Life's Greatest Risk, First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY by Rev Steven R Mitchell

Life’s Greatest Risk…
By Rev Steven R Mitchell
First Congregational UCC, Rock Springs, WY 11/13/2011
Based on Matthew 25:14-30

We are in the second of three parables being told by Jesus in private to his Disciples. Jesus has already made his grand entry into Jerusalem, creating a major disturbance in the temple by turning over the tables of the money changers, and created a number of enemies with the religious community and knows he is nearing the end of his life. It is only two days before the celebration of Passover and Jesus’ mind is thinking about the possibility of being killed.
The first parable in this trilogy was about ten bridesmaids, five of who are called wise, for they brought extra oil to burn, and five are called foolish because they did not prepare beyond the immediate need. The bridesmaids who had extra oil did not share and once the doors to the house were closed, those who had left to go get more oil upon returning were not allowed entrance. To add insult to injury, the Bridegroom turns them away saying, “He doesn’t know who they are.”
Matthew is writing to a church that is dealing in the reality that Jesus has not returned in the way in which they were expecting him to return. Much time has passed, since Jesus’ death and resurrection, yet much like the expectations of how the coming of the Messiah was to look, compared to what the religious community sees in the person of Jesus, the churches understanding of how Jesus’ return would look like, has also been misunderstood; and the church is still anxiously awaiting Christ’s return, as can be seen in movies and books such as the “Left Behind” series, or of this year’s prediction of the “end times” this past June and then recalculated for this past October. Some are uneasy with the idea of the Mayan Calendar ending in December of 2012 as possibly predicting the end of the age.
For those of you who are interested in what I had to say about last week’s parable of the ten bridesmaids, you can find copies of the sermon on the table out in the Narthex. The focus on that parable by my understanding deals with preparing for the “delay of Christ’s return?” In other words,”what is the churches job during the interim period before Christ returns?”
As we continue with this week’s parable, we read about a master who decides to leave on a long trip, but before leaving entrusts varying amounts of his wealth to his three servants, each according to their abilities. I think it important to note that the master, in giving this money to these servants, did so without giving any instruction as to what he is expecting in results from them.
The lesson in this story isn’t really found in the two servants who multiplied what they had been entrusted with, rather, the meat of our lesson is found in the actions or lack thereof, of the servant that was given only one talent. What would you do if your employer came to you and said, “I going away for awhile, and while I’m gone I want you to hold this money for me. The amount is going to be equal to fifteen years of your salary.” That is what one talent in Jesus’ time would be equal to. What would you do with fifteen years of your salary just handed over to you, above what you would normally be earning for your normal work? Would you take it and use it for yourself? Would you invest it in a bank and earn interest on it? Or would you take it and play the stock market. Or would you be more conservative and buy mutual’s which spread the risk over a wider portion of stocks and bonds?
Statistics have shown that when people win millions of dollars through the state lotteries, it isn’t long before the majority have run through their winnings and find themselves in the same financial situation they were in prior to winning. It might have been beneficial if these folks would have gone to an Actuary for advice on what to do with their new found fortunes.
This parable is often used to speak about stewardship, since the example that Jesus is using is that of money. Yet why would Jesus be so concerned about the stewardship of money with his believing that his ministry was coming to an end in just a few days? Also, this conversation is between Jesus and his disciples and was not being discussed in large group gatherings. This leads me to believe that there is another concern that is on Jesus’ mind that goes far deeper than that of finances. The use of the example of money is ideal, for scripture tells us, “where lays our money, there lays our heart.”
So the question arises, why did the third servant not invest what was entrusted to him as did the other two servants? I think the key to that question is found in verse 25, “… I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground.” The servant didn’t embezzle or squander his master’s money, he simply buried it. This person was immobilized by his fear of what he perceives his master would do to him should he fail and lose the talent entrusted to him.
For Jesus, I think His concern for the disciples was, “once he is gone, how would they live their lives?” This would be consistent with the previous parable of the ten Bridesmaids as well with next week’s parable of the “sheep and goats”. Think about the potential that comes in a new born child. As this child grows and develops, how will this child use its potential? Will this child take what has been given to them and work toward developing their abilities, by taking risks, which will most certainly include failing at some things, or will they play it safe and not take those risks, which ultimately does not tap that potentiality, thus is wasting what is available?
Churches today have to face this same situation. Do we, as a church invest our potential, or do we want to play it safe? One example is Mount of Olives Lutheran. They were in a financial situation that would only allow them to hire a part-time minister at best. They could have played it safe and done just that, but instead they invested their hopes into a member of their congregation who they saw potential as a minister, putting her through seminary, training her for a lifelong work in ministry, knowing that they will someday say “good-bye” as she moves on in her ministry. Through this step in faith they are seeing growth with young families and the probability of the churches ability for “sustainable ministry”. In the Harry Potter series, the muggles are constantly being referred to as people who are living below their potential, much like the third servant was accused of.
What Jesus is trying to say in this parable, is to not let our fears rule how we live. He risked everything to speak about God’s hopes for the creation that God has made. The churches one reason for existence is to take that risk as well. We are living in a world that judge’s success in terms of money. God judges success by what we do with our potential. What is our potential? What have we been given to use to grow as a person? What is the potential of First Congregational? Are we willing to act on our potential and “risk” or are we going to be like the servant that buried his potential, afraid of failing, and this fear ultimately become self-fulfilling? Life’s greatest risk isn’t in doing something, it is in doing nothing. Amen