MATTHEW 25:14-30

14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.

15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.

16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more.

17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more.

18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.

19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’

21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’

23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no 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 answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed?

27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.

29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Preaching can sometimes be challenging.  The last thing you want is for someone to end up feeling the same way Mark Twain felt one day after listening to a sermon.  He later wrote these words, “I once heard a preacher who was powerful good.   I decided to give him every cent I had with me.  But he kept at it too long.  Ten minutes later I decided to keep the bills and give him the loose change.  Another ten minutes and I was darned if I was going to give him anything at all.  When he finally stopped and the plate came around I was so exhausted I stole two dollars from the plate out of sheer spite.”

That, by the way, is one of the reasons why it’s always a good idea to take the offering before the sermon!

Preaching can be challenging and that’s especially true when it comes to preaching a stewardship sermon. That’s because people tend to get anxious when you start talking about money.  Don’t tell that, however, to the good people who attend the Faith Temple Church in Sioux Falls. South Dakota.  They have a very positive and playful attitude and don’t seem to have a problem when it comes to talking about money.  All you have to do is look at the sign out in front of the church.  It says, “We welcome all denominations - $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100’s”

This morning as we ponder what stewardship is really all about ask yourself this question.  Which way are you running these days?  That question, of course, brings to mind the terrible tragedy which took place last month in Boston.   In the aftermath of that evil event many people were filled with fear and they ran away.  Not everyone, however, ran away. Some people actually ran toward the chaos, and the carnage and the cries for help.  They didn’t let fear get best of them.

In a way that’s what happens in the Parable of the Talents.  The servant who receives the one talent for the master was overwhelmed with fear.  He was so afraid that he went and buried his talent.  The other two servants didn’t do that.  The servant who received five talents from the master took them and made five more talents.  The servant who received two talents from the master took them and made two more talents.  The two faithful servants didn’t let fear get the best of them.

In his book Tigers In The Dark Rev. Thomas Lane Butts tells an interesting story about fear.  The story has to do with a circus performer who found himself in a very scary situation one night.   The performer worked with tigers and on this particular night the act started as it always did.  He walked into the cage with the tigers and the door was locked behind him.  The spotlight then came on and he began to put the tigers through their routine like he had done many times before.  In the middle of the act though disaster struck and the lights suddenly went out.  For 30 agonizing seconds he stood there in the cage.  The tigers could see him because of their superior eyesight but he couldn’t see them.    It could have quickly turned into a deadly disaster but somehow he managed to keep that from happening.  When the lights came back on he finished the act and walked out of the cage.  Later he was asked what it was like being in the cage in the dark with the tigers.  He admitted that it was scary at first but then he said he realized something.  He realized that even though he couldn’t see the tigers, the tigers didn’t know that he couldn’t see him.  So, he said, “I just kept cracking my whip and talking to them until the lights came on and they never knew I was in trouble.”

In the parable the two faithful servants were like that.  They didn’t let the fear get the best of them.  They didn’t run away and hide.  They didn’t run away and bury their talents. Instead of doing that they put their talents to good use.  In the end the two faithful servants were like the people on Patriot’s Day who ran toward the pain and the suffering and that my friends is what stewardship is really all about.

Stewardship is an act of faith that says “I know we live in a scary world but I’m not going to let the fear get the best of me. So, I’m not going to run away and hide.  I’m not going to run away and bury my talents. What I’m going to do is take the talents that God has given me and like the first responders run toward the chaos and the carnage and the cries for help.  I’m going to take the talents that God has given me and like the courageous and compassionate people who were there I’m going to run toward the muck and the mud and all the messy problems that are out there.

Stewardship is an act of faith that understands that we are disciples of the risen Christ and that he has called us to be witnesses to his truth.  He has called us to be instruments of his peace.  He has called us to be ambassadors of his love. 

In the aftermath of the terrible tragedy in Boston a man by the name of Patton Oswalt posted some words on his Facebook page that struck a chord with a lot of people.  I have to confess that I didn’t know who Patton Oswalt was but his words made a lot of sense.  I now know that he’s a comedian who among other things provided a voice for one of the  characters in the Disney movie “Ratatouille.”  This is what Patton wrote on his Facebook page,

"I remember, when 9/11 went down, my reaction was, 'Well, I've had it with humanity.  But I was wrong. I don't know what's going to be revealed to be behind all of this mayhem. One human insect or a poisonous mass of broken sociopaths.  But here's what I DO know. If it's one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet. You watch the videos of the carnage and there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out. So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, 'The good outnumber you, and we always will.’”

Which way are you running these days?  Are you running away from or toward the pain and suffering that’s out there?  That’s something that baseball player PeeWee Reese had to decide for himself many years ago.  His moment of truth came during a baseball game between the old Brooklyn Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds.  It happened back in 1942, the year that Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier.  Robinson took a lot of abuse because of the color of his skin, and on this particular day the taunting by the Cincinnati fans was especially cruel.  Peewee Reese, one of Jackie’s teammates remembers that day very well.  Looking back on it he wrote, “I looked over at Jackie standing alone, looking so sad, so vulnerable.  Something in my gut reacted.  Maybe I was thinking of the hanging tree (back) in Brandenburg…I remember my dad pointing to a long branch and telling me black men had been lynched from it.  As a little boy it made a terrible impression on me that people would do things like that just on account of skin color.  Something about the unfairness of it all, the injustice…I don’t know.  But I stepped over to the pitcher, called time out and walked over to Jackie.  I said something consoling, then reached up, put my hand on his shoulder and just stood there looking at the crowd.  The jeering stopped like someone turning off a loud radio.  And (then) we began doing what we had gone there to do, play ball.”  (Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul p.264)

When you come right down to it stewardship is a choice between fear and faith. Are you going to bury your talent or use it to do God’s will?  Are you going to run away or toward the  chaos, the carnage and the cries for help?  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

May 12, 2013