First Reading: Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18
7Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is at hand;
the Lord has prepared a sacrifice,
he has consecrated his guests.
12At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the people
who rest complacently on their dregs,
those who say in their hearts,
“The Lord will not do good,
nor will he do harm.”
13Their wealth shall be plundered,
and their houses laid waste.
Though they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them.
14The great day of the Lord is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter,
the warrior cries aloud there.
15That day will be a day of wrath,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.
17I will bring such distress upon people
that they shall walk like the blind;
because they have sinned against the Lord,
their blood shall be poured out like dust,
and their flesh like dung.
18Neither their silver nor their gold
will be able to save them
on the day of the Lord’s wrath;
in the fire of his passion
the whole earth shall be consumed;
for a full, a terrible end
he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.
Psalm: Psalm 90:1-8 [9-11] 12
So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. (Ps. 90:12)
1Lord, you have been our refuge
from one generation to another.
2Before the mountains were brought forth, or the land and the earth were born, from age to age you are God.
3You turn us back to the dust and say,
“Turn back, O children of earth.”
4For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past and like a watch in the night;
5you sweep them away like a dream,
they fade away suddenly like the grass:
6in the morning it is green and flourishes;
in the evening it is dried up and withered.
7For we are consumed by your anger;
we are afraid because of your wrath.
8Our iniquities you have set before you,
and our secret sins in the light of your countenance.
[ 9When you are angry, all our days are gone;
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
10The span of our life is seventy years, perhaps in strength even eighty; yet the sum of them is but labor and sorrow, for they pass away quickly and we are gone.
11Who regards the power of your wrath?
Who rightly fears your indignation?
] 12So teach us to number our days
that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.
Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
1Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. 2For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! 4But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; 5for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. 6So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; 7for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. 11Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.
Gospel: 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; 15to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20Then 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.’ 21His 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.’ 22And 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.’ 23His 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.’ 24Then 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; 25so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26But 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? 27Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29For 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. 30As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ”
CHILDREN’S SERMON: One of our family’s epic adventure movies is the “Lord of the Rings” series. It tells of a Hobbit, Frodo Baggins, who goes on an adventure with his friends Samwise Gamgee, Merry and Pippin, assisted by Aragon-the Ranger, Legolas-the Elf, Gimli-the Dwarf, and Gandolf-the Grey Wizard. Together they outsmart Gollum, the creature who loves his “Precious”. They journey to Mount Doom, entrusted with destroying the Ring of Power to defeat the Dark Lord Sauron. They rescue Middle Earth. Let’s refresh our memories. When I say a word, what do you think of?
When I say Frodo, you think of… (the ring, Hobbit, quest??)
When I say Sam, you think of … (faithful friend)
When I say Gollum, you think of … (get back the ring)
When I say Sauron, you think of… (evil)
Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer.
SERMON
Today Jesus continues talking with his disciples about the end of time. He goes from the global perspective of last week’s parable to the local perspective of today’s parable. Last week we saw that the bridegroom, Jesus, shall return to claim his bride, the Church universal. That’s the big picture but no specific details. The door will be closed and believers will step into eternity. We are the wise and foolish bridesmaids. Today Jesus continues with another parable about a master who goes on a journey but entrusts his slaves with talents before he leaves. The Lord of the Rings series starts with a simillar introductory book, The Hobbit, telling of Bilbo Baggins who went on an adventure in his youth that resulted in the possession of a “ring of power.” As our trilogy opens, Bilbo goes on one last journey, entrusting, not a talent but the ring-of-power to his nephew Frodo.
14“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them;
Perhaps the thought has crossed your mind, if God is all knowing, all-powerful, and loves us all then what’s the deal with Ukraine or the Middle East or the mass murders in the United States? We can look out on our world today and it certainly seems like “the boss is out for lunch” or on a journey. Slaves have been left in control and they are just not a good substitute. Or perhaps we might say that some of our leaders are wise and some are foolish and some days it is hard to tell the difference. Did I hear an “amen” to that? Frodo, in caring for the ring entrusted to him, must go through a series of unwelcomed adventures. At one point Frodo laments to Gandolf, the wizard.
I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.
Frodo felt the weight and responsibility of carrying the ring and lamented that he was “chosen.”
Often we do not want to consider ourselves slaves entrusted with “talents” that we will have to give an account for. “Slave” is a hard word and does not leave room to say “no.” In today’s text, Jesus has switched from talking about a bride and bridegroom to language about a master and slave. Ouch. I would prefer Jesus spoke about servants and not slaves and better yet “hired hands.” Those words give me a bit more self-respect. Slaves are not free to follow their own dream. We tend to think of the authority as distant Washington DC whereas we think of “master” as someone present. If I need to bow to Jesus as my “master,” I may well discover I have arthritis in my knees!
The master entrusts the slaves with his property. All slaves are entrusted with property, even the one talent slave. I hear Cain calling from ancient history, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” when confronted by God about the whereabouts of his brother Abel. “Property” I suspect does not just refer to keeping the church looking nice but includes all that God puts within our lives to relate to – environment, people and possessions. Frodo is entrusted with the ring of power. Sam, Merry and Pippin travel with Frodo. Their role is different. Perhaps they are an example of the five talent and two talent heroes but their faithfulness in doing their part impacts the outcome of the story. All slaves are entrusted with a part to play.
We are each “entrusted” with something. I do not see that the master is a micro-manager with a hidden agenda about how he thinks his property should be cared for. The challenge facing these slaves is whether they will be faithful and trustworthy doing the best they can given their ability or will they become bitter and resentful because of their status and the difficulty of the task.
Perhaps this opening line to the Gospel calls us to an attitude adjustment. How do we see ourselves? We might be like the foolish bridesmaids just enjoying waiting for the coming party that promises to be lots of fun or we might need to see ourselves more as slaves of a master entrusted with his property, not ours, to care for. How we understand ourselves and the role we play are important.
The master is responsible for the life of the slave. The master returns and rewards. The master has multiple slaves. Frodo is not alone. Sam faithfully accompanies Frodo and carries him when Frodo is too tired to walk. Aragon, Legolas, Gimli and Gandolf all contribute to Frodo’s success. We are slaves serving a master we cannot exactly see but we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses that affirm us as we carry out our tasks.
15to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability
The parable is about a master who gathers his slaves and gives them differing amounts of talents according to their ability before he goes on a long journey. Here we can say “different strokes for different folks.” The master knows his slaves, what they can and cannot do. He is not going to entrust his talents with slaves unsuited for the task because that would be to the master’s detriment. God sees us and knows us and knows what we can bear. It’s easy to doubt that when we feel unable to cope and feel the challenge is bigger than our ability and fear of failure overwhelms us.
Lord of the Rings balances the roles of the differing characters and their contribution very well. I sometimes wonder if the hero is Sam who faithfully accompanies Frodo and carries Frodo up the mountain in the end. Then again, maybe the hero is Aragon who diverts the attention of evil Sauron at the last minute to Hells Gate and gives Frodo that last moment of opportunity. But for sure even evil Gollum plays a role in the outcome and his greed for the ring, throws him over the ledge into the river of fire. We all want to be the hero of our story. Sometimes it is hard to know if the hero looks like Hollywood or like Christ on the cross. The trick is not to gauge ourselves by our neighbors but by God’s word and be faithful to our task.
People have various types of talents contrary to public thought. We want to believe success is about training, heritage, money and hard work. We want to think slavery is reversible. “All men are created equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” We resist the inequality in this parable. The master, though, entrusts all. God loves us all equally and opens the gates of heaven for all of us. It is by faith and not by works and talents and riches we will be rewarded. Destruction of the ring of power affects all on Middle Earth.
Also we resist thinking the master would punish the one-talent slave. We want to think of the master as loving and forgiving, kind of a glorified Santa Claus. The truth is, though, that there is accountability.
We think “good” masters are kind and forgiving and slaves do not have to fear them. In the parable the master does not accept the slave’s victim language. The one-talent slave says he had to bury his talent because he was scared. He knew the master was harsh. He accuses God for his own actions. We blame others for our faults. We justify alcohol or pornography as something we cannot resist. We convince ourselves we had to indulge or someone drove us to it. When the slave claims he knew the master was strict, it reminded me of Adam answering God that it was the wife God gave him that led him to eat the apple. Both Adam and this slave blame God for their problems. The master in the parable does not accept this whine. The slave blames God but goes one step further when he buries the talent, essentially cutting off communication with God. We are responsible for our actions. God will not make us love him.
enter into the joy of your master.’
The master gives talents to all. Every person receives something. My talent may not be yours but we all bring something to this fellowship of believers. No one here today is unimportant or unneeded. We form a body with different roles. There are no instructions on how to use our talents. Singing in the opera, singing in the church choir, and singing my child to sleep all have meaning. How we use our talents is up to us. The slaves are “entrusted” to manage the talents.
The master gives and goes about his business allowing the slaves to enjoy their talents. There is trust. The master does not micro-manage the slaves. The talents are not a test to evaluate the slave but a gifting, designed to enhance the life of the slave. The criteria is the trustworthiness of the slave not how well the slave uses the talent compared to another slave.
As this parable unfolds, we see a picture of a master who knows his slaves, trusts them, departs and then returns. It is possible then to equate the master with Jesus. Jesus has walked in our shoes, seen, heard and felt what we’ve felt and understands us. Jesus “sees” me and understands. He has walked with me through my life. He is not Santa Claus making a list but he is the Good Shepherd leading me, guiding me, and with me even in the valley of the shadow of death. I need fear no evil.
“Enter into the joy of your master, ” are the words at the close of the age. “Well done though good and faithful servant”. The end of our journey is “JOY,” a sense of always being loved, of never disappointing, of continual presence. Wow. Frodo’s perseverance, Sam’s faithfulness, Merry and Pippin’s quirkiness all contribute to the defeat of The Dark Lord Sauron. Those enchained by him are freed. All rejoice. A reign of justice and peace begins on Middle Earth.
Next week we will stand at the throne and hear about Christ, the King. This parable tells us that day is coming but is not yet. It will be like a wedding feast when the groom receives his bride. It will be like a master returning to reward his slaves. It will be a time of reward for all that has been entrusted to us. It will be a time of transparency, of being known. And it will be a time of joy. It is a time to look forward to.
Let the people of God say, “AMEN.”
On the Way to Wonder 