Living in the End Times: Talents
God is in control
Matthew 25:14-30
Rev. Tim Callow
Preached Sun. November 15th, 2020
Matthew ends his Gospel with Jesus on a mountain in Galilee with his disciples. He gives them this charge: “I’ve received all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations.” Jesus lets his disciples know that he has received all authority, he is in control, and so they can go and make disciples in his name. Too often we think of the end times as this period of great turbulence, persecution, and suffering. That is, after all, how it gets painted in Left Behind. But here Jesus is telling his disciples what to do in the time they have been given: make disciples.
There will be and there are wars, persecutions, pestilences, earthquakes, and all the rest. But more to the point the last days are the days God is giving us. And they are not days that God has somehow lost control over. But God is always in control. God gives us these days that we would have the opportunity to join in his mission, to seek the lost, to celebrate the Kingdom of God.
Jesus tells a parable this morning about our mission in the end times, and how we should go about that mission. He says the Kingdom of God is like a man who was going on a journey. Before he left he summoned his slaves and entrusted property to them, each according to their ability. To one he gave five talents, an enormous sum. To another he gave two talents, also a great sum. And to the last he gave one talent, still a fortune. After the master leaves the one who received the five talents goes to trade them at once, soon doubling his yield. The one who was given two talents also doubled his talents through trade. But the slave who received the one talent simply dug a hole in the ground, hiding his master’s money until he would return.
After a long time the master did return, and settled accounts with his slaves. The one who was given five talents produces five more talents. The master is delighted, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your master.” The slave with the two talents also produced two more talents, and the master responded in the same way “Well done, you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things.” Though the master recognized the two slaves had different abilities, they both manage the same yield and are both given the same reward.
But then the master comes to the lazy slave with the one talent. He says, “I knew you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.” In other words, he calls him a thief. Not a way to get on the good side of your master.
As you might imagine it does not go well. “You wicked and lazy slave!” He cannot understand why his slave did not simply invest his money with bankers, so he might receive interest. So he takes the talent away and gives it to the one with ten talents. “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.”
The wicked slave’s mistake is he misjudges his master, and he misjudges the task. He knows his master can be harsh. He knows his master does not even need him to do anything with his property. The master seems to have disregard for his property and the property of others. He feared this might all be some plot. He feared he might lose out on his investments. And then he’d really get in trouble. So fearing the master, and fearing the task, he simply hid the talent, returning to the master what he already owned. But his master did not want what he already owned. He wanted a higher yield.
The wicked slave misjudged both his master and the task. His master is not a miser looking to trip up his servants. And the task was not enormous, the two other slaves could easily double what they were given. So he doesn’t even go about the task. Instead he is tossed aside for being worthless.
The master is God. The slaves are the Church. And we are all given talents. We may be given a whole lot of time on our hands. We might be given some special skills. We might be given resources. We might be given friends. We might be given an outgoing and boisterous nature. We might be given a cool head. We might be given a love for prayer. We might be given musical talent. Whatever it is we are given, God wants us to put it to the mission. And God expects a yield.
We can easily find ourselves in the mindset of the wicked and lazy slave. Jesus says the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few. But do we believe him? Jesus tells us to go make disciples, but do we believe that is our task? Or do we assume the task is insurmountable? Do we assume the harvest is scarce and the laborers are simply not up for the task?
But God promises he has given us gifts. And God assures us the harvest is plentiful. God calls us to his mission, to spread the good news and share his love. When I was up north I noticed one of the local churches was having a turnaround. I knew some of the members there and there was just a new spirit about them, and they would host community services that were well attended. I asked the pastor there what was going on. He told me it all started with a prayer meeting on Wednesday evenings. They’d get together for a meal, a short devotion, and then break off into groups and pray. By turning to God in that way, people saw doors being opened. More contributed their talents. And God gave the growth.
I was also involved in another church that had known some rough patches in the years previous, but at that time were doing fairly well. I asked an older member what a previous pastor had done to turn it around. She said “missions.” They committed to a second offering for missions every Sunday. And God blessed them.
Jesus says, “I am with you.” He says “All authority has been given to me.” He tells us “therefore go.” There is no trick here. We don’t need to worry about an absent God. We don’t need to worry about a harsh God. God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. And he calls us to use our talents to spread that good news in these final days.`