The Gospel
Matthew 25:14-30
Jesus said, “It is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then 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.’ His 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.’ And 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.’ His 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.’ Then 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; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But 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? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the 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. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
The Sermon
During our bible study we were on the topic of gifts and we kept interchanging it with the term talent from the reading in Matthew. The interesting thing is that today's definition of the word talent originates with this very reading.
In this parable, a man going on a journey distributes large sums of money to three slaves according to their ability. One gets five talents. Another two talents and the third gets one. The first two double their master's money and the third buries his in a hole because he is afraid of his master and does not trust him.
When the master returns, he praises and rewards the first two for wisely investing their talents. The third he admonishes and banishes for not putting his talent to good use.
Lets talk about talent and trust and faith.
This parable really does apply to us. Lets shift gears here a little bit and fit the term talent into its current definition. We all have God given talents. Some of us have a talent for communication. Some of us are very creative. Some of us are very organized. Some of us are problem solvers. You all know what you like to do and what you are good at. All of us are good at something.
God expects us to use our talents, our gifts just as the two people in this story did. I think it is important to note that the third slave did not trust his master and clearly was lacking in both love and loyalty to him. That maybe is the first step. Having trust and faith in God can only make us stronger and better able to use our gifts.
How can we best use our talents as children of God? What are we being called to do? Jesus clearly implies that we should be willing to take risks and to not give up.
There is a story about Thomas Edison:
Thomas Edison failed more than 1,000 times when trying to create the light bulb". (The story is often told as 5,000 or 10,000 times depending on the version.) When asked about it, Edison allegedly said, "I have not failed 1,000 times. I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways to NOT make a light bulb."
Wherever I go I always keep the thought in the back of my mind that I should tell people about our church family and invite them to join us. I have probably invited 100 people over the last few years. Of those 100 maybe two or three have joined us. Several of you are sitting in these pews. Does that mean I failed 97 times? No.. Each time I spoke of my faith, I impacted those people. Some might say that my gift is being able to handle rejection. Maybe. I would like all of you to reflect on your gifts and how they can be best used in service to God.
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