Every one of us have been given talents, time, and treasure, so what have we done with these
and what will we do with them is a great question since we are all stewards of God Generosity.
Parables are earthly stories that teach a heavenly concept, and this is what Jesus was doing in
the Parable of the Talents or as Eugene Peterson’s translation call it The Story of Investments
and the man going on the journey is likely Jesus Himself Who gives His servants talents and “To
one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then
he went away”.

2021.11.07      “Playing it Safe”

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

Lord God,

help us to know your ways; teach us your paths. Lead us in your truth, and teach us,

for you are the God of our salvation; for you we wait all day long. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

SCRIPTURE

Our Scripture this morning come from the translation called The Message  

Matthew 25:14-30 The Message (MSG)

^14-18 “It’s also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master’s investment. The second did the same. But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master’s money.

^19-21 “After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’

^22-23 “The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master’s investment. His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’

^24-25 “The servant given one thousand said, ‘Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.’

^26-27 “The master was furious. ‘That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.

^28-30 “‘Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this “play-it-safe” who won’t go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.’

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

RESPONSE:

            Leader: This is the Word of the Lord.

            People: Thanks be to God.

2021.11.07                              Playing it Safe

Every one of us have been given talents, time, and treasure, so what have we done with these and what will we do with them is a great question since we are all stewards of God Generosity.

Parables are earthly stories that teach a heavenly concept, and this is what Jesus was doing in the Parable of the Talents or as Eugene Peterson’s translation call it The Story of Investments and the man going on the journey is likely Jesus Himself Who gives His servants talents and “To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away”.

It should be noted that the talent is a monetary value of money as the Greek says and is equivalent to about twenty years labor, so it’s a significant amount of money we’re talking about and this parable is about the stewardship that God has entrusted to us with what we’ve been given.

One servant doubled his five talents to ten and the master says “Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner”.

The one who received two talents also doubled his talents and the master also said “Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner”

But the one who had been given one and hid it and so did nothing with it at all and the master says “That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest. Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this “play-it-safe” who won’t go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness”.

The point is that Jesus expects us to use our earthly wealth for His kingdom purposes as He is the Master, the parable warns us that otherwise what we have will be taken away and given to others.

I believe that the Pandemic has affected our understanding of partnership with God. Early in the pandemic we were isolated, alone and trying to cope the best way we knew how, and that might not have been our best moment in many ways because we didn’t know what to do. How do we keep ourselves and our loved ones safe? We moved into a “play it safe” mode. And because people lost lives, and jobs and the ability to be community the “play it safe” position was reinforced. NOW as we tip toe out of this pandemic, we are still “playing it safe”. Playing it safe has keep been a good plan for keeping the pandemic at bay, but perhaps there are other places where we have played it safe, and we don’t have too. Or we really shouldn’t. I think that what and how we give back what Christ has so generously given is not a place to “play it safe”.

How we use money, how generous we are with the gifts of talent, time and treasure is one of those conversation that will be on the held between God and each if us. I hope that I will hear God say Good Work, faithful partner. 

Generosity matters!  How we live, what we give of our time and our talents, how much we give back to God matters. If we believe in Jesus, it is a life and death matter. Generosity Matters!

For this church, Generosity matters, as you read the Narrative Budget, I hope you heard that what you give back through your financial gift to the church matter. Your time and talent matter. You saw what would happen if each pledging unit gave $5.00 a week more. If everyone gives up one cup of Starbucks coffee a week we could raise and addition $19,000.00 for ministry. If coffee is not your thing, give up a McDonald quarter pounder with cheese or a Dairy Queen blizzard. The point is, most of us have an extra $5.00 a week in our pockets. What better way to spend it than to shower your generosity on the church?

While we might need to “play it safe” with our health and activities during the pandemic, I don’t believe God want us to “play it safe” with our generosity. AMEN