Matthew 25:14-30

William F. Schnell

September 13, 2009

   Today is Rally Day.  Rallies are fun.  As a political science student working at Ohio’s State House, I used to attend a lot of political rallies on both sides of the aisle.  If there was food, I was there hanging out by the band singing “Happy Days Are Here Again.”  How about George C. Scott’s portrayal of Patton rallying the troops with his opening address?  There are pep rallies, road rallies and motorcycle rallies.  And, of course, there are stock market rallies.

   Over the past 12 months, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has swung from a high of 11,483.05 to a low of 6,469.95.  As of last Friday’s closing bell it stood at 9,605.41.  What a rollercoaster!  But for now, we are in the midst of a welcomed rally.  How long it will last is anyone’s guess, but it sure is nice while it lasts.  People like to see a return on their investments, and so does the Almighty.  The title of our message for this morning is: “God’s Investment in You.” 

   What kind of return is God getting from his investment in you?  Today we are going to explore how God invests in us, and what kind of return he expects from that investment.  You may think it a little strange to use such worldly imagery to communicate the spiritual truths of God, but that is exactly what Jesus is doing in our text for today.  “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them” (Verse 14).

   Our text is Jesus’ response to a question put to him by his Disciples while on the Mount of Olives just before his arrest and crucifixion.  Jesus had been speaking cryptically about signs leading up to the end of the age, and his disciples asked him when all this would take place.  Jesus answers, “No one knows about that day or hour…” (24:36), so his first bit of advice is to: keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come (24:42).

   Keep watch for the Lord so that you don’t miss his coming.  He may come to us today through the Word that is preached.  He may come to us through one or more parts of the Body of Christ which make up this church family.  One day he will come to take us out of this world then he will judge what we have done with the gift of life we have been given.  So we not only want to watch for the Lord’s coming, we want to be a people prepared to give an account. 

   The day before yesterday, on September 11, I was watching a program on the History Channel entitled, “Hotel Ground Zero.”  It was about the experiences of some miraculous survivors at the Marriott World Trade Center Hotel.  As the towers fell in succession, obliterating most of the hotel, one fellow thought he was certainly about to die.  With trembling lips he recounted the first thought that went though his mind.  It was not that his children would henceforth be fatherless—that came second.  The first thought was, “Have I made the most of the life my parents gave me.” 

   To recast that thought in the language of faith, “Have I made the most of the life God gave me?”  God gave me my parents.  Maybe he gave me a stable and loving home in which to grow up.  He certainly gave me certain talents and opportunities.  He gave me some challenges and he gave me some breaks.  What did I do with all he gave me?  If our lives were to suddenly draw to their close, I suspect that would be one of the foremost questions on our minds as it was for that fellow at Hotel Ground Zero on 9-11.

   To challenge us to think about that question ahead of time, Jesus tells a parable about a man who went on a journey, entrusting his property to his servants.  To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability (Verse 15).  A talent was originally a unit of weight (approximately 75 lbs).  Then it was a unit of coinage equaling approximately 6,000 denarii (about what a day laborer would make in 20 years).  So, as my son would put it, we are talking about some serious “bank” here. 

   The man entrusts five talents to one servant, two talents to another servant and one talent to a final servant.  Then he goes on a journey for an indeterminate length of time.  In the meanwhile, The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more.  So also, the one with the two talents gained two more.  But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money (Verses 16-18). 

   In light of the past year’s economic downturn, burying money in the ground might seem to have made some sense.  But that is just shortsighted thinking.  For example, if someone had invested in the stock market at the absolute worst time ever (just prior to the crash of 1929 that ushered in the Great Depression) it would have taken 25 years for the market to bounce back to the point where the investor broke even.  But the value of that investment would have nearly doubled over the next 5 years after that while the value of buried money would have remained the same.

   Keep in mind that we are talking about the worst case scenario ever.  The past year has been the year when things that don’t normally happen happened.  Over the long haul, and even the not-so-long haul, burying money in the ground is an exceedingly costly mistake compared with putting that money to work in a prudently diversified investment.  The first two servants did the latter, effectively doubling their Master’s money by the time he returned from his trip.

   “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.  The man who had received the five talents brought the other five.  ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents.  See, I have gained five more.’  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!” (Verses 19-21).  And so it went for the servant who doubled the two talents entrusted to him. 

   The master was happy with the two servants who brought a return on his investment with them.  He not only let his servants share in his happiness (translation: share in the proceeds), he entrusted them with even more of his wealth.  Not so for the wicked and lazy servant (Verse 26) who buried his talent in the ground.  “’Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.  For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have abundance.  Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.  And now throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’” (Verses 28-30). 

   It seems to me that if anything could lead to weeping and gnashing of teeth it would be to approach the end of our measure of days upon the earth with the regrettable realization that we have squandered the gift of life we have been given.  This parable is not about a return on financial investments, it is about a return on God’s investment in us.  The Greek word talenton has entered our lexicon not as a measure of weight or coinage but as “a natural endowment or innate ability.”

   God has invested us with our own unique portfolio of talents.  We clearly do not have the same talents, and nobody has all the talents, but everyone has some mix of talents.  Maybe I don’t have what it takes to be an astronaut, but maybe I do have what it takes to preach a sermon.  God does not expect us to be what we are not, but he does expect us to be what he created us to be.  He expects us to use our God-given talents for the common good, to maximize their potential and to multiply their value.

   Therein lies the secret to finding meaning and purpose for our days so that we may approach their end with no cause for regret.  Therein lies the way to grow in grace and to share our Master’s happiness, in this life and in the life to come.  Therein lies the difference between being a good and faithful servant, and a wicked and lazy one.  As Henry David Thoreau is quoted at the top of our bulletin: “Goodness is the only investment that never fails.”  Use your God-given talents to store up treasures in heaven which last to eternal life while paying dividends in the here and now.

   Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays, a former president of Morehouse College, used to recite a poem that sums up very nicely the message of Jesus’ parable.  Life is just a minute / Only sixty seconds in it, / Forced upon you, can’t refuse it. / Didn’t seek it, didn’t choose it, / But it’s up to you to use it. / You must suffer if you lose it, / Give an account if you abuse it, / Just a tiny little minute, / But eternity is in it.  You can prepare for eternity this very minute by offering your God-given talents to God’s service, which represents a handsome return on God’s investment in you.

   Please pull out the yellow insert in your bulletin.  This is a Time & Talent Survey compiled by our Stewardship Committee.  Why Stewardship?  Because Christian Stewardship involves our Time & Talent as well as our Treasure.  Having said that, there are several confusing things about this survey for the uninitiated.  For example, under the first heading, “Church Worship Activities,” it lists the time commitment for Coffee Hour as 4 ½ hours, 5 times per year.  That is only if you serve on the Receptions Committee.  In other words, you can sign up to provide refreshments for Coffee Hour for a single Sunday that will require very little of your time.

   I notice “Godly Play” under “Christian Education” even though the name has been changed to “Touch of God.”  “VOA” under “Missions” stands for our local “Volunteers of America.”  That sort of thing.  You may also notice that the survey could easily have been printed on two sides of a half sheet.  However, the Lord works in mysterious ways.  Maybe he intended for that blank sheet on the back for you to write in some of your natural endowments and innate abilities—your talents in other words.  What comes easy to you that may not come easy for others?  Write that down on the back and let us struggle with where your God-given talents might best be put to good use in this family of faith.

   You will now have five minutes to fill out your Time & Talent Surveys.  Stewardship Committee Members have extras if you require one and will raise your hand right now.  They will also be standing by the doors with collection boxes in hand as you depart worship this morning, so please complete your survey before exiting.  You can be sure that every effort will be made to 1) channel the information you provide to the proper places, and 2) distribute surveys to our members who may not be in attendance today.  For now we ask for not other commitment beyond signifying the talents God has given you to use.

I think I have just chewed up one of your minutes.  Please take the remaining four to apply yourself to complete a Time & Talent Survey.