Capital Investment - Using Your Talents

ADVENT 2nd SUNDAY BEFORE 16th November 2008 Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18 with 12 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 Matthew 25:14-30 Sunday 16 November 2008 The Parable of Men and their Investment Capital Use your God-given talents.

Jesus often used metaphors and parables. A metaphor uses names or phrases to describe an object or action where it does not apply literally. When Jesus refers to himself as the ‘bread and water’ from heaven, that’s a metaphor. This Church Year is Lectionary Year A. Our focus has been on Matthew’s Gospel and we have heard several of Jesus’ parables. Jesus uses these imaginary stories to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. Parables and metaphors work because we are made to think. Last Sunday’s parable was the foolish virgins who were carrying a torch for the bridegroom…for the procession to the bridegroom’s house. They didn’t know exactly when the bridegroom was coming. Only five of the girls carried sufficient oil. The actual meaning? If you are going to carry a torch for someone, keep it lit! The spiritual message? Be prepared for Jesus. Today’s parable is The Parable of Men and their Investment Capital . Before leaving on a journey, the master hands over his money to three servants. On his return, he is delighted with the first two. They had doubled their money. But the third servant, because he was afraid of losing the master’s money, buried the money and only returned the original talent. This servant doesn’t even begin by speaking of the talent. He tells the master he has character flaws! The master angrily removed his talent and threw him ‘into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’ A preacher once warned his congregation, ‘In Hell, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ A parishioner asked ‘What if you don’t have teeth?’ The preacher shouted back, ‘Teeth will be provided!’ The metaphor ‘thrown into outer darkness’ means damnation and is to be found only in Matthew's gospel. It is used three times. 1. Today’s parable. 2. The Parable of the Wedding Banquet. A last minute guest came unprepared to wedding. Jesus calls everyone. We must respond and allow him to change us and to become what he calls us to be. 3. The third time isn’t a parable. A Roman centurion said to Jesus, ‘No need to bother coming to the house. Just say the word and my servant will be healed. Jesus was so impressed with his faith remarked that some heirs of the kingdom would be damned, while foreigners, like the Roman soldier, would feast in the kingdom of heaven. A talent was a very large sum of money. One sermon might be to go down the bank route. ‘For goodness sake, why didn’t you just stick the money in the bank?’ I shall not do that. The servants’ stewardship during the master’s absence is the issue I shall dwell on. Did you notice that the master gave money to the slaves, each according to his ability? A talent is a two-sided coin – on one side there is capability and the other side accountability. Jesus is talking about how the slave responded to what the master had given him. He is talking about tasks and abilities and what the disciples do with their opportunities. The Gospel message? Don’t die with your music still in you is. Use your God-given talents.

When you were a child you were asked, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ We all reach an age when either we feel content and pleased with our way of life, our jobs, or we don’t. We may be doing well in the eyes of the world, but is there anything you are capable of doing, that you aren’t presently doing? Have you any unfulfilled ambitions? Some of you might want to change your job, or start your own business. For some of us, the ship may have sailed. It might be something simple. Perhaps it’s a hobby, learning a new skill, or just reading a particular book. Now what’s to stop you doing what you are thinking about? Is what holds you back raw talent, or merely a shortage of time, know-how, cash, or belief? Sometimes, the only thing stopping you is you yourself. Last week’s lesson was, if we are not to be left out, we need to be ready for Jesus coming. This week’s? When Jesus returns, make sure we can report that we have used our talents. Don’t bury them in the ground. The reading from St. Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians speaks about the second coming of Jesus – a reminder that the day of the Lord will come unexpectedly, like the bridegroom in last week’s parable, when the girls weren’t prepared or as today’s reading puts it ‘like a thief at night’. Paul warns ‘stay alert and sober.’ A new church year begins in two weeks. We shall move to Lectionary Year B and focus on Mark’s Gospel. In Advent, we prepare for God coming into the world and revealing himself in Jesus. We prepare for Jesus’ return by living our lives appropriately. Jesus entrusts us with responsibilities, and we must carry out our tasks. If we live our lives like the third servant, we may be treated as a worthless slave and damned. God created the world and all that is in it and it was all good. Imagine the situation of God asking you. What do you think of my creation? You say, well I have enjoyed my life but… What if God’s next question is, ‘And what did you do about that ‘but’?’ Sky Sports introduced yesterday’s England match against Australia with stately music and images of a church and stained glass. ‘This is my church. This is where I heal my hurts. It's a natural grace. Of watching young life shape. It's in minor keys. Solutions and remedies. Enemies becoming friends. When bitterness ends.’ What is that all about? Rugby football is my church! The hallowed turf of Twickenham is my church. Rubbish! No wonder England lost. The Blessed Jonny Wilkinson, whose feast day is incidentally on Saturday 22 November, was not on our side. Last night, I looked for the lyrics of ‘This is my church’ and I came across God is a DJ which I don’t recommend, except I shall share the chorus with you. ‘If God is a DJ, Life is a dance floor. Love is the rhythm. You are the music. If God is a DJ. Life is a dance floor. You get what you're given. It's all how you use it... George Eliot was the pen name of Mary Ann Evans. Her books included, 'The Mill on the Floss' and 'Silas Marner'. George Eliot once said, ‘It's never too late to be who you might have been.’ Jesus doesn’t teach that we are saved by means of works, he does teach that a servant of the master will be lost if he does not use the ‘talents’ the master has given him. Don't think it’s too late. Don't not do something because you think someone is going to laugh. Compose some music. Write something inspiring. Write a poem. Clear out some rubbish. Read a good book. Don’t die with your music still in you. Use your God-given talents.

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