"Behold the turtle. It
moves forward only by sticking its neck out." (James Bryant
Conant)
In my opinion this is what the Parable of the Talents
suggests we are to do as faithful Christians. We are to stick
our necks out for the sake of the Gospel, Jesus Christ and the
Kingdom of God.
The gifts God gives us are meant to be used to further the Kingdom
of God. They are not meant to be hidden away to atrophy. According
to preacher and author Fred Craddock, "The major themes
of the Christian faith—caring, giving, witnessing, trusting,
loving and hoping—cannot be understood or lived without
risk." (Preaching Through the Christian
Year A,
p. 515)
As followers of Christ we need to be prepared and willing to
use the gifts and make the most of the opportunities God provides.
We are not called to sit on the sidelines and watch the world
pass by; we are to be playing the game. We are not called to
take risks just for the thrill of it. We are called to lose our
lives in order that we can find the real ones.
A man by the name of John Shedd once said, "A ship in
the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are for." It
may be safe in many respects for Christians to not be involved
but that is not what Christians are to do. Furthermore, we have
evidence that it is not always safe for ships that are in harbors.
Neither is it always safe to be uninvolved.
The Church today cannot bury its treasure or attempt to keep
it locked up in traditions and paradigms that have served her
in the past.
What was true for the world and the Church in the United States
in the 1950's is not true today. The period of history
known as the Modern Era is coming to an end. It started with
the Enlightenment and made scientific research and proof its
standard. Human beings became more self-centered and less community-minded
but that is beginning to change. After the Reformation, denominations
became the rave of the Christian church but denominationalism
appears to be in its final stages.
In the earliest Christian church each member was expected to
be a witness to those about them. This often required great risk.
Hence, the fellowship of believers was an extremely important
thing as they supported each other in doing what they were called
to do. In I Thessalonians 5:9–10 we read, "For God
has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through
our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us so that we may live with
him .... Therefore, encourage one another and build up each other,
as indeed you are doing."
We need to admit that in the United States Christians have fallen
out of favor. How often do you let someone know you are a Christian?
How often do you talk about Jesus with others including your
own family members? How often do we attempt to build up each
other with positive Christian affirmation and love? Do we understand
and accept that this is making use of the gifts God has given
us? As we use our gifts in this way we are helping to build the
Kingdom of God by bringing others into a life-saving relationship
with Jesus.
We mainline Christians are for the most part so ashamed of fundamentalists,
evangelicals and the Christian Right we have abdicated saying
what we believe in fear of somehow being associated with them.
Can we not see that when we bury the talent given to us we empower
the ones we fear even more?
God has a purpose for us and it involves our being faithful
servants. There is so much that we believe and often act upon
that needs to be shared but for some reason we seem to keep it
hidden. The last time I checked we have in 2005 contributed close
to $170,000 in mission causes in our community and throughout
the world. We have many of our members involved in local missions.
We cook and serve meals at Safe Harbor. We help build Habitat
Homes. Many are mentoring students at Brigham Elementary School.
Care boxes were recently shared with college students. We have
enabled a new congregation for Spanish-speaking people to begin.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed from this pulpit. To
not do so would be to hide our talents.
Think about the parable and the great trust and responsibility
the owner placed in his workers. A talent was equivalent to about
20 years of wages so the amount given to the first man was about
what 100 people earned in a year. The second worker received
40 years of wages to over see and the last person received 20
years of wages which was no small amount. According to the recorded
story the owner left no directions. It was assumed the hired
help would continue the work of the owner but they had complete
freedom as to how to do it.
Two of the workers made the most of the opportunity and each
one doubled what they had received. The third worker was afraid
of losing what had been entrusted to him so he hid it in the
ground.
The parable is not about the rich getting richer. When the owner
returned all that had been gained by the workers was returned
to him as it belonged to him. What the faithful workers received
was the owner's goodwill, admiration and respect. They
also received more responsibility because they had demonstrated
what they could do with opportunities given to them.
"Missionaries to China in the last part of the 19th century
began to push into the unexplored interior of that great land.
They found a community where the main crop was potatoes. They
had a good climate and soil, but their harvest was always tiny
potatoes—about the size of marbles. The natives said
that big potatoes just did not grow there. The newcomers said
that surely some big potatoes grow there. "Oh yes, we
do get a few now and then," they admitted. "What
do you do with them?" asked the missionaries. "We
eat them," the farmers answered. "The big ones are
the best."
The problem with their method of agriculture was they were planting
the runts. They were planting the potatoes that had the genes
that produced even smaller crops. They were systematically reducing
their crop as they took the biggest and best for themselves.
The missionaries showed them that only when you plant the big
ones—plant the best you have—will you get bigger
ones in return" (Stewardship — Illustration Digest,
"StoryShare," 11/13/05).
We are called to make the best use of what we have in order to
honor God.
I suppose the two workers could have lived it up using what
had been given them. However, they understood and accepted that
they were to use what they had received to further the intentions
of the owner. Their efforts resulted in rewards for them as well.
The third worker did not benefit at all from the great gifts
given to him. He buried them in the ground and lived in fear
of his master.
Do we believe God has given us gifts because God loves us and
desires to be loved in return or do we think God is out to destroy
us? What we believe will determine what we do with what we have
been given. We can either be affirmed or we can choose to be
left out.
In recent months those who follow professional football have
heard a lot about Terrell Owens, talented wide receiver of the
Philadelphia Eagles. He makes millions and wants more. He is
self-centered and has used the media to bash his teammates and
coaches. With all his talent he has now been removed from the
team. For me he is the modern-day version of someone who had
buried his talent and minimized his opportunity.
We dare not do the same with what God has given us! |
