Sermon Matthew 25:14-30 "Well Done Good and Faithful Servant"
Presbyterian Church of Easton
November 15, 2020
This morning we are celebrating Stewardship Sunday. Now I know that “celebrating” is not the usual term applied to this day. Most of us think of Stewardship Sunday as a time when the church hits us up for more money. How could this be a celebration? But the reality is that today we are celebrating all the gifts that God has provided to us and the response that God expects from us, sharing our blessings with others. As we prepare for this celebration will you pray with me?
Holy Spirit, fill our hearts this day with God’s love. Help us to remember all the blessings we have received throughout our lifetimes. Help us to share the blessings God has given us with others in the kingdom. We pray all of this in the name of the greatest gift God has given us, our savior, Jesus Christ.
Matthew 25:14-30 14 "For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15 to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
16 The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17 In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18 But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
19 After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20
Then 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.' 21 His 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.'
22 And 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.' 23 His 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.'
24 Then 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; 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.'
26 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? 27 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.
28 So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29 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. 30 As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
Years ago I went to business school and studied economics. One of the important concepts in economics is the “velocity of money”. Here is how it works. Suppose Janet owns a bank and Hubert deposits his savings in Janet’s bank. Then Clyde borrows some money from Janet’s bank, which originally came from Hubert, to open a business and then places his profits back in the bank. Nancy then wants to buy a car so she borrows the same money from Janet’s bank that had been originally deposited by Hubert and has already been used by Clyde to start a business. You see, the same money is used over and over again, it is multiplied. This is called the velocity of money and is essential for the well working of the economy. The velocity of money is a concept that can be applied to God’s economy as well.
The underlying principle, in God’s economy, comes to us from the promise of God to Abraham when God said “I will bless you … so that you will be a blessing”. Suppose that someone in the congregation is richly blessed with good health and a loving family. In God’s economy, these blessings are to be shared with others. Those who have been blessed are to share these blessings by blessing others in need. We are to care for each other, and the poor and needy in our community just as God has cared for us. We use God’s blessing over and over again. In this way, the blessings we receive are multiplied benefiting the entire kingdom of God.
Let’s look at how God’s economy works in today’s scripture. The first slave received five talents. In ancient times a talent was a heavy gold coin. It was the largest denomination of ancient currency. It was a lot of money. Five talents equaled the total wages a laborer could possibly earn in about eighty years, a lifetime. So in this parable five talents represent all the blessings that God has provided us over our lifetimes, all of the food that we have enjoyed, all of the love we have received from family and friends, and, of course, the church God has provided for us with worship and education.
God had provided the first servant a lifetime of blessings. And what did this slave do with all of these blessings? She shared every one of those blessings with others through countless acts of love and compassion. Every blessing invested by God in this slave has been multiplied as blessings for others. You see the velocity of blessings at work. The blessings we receive from God are used to bless others, and those who are blessed by us blessed still others, on and on, until the whole world is blessed. And when this slave appeared in heaven after a long lifetime of shared blessings, Christ said, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
The second slave received two talents of blessings from God. This represented all of the blessings that those of us in middle age have received. We realize that although the world presents many challenges for us we have been greatly blessed by God. We have been blessed with loving families, good jobs, and the promise of a glorious future. The second slave recognized all the blessings that he had received and decided to share all those blessings with others. Although his family budget was limited, he still found what was needed to give to his church to maintain Christian worship and serve the poor in the community. Although his time was limited, he still made time for worship, prayer, and volunteer service. And through his efforts more and more people received God’s blessings and were able to bless others. So when Christ looked down from heaven and saw this saint he said, “Well done good and faithful servant”.
But of course, we have to look at the third slave too. This slave was young with a bright future ahead. Already she had already received one talent of blessings from God. But she was afraid. She feared that if she gave food to the hungry she would have no food for herself. She feared that if she clothed the naked she would have no clothes to wear. She feared that if she contributed to charity or the church there would not be enough money left over for her needs. So she received blessings from God every day, but because of fear, she failed to bless others. And when Christ looked down from heaven he said to her, “You wicked and lazy slave.”
In God’s economy whenever God’s blessings are not being shared those blessings are removed and given to someone else. In order to keep receiving blessings from God, we have to give them away. Only after we have given blessings away will God bless us more and more. This is the velocity of blessings at work in God’s economy. The more we share the blessings God has given us, the more this church will grow and the more blessings we will have to share. The blessings of God will be multiplied here in the Easton community.
This is why Stewardship Sunday is a time of great celebration. We celebrate the many blessings and gifts God has given us. We celebrate the use of these gifts to bless others in our community. We celebrate the church that blesses the people of this community and encourages those gifts to be shared with others. We celebrate our ability to share our gifts through the church and with others in the community. We celebrate the wonders of God’s economy where blessings are multiplied. And we celebrate when we hear the words of Christ, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Let’s pray.
We thank you, Lord for all the blessings we have received in our lifetimes. Help us to share those gifts with others in their time of need. Multiply these gifts as we share them. Help our church to grow as we share our blessings with our community. Let us be your good and faithful servants. Amen.
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