; who did nothing and was proud of it. There is nothing to be proud of if nothing happens!
What if I made that phone call and talked to that relative I've never gotten along with? What if I take the step to talk about the problem that has been bugging me? What if I work to let go of the anger that I've held? What if I bring up that conflict? What if I make a pledge to the church stewardship campaign - I’ve never done that before? What if I risk being more generous? This past week at the National Council of Churches meeting, one of our speakers made this point about the present state of our economy: we are where we are because of unbridled, unmitigated, unchecked greed. The overwhelming desire for more is always deadly in the end. We are affected - all of us and, God knows, we all need to make adjustments. Still, what if we made generosity our aim? I ran across a quote from Anne Frank, the young Dutch girl who died in a concentration camp: no one ever became poor by giving. What if we believed that?
Almost 2000 years ago, Jesus himself asked, what if? What if I ate with sinners to show God's forgiveness? What if I healed the sick? What if I confronted dishonesty? And he did. At the time, his investment looked a little crazy. But, Jesus was out to change the world in which he lived. To change the world so that God's reign was visible. And he called his followers to do the same. And we may look crazy too. But what if we did something today to bring our world closer to the vision God has for us? Closer to a world where love is stronger than fear and generosity overshadows greed? What if?
In each of our lives, there is a what if aching for a response. We have gifts the master has given us. What if we risked something to make something happen? To make some part of our world a little closer to the way God wants it. It might be a phone call to a person you'd rather not talk to but who needs a word from you. It might be a friend (or enemy) you need to visit. It might be a conflict that needs addressed. It might be an unhealthy relationship that needs confronted. It might be a vocational change. It might be a loving word that needs to be spoken. It might be the risk of a pledge card in the midst of even these times. Lyle and I give $1100 a month to St. Paul’s. We’ve decided - with some caution but mostly joy - to increase that this year. Because if there was ever a time the embracing ministry of our church is needed, it is now. I really believe that! We need this place and we need this ministry - and we need to be part of it! We had almost 40 children at children’s time last Sunday; we have 9 confirmands today, we have a ministry of providing showers for homeless women and children, the fair trade festival is in full swing downstairs - and we have so much more. I invite you to join Lyle and me in making an investment of your precious talents.
In a way, I see it like this. Many people, myself included, have a set of china. Really nice dishes. Something we save for special occasions. We don't want anything to happen to them. What if I used them and broke one? I thought of that very thing when I took this out to use today. Well, the message of the gospel is clear, it is time to use the good china. To take a risk with our wealth - our wealth of time and goods. Today. Here. We may have to make some adjustments to make it happen but the most important thing is that like the first and second servants, we do something with the good china God has given us. It is precisely because of these challenging economic times that we must be more generous - more generous of heart and hand. You’ve perhaps heard the quote . . . all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.
What if we did our part? What if each of us made some effort to bring the world around us closer to the world God intended - a community of peace (even with the guy down the road)? A family of love (even with those weird cousins)? A relationship of gentleness (even with ourselves)? A church of joy (even though there are so many things to do)? A season of amazing generosity (even now)? What if? It is only in the risking of something for the sake of Christ, for the love of God, that we have a chance to make something happen.
It is only when we struggle with our particular ‘what if’ - risking even the good china - that we too will hear the words, well done, good and faithful servants.
