Rev.
Jeffrey T. Howard
Beaver
Dam and Pitts Creek Churches
Sermon
Matthew 25:14–30 Bags of Gold
November
16, 2014
Jesus
and his disciples are on the Mount of Olives. It is Wednesday of
Holy Week. Tomorrow evening they will share in a Last Supper. But
tonight is a night for storytelling. And Jesus is telling stories
about waiting for the Kingdom of God. Last week we heard Jesus'
story about a man with 11 daughters waiting for the Kingdom of Heaven
by living his ordinary life. Today we will hear Jesus' story about a
man with 15 bags of gold. We will get to this, but first let's
pray.
I
give thanks this day for the gift of Christ and the privilege to
follow in his way. This is the greatest life-giving treasure that I
am called to steward; may I share this as freely as I have received
it from the One who gave himself for the life of the world. May I be
continually awakened to your love this day. Amen.”1
When
I was 16 my family moved to McLean VA. We moved because my father
owned the Baskin Robbins 31 Flavors franchise in McLean, and because
he worked for the government in Maryland, just across the river. We
began attending the Lewinsville Presbyterian Church and enrolled in
the New Members Class.
I
can remember that the adults in the class were having discussions
about wine. One of the new members was in the wine importing
business. He was looking for investors for a new project. Several
members of the church invested in this business. And then the guy
disappeared with all their money. There was no wine. The man was a
con man preying on church members. We found out that he had scammed
members of other churches as well. I have no idea what happened to
him.
This
may have been part of a wider wine scam in the 1980s. Con men would
take inferior Austrian wine and make it sweeter, and far more
valuable, by adding diethylene glycol. Diethylene glycol is an
ingredient in antifreeze and causes kidney damage if drunk. They
added this dangerous substance to make the wine more valuable. It
won a gold medal at a European wine festival. Thankfully the scam
was uncovered and stopped before anyone was seriously hurt by
drinking the bad wine.2
Jesus
also told a story about a dishonest con man. Let's listen.
Matthew
25:14 “Again, it 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,[a] 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.’
There
was a con man in Jesus' day. Let's call him Mr. Rich. Mr. Rich had
arrived in Jerusalem with two trusted assistants and a new guy he
wasn't sure of. Mr. Rich had already setup the con targeting a
couple of wealthy merchants. The plan was that Mr. Rich would leave
town for a while. His assistants would launch the plan while he was
away. When Mr. Rich returned he could claim no knowledge of the
assistants or what they had done. He would then leave town, after
doubling his money, and look for suckers in the next town.
We
don't know what scam they used. But the wine scam has been around
for thousands of years. In the first century con men took inferior
wine and made it sweeter by adding lead. The wine would be put in
new containers and sold to unsuspecting people who would pay a
premium price thinking it to be a premium wine. This may be what
the con men in Jesus' story did.
Mr.
Rich gave five bags of gold to his top assistant who used it to make
five more. He gave two bags of gold to another assistant who also
ran the scam and came back with two more. Mr. Rich had started with
eight bags of gold and now has 14 – a pretty good take. But what
about the third assistant, the new guy Mr. Rich had given a bag of
gold, what did he do?
Two
of Mr. Rich's assistants ran the scam, but the third assistant did
not. He realized that what they were doing was wrong, and he wanted
no part of it. Maybe he was a follower of God. So he buried the
gold and waited for Mr. Rich to return. That's when he returned the
gold and called Mr. Rich a liar and a thief. Mr. Rich responded with
anger: “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.’”
According
to Jesus this is what waiting for the Kingdom of God is like.
As
follower of Jesus we must avoid unethical business practices. Do not
expect that you can be a liar and thief during the week and then
worship Jesus on Sunday. It doesn't work that way. To be a disciple
of Jesus you must be honest and trustworthy in all your dealings if
you hope to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Mr.
Rich was wrong. The outer darkness and gnashing of teeth was where
he and his two unethical assistants were headed with all who deal
dishonestly in business. The honest assistant will join Jesus when
he returns.
Finally,
let me tell you about a scam going on in our churches today. There
might be con men con women right here at Beaver Dam (Pitts Creek).
All people receive wonderful blessings from God. They are blessed
with life, and families, and businesses, and jobs, and farms, and
retirement. They are blessed with rain, and sunshine and soil and
all the food and wine they consume. All God wants in return is a
portion of their time and treasure. God asks for one day a week to
be holy and set aside for worship. And God asks for a tithe, ten
percent of their first fruits, income. Believe it or not there are
some who take all that God offers them and give little or nothing in
return. This is a con. They are trying to con God. Don't do it.
Respond to everything God has done for you by giving back of your
time and treasure for the Kingdom of God.
So
according to Jesus we must always deal ethically with one another and
with God. Never lie, cheat or do thing you shouldn't do in business.
And always honor God with your presence in worship and tithe for his
kingdom. Let us pray.
Father
in heaven we thank you for all the blessings you have given us.
Protect us from the con men and woman who would harm us. And forgive
us for withholding from you our worship and tithes. We pray in your
son's name. Amen.
1Feasting
on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year A, Volume 2 ©
2014 Westminster John Knox Press p256.
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