Christ’s Chorale Sings Freely

Gospel Text

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon Text

This is the second to last Sunday of the church year!  And that can feel like, well, an interesting Sunday … Because next Sunday is a celebration — it’s called Christ the King Sunday! But on the Sunday before that Sunday … we’re waiting.

How good are you at waiting? It can be tough.

And so we have these readings, in the year of Matthew, about faithfully waiting. This theme will return shortly in Advent, as we wait for Christmas. And really they are pointing to a similar thing together. How do you and I — creatures of a creator — how do we trust while we wait? And there’s a theme, then, from our readings for today to our theme of Stewardship during this month of November. How are we called to give our time, talent, treasure in a way of trust over fears? In a way of delight over duty? Anticipating joy instead of judgement?

Lord, I believe!

But then I get tired. Or I get afraid and I act out in greed.

Or I feel overworked … Lord, I believe; Help my unbelief!

Do you know of one thing that helps unbelief? One thing that encourages us to be good stewards— people that know nothing less than our whole lives lived in the context of being creatures of a creator? One key element that helps the creatures is community. For community… we are grateful; being stewards together.

A preacher friend of mine and a mentor has a story from his days as a theology professor. He says, “Some years ago, I received a brief, handwritten note attached by a paperclip to a Theology 100 paper just collected from my students. The note read, Professor, My roommate is ill today. She asked me to bring her paper to class also. I’m so sorry I forgot it. I’ll bring it to your office later today when my schedule allows. If you must take points off because of this, please take them away from my grade, not my roommate’s. Thank you. He says, “I was touched. What wonderful thing–what a gift of sheer grace–to have so loyal a friend. Everyone should have one such friend. After all, “Greater love has no one than this, that she lays down her GPA for her friend.” Or, it goes something like that. He says, that’s what came to mind, laying down for your friend in community.

And friends, I’m so proud of our community of Faith Lutheran this year! You all have been givers, and over and above!

We voted to dedicate over 70,000 dollars to a new parking lot! We upped our benevolence giving this year — more money distributed as people have come to this church in need; and along those lines we upped our giving to the Synod — our wider expression of faith in the Sierra Pacific Synod, in the ELCA, in the Lutheran Federation for the world. We have more outreach ministries part of our congregation this year, ministry for children and families in need and those with food insecurities.

Then, people in this church have given time and talent on all our teams and committees — we have been active. The Property team, the choir, the fellowship team, finances and counters, and altar guild and musicians and all kinds of meetings, and providing hospitality after funerals. This year folks gave time and energy to new classes and connections. We are thankful to Pr Stan and Vicar Sarah for sharing gifts and leadership and guiding formation.

Speaking of, many of you gave time and energy to our Adult Catechumenate program in Lent, called “the way”— that led to us celebrating baptisms at the Easter Vigil, and we are so thankful for the faith of Trish and Theresa, Lukas and Sonja and all who have walked the road of discipleship this year.

I am proud, and I can tell you: You can be Proud — that we are church together.

It’s with this backdrop that you and I can turn to this new year, and we can hear our stewardship team encourage us: Keep being part of the gift we encounter together! You are invited to this shared community. We celebrate with joy and we walk as disciples. And in our annual giving of time, talent, and finances —> we give back. We give back to God, to each other, and to all who are to come.

And so the invitation is to all of us. To consider our personal involvement, to consider what we have received and to cheerfully commit. I like the way Proverbs 11:25 puts it- “whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.”

Now, first off, this is not God making a deal with us — waiting for us before being generous — not a prosperity gospel, but its a natural rule, a beautiful rule of our living.

Do we live in closed-in fear, or do we live in open freedom? And what a blessing that freedom is. That is a truth of a life of stewardship. And the bottom line is: We want, for each other, this free and faithful living. So it’s not about how many hours you volunteer. It’s not about how much money you give to God or you give to this church.

It is about the state of your existence as a creature in community.

I titled today’s sermon, “Christ’s Chorale Sings Freely.” Meaning — Do you trust God? In grace, are you made free? In faithful living, have we committed to each other? Well then, we are a community that lives, operates, we are a choir that sings, freely. This applies to our welcome to the communion table. This applies to our expectations of our giving together. This applies to how we volunteer and serve one another as the body of Christ. It is for freedom! Laying aside judgement and duty and quid pro quo: Christ’s Chorale Sings Freely!

Ok. But you’re like: “preacher, what about this parable?” Well, in the parable of the talents there is one particular steward, who to me, is gripped in fear. He isn’t singing freely. The talent has him, instead of him openly living with it. To be afraid, and to go and bury what you’ve been given … this cannot be the way. Christ’s kingdom is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

We are not called to shame and hiding. We are called to freedom and light.

I think that’s what the unfaithful servant was missing. And so, we are called to shape up and live out of trust. Live with faith! Well, that’s a kind of prescription, but it’s not quite good news for creatures like you and me. Because I know me. I will be generous; but sometimes I’ll hold back. I will have moments of inspiration and … I will have seasons of hard-heartedness. I can’t be sure I’ll get the best returns on what has been entrusted to me, and so what does that mean? Outer darkness?!

Well, there’s more to my preacher friend’s story. As a teacher, his first reaction to the note he found was — Wow, what a good friend she’s being. But he continued. “My second thought was more troubling. “My goodness! What kind of a cruel ogre do they think I am?” Have I seemed to them like some maniacal, red-pen-wielding Ripper, just looking for my chance to penalize somebody for missing a deadline, however innocent the reason? It was early in the semester. What had I done in such a short time to give that impression? Or had some teacher before me, either here or in high school, taught this young woman that teachers are petty tyrants?

Something like this confusion between my self-image as a teacher and the one implicit in my student’s note lurks behind the dynamics of “the parable of the talents.” And then he says, But to the story there is one more thing…The story doesn’t end with the frightened slave banished to the misery of outer darkness. There remains one more servant to account for his talents. It’s Jesus — the storyteller himself must answer to the Master. He, too, had a talent to invest.

Let’s listen in as that accounting proceeds. . .

“And what about you, Mr. Parable Man? I gave you as big a fortune as any of them. What have you done with it? Where’s your portfolio. Account for yourself, son!”

“Well, Sir, I know your reputation–that you are a jealous Master, visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children for generation after generation, and taking no pleasure in sinners. . .”

(Interrupting) Yes, yes, So where’s the fortune you’ve made with what I gave you? How did you invest?”

“I made friends, Sir! Lots of them. Well, quite a few. Some. But you’d like them, I’m sure. They have the capacity to change the world. There’s Simon, the one I call ‘Rocky,’ and Thomas and Salome and Mary of Magdala. There’s John and Matthew and Judas, and the other Mary, just to name a few.

“I gave everything to them. Everything you gave to me, I passed it on to them. All the wisdom, the love, the stories, the jokes, the prayers, all the songs–everything. I gave it all away.

“And on that last night, just before everything fell apart and got completely crazy, while we were eating the Passover, I told them that after tonight, all that would be left of me would be in them. I gave myself to them.

You could say I buried myself in them, Master. And we ate that bread and drank that cup, and, well, you know the rest. Here I am.”

“And them? Where are they? Where’s the return on my investment? Did they follow you? Are they with you? What happened to them when you were arrested?”

“They ran away, Sir.”

“They ran away?”

“Yes.”

“All of them?”

“All the men. Some of the women stayed to watch, hoping, it seems, that they might claim my body when it was all over.”

“So this is what your life, your fortune, has come to?”

“That’s it.”

(Brief pause)

“I see. And what if I were to send you back to see what’s become of this ‘investment’ you say you made? What would you find?”

“Good question, Master. Good question.”

“Do you want to go back? Do a little accounting, see what there is by way of a return?”

“Sure. But just one thing. . .”

“What’s that?”

“When we come back, remember this: These are my friends. If you must exact some penalty or another, do it against me, not them.”          

AMEN