Creekside Church Sermon of November 7, 1999 "Going To Extremes" Matthew 25:14-30	Rev. David Bibbee
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This parable is about extremes, and the ending we find harshly extreme. A filthy rich master turned over a fabulous sum of money to his servants, then he left on a long vacation. When he returned and discovered what the servants had done with the money, he threw a fit, calling the poor man with one- talent names and treating him terribly. The treatment strikes us as extreme. We thought Jesus was on the side of the little man. We thought he was for the downtrodden. He said we can't worship God and money, but all the praise is heaped upon the servants who made money hand over fist. Our sympathies are with the little guy. The master, it seems, is a bully... or is he?

When we pay attention to the actions of the master at the beginning of the parable, his extreme reaction is put into perspective. The master was an extremely generous man. He knew the servant's abilities and distributed his property accordingly among them. The sum he disbursed wasn't pocket change. A talent was the equivalent of $15,000, or in those days, five years worth of wages. Imagine, forty years worth of wages the master entrusted to these men. He must have thought highly of them to turn over all that money. Sounds to me as though he had substantial trust in these men to turn over all that money.

Think for a moment how you would react if the boss put that kind of money in your lap. No instructions. No suggestions. Just, "Here you go. I'm outta here and I don't know when I'll be back." Would you be anxious? Scared silly? In high school I worked at a jewelry store, and every day I delivered packages to the post office. I remember the day the boss handed me a little box. "This is a ruby diamond cluster ring. It cost $30,000. Don't stop to talk with anyone on the way to the post office. Hang on tight!" I walked at a brisk pace, scanning all around for suspicious characters. I began to sweat when I thought of what would happen to me if I should accidentally drop the ring down a sewer grate or was pulled into an alley and robbed at gunpoint.

I'm sure that all three servants were unnerved by the master's extreme and unexpected generosity. But already the cogs were turning in the servant's minds who had received five and two talents. They weren't going to just gawk at their gift. They were wheeler-dealers. It was a bull market. They made diversified investments in the technology sector and the commodities market. Both did extremely well, and when the master returned to settle accounts, these servants with great pride told him they had turned 100% profit. "Splendid!" he exclaimed. "It's all yours." "You mean the interest?" "No. I mean the interest and the principle."

But what about the other servant? He couldn't get beyond being nervous. He considered making investments, but he couldn't bear the thought of losing it. They had money to spare. If he made a bad investment, he would be left with nothing. He had seen the master's anger before, so rather than risk losing his shirt, he did the safe and prudent thing...he buried it. He wouldn't make money, but at least he wouldn't lose any, which he thought would be acceptable to the master. Besides, there was a provision in Jewish law which said that whoever buried money entrusted to him was not liable because he had done the safe thing.

If we had only the conclusion of the parable to go on, our sympathies would be with Mr. One Talent. We would take the fear factor into account. We would reason that he only did what was right, reasonable, and responsible. It was best to protect the money. Who could fault him for that? "Sir, I know you are a hard hearted man, I know that you reap where you didn't sow, and that you try to squeeze blood from turnips. I did as the law says. Here's your talent back." Veins bulged in the master's neck. His face turned red. "You lazy, spineless servant. If you knew I squeezed turnips, why didn't you at least put the money in a simple savings account and earn a little interest? Take the talent from this guy and give it to the servant who can make something of it."

"And everyone who has will be given more. From those who have not, even what they have will be taken away." Sounds more like Donald Trump than Jesus. If the conclusion seems extreme, it is because the master was an extremely generous man. "I have given you everything I have...do something with it! I'm taking a risk giving it to you. Now you take a risk and make something of it." The master's frustration is better understood when you realize that just two chapters later Jesus will be nailed to a cross. He will go to the ultimate extreme, lay down his life in love, give away all he's got so that those who love and follow him will realize the magnitude of his gift and spend themselves and lay their lives on the line.

Rather than do something to enhance what the master had given him, Mr. One Talent buried it. Prudence and safety may be conventional virtues, but they are not Christian virtues. A talent is more than money. It is time. It is opportunity. Everyone has received at least one talent. When we hold and hide that talent, it is not practicing risk management. It is risk refusal. What we don't use, we lose. The piano virtuoso Arthur Rubenstein was asked why he practiced so much. He said, "If I skip practice one day, I know it. If I skip practice two days, the critics will know it. And if I skip practice three days, everyone will know it."

The gifts of time and opportunity are not ours to do with as we please. They have been entrusted to us. Christ wants us to get it into our hearts and our heads that nothing we risk for God, regardless how small and seemingly insignificant is, ever lost. Those who lose their lives, save lives, Jesus told us. Hide yourself in a hole, refuse to risk, save your life and you will lose it. Miss your opportunity and it may be given to someone else. To those who have, more will be given. From those with nothing, even what they have will be taken away.

What we do with what we have been given matters greatly. French scientist Madam Curie said, "Life isn't easy for any of us. We must have perseverance and confidence. We must believe we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained." Each one here has been given a spiritual gift. "Grace has been given to us," Paul said, "according to the measure of Christ's gift."

A 38-year-old woman who earned a living scrubbing floors would go to the movies and lament, "If I only had her looks." She would hear a singer and sigh, "If only I had her voice." Then someone gave her a book called The Magic of Believing. She stopped comparing herself with the stars and singers. She stopped complaining about what she didn't have and instead claimed what she did have. She remembered that in high school she had the reputation for being the funniest girl around. She began to turn her liabilities to assets. Not long afterward this scrub woman named Phyllis was making over a million dollars a year. She wasn't beautiful. She had a scratchy voice, but Phyllis Diller could make people laugh.

Someone said the burden of this parable is not, "What do we do when the master returns?" but "What is to be done in the meantime? What do we do with what we have where we are?" The servant with one talent said to the master, "I know you are a hard man..." but he really didn't know him. The master was exceedingly, extremely generous. He was angry because nothing was made of the gift which he had given.

Last year when Jim Davis was your interim pastor, he was deeply impressed by this church. "I was blown away by the talent and capabilities present at Elkhart City," he told me. He's right. God has indeed gifted this congregation. God will gift us more...when we take risks and invest the gifts. I'm acquainted with churches not half as gifted as ours, but their numbers are growing. Their programs are multiplying. Their enthusiasm is contagious. Their outreach is outreaching with God's grace and love. How can it be that churches which are less gifted thrive as they do?

In a word, the difference is "investment". Through this parable we are being told that God doesn't continue giving gifts to churches that are afraid or unwilling to use them. "Take the talent from this fellow and give it to the one with ten talents!"

Every time we shy away from a goal because there is a chance we might fail, every time we opt for walking by sight and not by faith, every time we shrink in the shadows of great challenges, every time we try to maintain and manage, and worship the past instead of appreciating it, we bury the opportunities God has given. And not even God can do something with our buried treasure. Bruce Larson relates a scene he witnessed in Bermuda. Five or six grizzled fishermen were on a wharf watching a young man shove off in an old twenty-foot long sailboat. "You know where that crazy clown is going?" one man asked. "He's sailing to England!" And as the little boat pulled out from the harbor, those veteran sailors could only shake their heads in disbelief. Somehow the sight of that frail craft with it's lone captain stirred something deep inside of Larson, and without intending to, he found himself waving and shouting, "Bon Voyage!" The young captain was obviously surprised and encouraged, and he waved back and continued to do so until his little boat was out of sight.

Then Larson offers this reflection:

For that young man "getting there" wasn't a certainty. He might not make it but he had to start out. That's what life is all about. As Christians, whether we arrive or not is not the issue. It's okay to fail as long as we launch out. Don't stay in the harbor.

God gives talents to those who employ them, not those who bury them. God provides light to those who put it on a stand for all to see, not those who hide it. God has entrusted so much to Elkhart City. We have the equipment. Will we make the investment? The master will want to know.

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