Delivered November 13, 2011
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has been in the news during the last few months. He has taken out full-page ads in the New York Times and USA Today to address what he calls the "pervasive failure of leadership in Washington." Schultz has asked fellow business leaders to boycott campaign contributions until both political parties deal with the national debt. He has also urged them to invest in projects that will create jobs, and help kick start the sluggish economy. To practice what he preaches he started the "Create Jobs for USA" fund to provide affordable loans. Beginning Nov. 1, Starbucks began collecting donations of $5 from customers. Starbucks is itself donating $5 million to the fund. He says he is committed to investing in people.
In our Gospel lesson for this morning, Jesus talks about investing – what we might call God’s investment strategy. He talks about a man who invests in people and expects a return on his investment. It is a different way of looking at the spiritual life. So often we talk about our relationship with God in terms of love, family or friendship. God so loved the world. Jesus loves me this I know. I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God. What a friend we have in Jesus. These are strong biblical themes. But here Jesus uses a business model to communicate spiritual truth concerning our dealings with God. Jesus talks about a man who is planning to take a trip to a far country. “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.” The man knew he could not take it with him so he entrusts it to this servants.
There is a joke about a rich man lay dying on his deathbed, and requested to be joined at his bedside by his accountant, his doctor and his pastor. He says he knows they say that he can’t take it with him, but he would like to try. He instructed these three men whom he trusted to make sure he was buried with his money. He gave each of them $100,000 cash and asked them to put the money in the casket at the funeral home. A couple of days later the old man passed away and was buried within the week.
A week after the funeral, the accountant came to see the pastor at his church office and was surprised to see the doctor there as well. The three began to talk about the deceased and the promise they had made to him. The accountant was suddenly overcome with guilt. He confessed to the pastor that he had only put only half of the money into the casket, and had kept the rest for himself. The doctor said, “I might as well confess my sin too” and he told the other two men that he also had only thrown half the money in the casket and kept the rest for himself. The pastor jumped up and said, “I think that is a terrible thing both of you did. I would never do such a thing. I threw in a check for the full amount!”
In Jesus’ story, the man is going out of the country for a long period of time and he entrusts this wealth to his servants. Jesus uses the word “talent” to describe the man’s goods. This term can be confusing to people because the word talent in this context refers to a unit of weight used in ancient times. In Jesus’ day a Hebrew talent was about 130 pounds. Here he is probably talking about talents of gold. So imagine the value of 130 pounds of gold! So you can’t read this story and think, ”O, the poor guy who only got one talent.” He only got 130 pounds of gold! At the current price of gold that is over $3.5 million! So let’s not feel to badly for the one talent guy.
As we read this parable we also have to understand it is allegorical. The master is Christ. Jesus is nearing the end of his earthly ministry in this chapter and he is going to travel to the far country of heaven. Very soon he was going to leave earth and ascend to heaven with a promise to return one day. While he is away, he expected his followers to use wisely what he has given them, so that when he returns he will see some progress. That is the basic outline. Now let’s see more specifically what the story teaches.
I. First, it teaches that God invests in us. This is the way we are to see our lives. We need to see everything we have not as our possessions to do with what we wish, but as God’s possessions, which he has given to us as an investment. I don’t know how much you know about investing money. I don’t know very much, which is why I buy mutual funds and ETFs (Equity Traded Funds). I diversify. I don’t put all my money in one pot, and I am conservative and cautious in my investing, which means that I go down with everyone else when the stock market plunges. But even when I invest in mutual funds I research them. I look at their track record, fees and returns, and how they compare to other funds of the same type. If one fund or family of funds historically underperforms, then I don’t invest in those. I try to find the funds of the highest quality.
The fact that God invests in us says that he values us. He is willing to take a chance on us. God is pretty smart! So if God is willing to invest in our lives, then it ought to cause us to take a second look at our lives and see what God sees in us. I am not usually a big self-esteem human potential type of preacher, but here I will make an exception. I think that the fact that God invests in his servants says a lot about us and what we can do for God and his kingdom. Some people don’t think they have much to offer Christ’s church. They may not have much money to give. They might not think they are gifted with music talents or leadership skills, so they think they have little to offer. They could not be more wrong. According to this parable even the least of the servants has been given a treasure beyond imagining. Each of us have been given wonderful gifts, and abilities and resources by God. We just need to do some research to discover what they are.
II. Second, God invests in us according to our ability. Verse 15 “And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability.” This means that God has invested in you exactly correctly. There was a lot of controversy a couple of months ago about the Obama administration’s decision to invest $535 million of taxpayers money in Solyndra, a company that makes solar-power panels in a California. It went bankrupt and the taxpayers got stuck with the bill. A lot of people who looked at the books said that this was a poor investment decision and possibly political payback.
God does not play politics. He invests in everyone according to his ability. Our lives are an open book to him. He would not invest in you if he didn’t know for certain that you are up to the task. In other words, God thinks you can do it, and God ought to know. This should come as a great comfort to us. He doesn’t invest too much or too little. So we do not have to worry about not meeting God’s expectations when it comes to results. He gives us exactly what we need to do exactly what we need to be doing for God in this life.
III. Third, God expects us to take risks. The focus of this story is on the one talent guy. Whereas the other two – the five talent and two talent servants – invested their money and doubled their money in the time frame allotted, the one talent guy did not. Verse 18 says, “But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money.” When the master came back to see how his investments had done, he went to each servant in turn. In verse 24 he comes to the one talent servant: 24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ 26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.
There are a couple of things to note here. First, the master gave the servants complete freedom to use the gold anyway they saw fit. I think this teaches us that God does not micromanage his investments. We have great freedom with how we serve God, and with that freedom comes responsibility. And it takes risk. The new biography of Steve Jobs showed that he was a man who took enormous risks. 20/20 had a show recently on self-made billionaires. People who started with nothing and now are worth billions. The common theme in each of their lives is that they failed often. They risked it all and lost it all and tried again until they succeeded. We can learn from that entrepreneurial spirit. Too many people are too afraid to risk themselves in the service of God. They are too afraid they will fail or possibly lose it all. The spiritual life is all about faith. Faith by its nature involves risk. In faith you aren’t sure; you are taking a chance.
Even believing in God and in Christ is a risk. We might be dead wrong. We in this church are betting our lives and our souls that there really is a God and that Jesus really is his Son. There is no guarantee that we are right. We might be completely deceived. When I look at my life and think about what I believe and do as a pastor, sometimes I think I must be crazy. But I have bet all my chips on Jesus Christ. My fate is tied to his. It is a risk. If it is not true I have wasted my life in believing a fairy tale about a man who is said to have risen from the dead 2000 years ago and is offering eternal life to those who believe in him. But I am risking everything that this is true. If I am wrong all I have lost is my life. If I am correct then I have gained eternal life and lived this life as well as I could. Faith is looking at all the evidence and being willing to take the risk.
The spiritual life is a risk. There is no doubt about it. The one talent man in the story knew it was a risk. He weighed the risk and decided it was not worth taking the chance. So he buried his talent of gold in the ground. When the Master returned, he scolded the man. He said the least he should have done was but it in a savings account at the local Jerusalem Credit Union. Then at least it would have earned interest. Maybe not a lot, but any interest on $3.5 million dollars is not peanuts.
IV. Fourth, God expects a return on his investment. He expects his servants to do the work and he will get the return. After all it is his money. He says in the story: “I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.” The first two servants doubled the master’s money, and the master was pleased with that. It sounds like that is what we ought to shoot for. But he would have content with even a low rate of return as long as it was some return. This applies to us.
This applies in part to our use of money. These stories of self-made billionaires that Barbara Walters interviewed all gave back to the community and to the poor and invested in others. Probably most billionaires are not like that, but these were. And we need to as well. How much of our money are we giving back? How much of our time are we giving back? How much of our God-given abilities are we giving back? It is so easy to close in on ourselves. To make our lives about us. But Jesus said that those who seek to save their lives will lose their lives, but those who give their lives away, end up saving their lives.
V. Finally, God rewards the faithful. When the master came back from the far country he called his servants to account. Those who invested the Master’s goods well were rewarded. Listen to the reward: Verse 20ff “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ 21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ 22 He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ 23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’”
What is the reward? A life of luxury and ease? The reward in the story is more responsibility. ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.” Isn’t that interesting? The more you use, the more you have to use. When we do a good job for God, God gives us more to do. Conversely when we do not serve God well, even what we have is taken away. The master took the one talent from the third unfaithful servant and gave it to the one who now had ten. The spiritual rule taught here is: use it or lose it. In the spiritual life, if you don’t use what God has given you, you will not have it very long. If you are afraid of failing, then you have already failed. We are being taught to take risks and reap the reward, which is to take even bigger risks.
The other reward mentioned is joy. To the faithful servants the master says, “Enter into the joy of your lord.” This is the greatest reward: joy! And isn’t this really what everyone is looking for when it comes right down to it? What we really want is to be happy. Joy is the biblical word for true, deep, abiding happiness. We are designed to seek happiness. We naturally avoid what makes us unhappy, and we seek what makes us happy. Most people look for happiness in all the wrong places, all the wrong pursuits and all the wrong people. This story teaches us that what will bring us true happiness, deep and lasting joy, is God – serving God and being in the presence of God. That is worth investing your life in.
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