Homily notes for November 13, 2005  (some improvised fleshing-out occurred)

Using primarily Matthew 25:14-30, the Parable of the Three Stewards

by The Rev. Susan Anslow Williams, St. Luke’s Church

Friday’s 20/20 on “Greed” – ways that capitalism and pursuit of riches can inspire people to new heights of creativity.  Sometimes this leads to criminal activity, as in the cases of CEOs gone bad; other times it leads to innovations that non-profit enterprises don’t have the incentive to develop. Money – how to get it, how to make more – can be a powerful force. 

The show also profiled the small country of Bhutan, nestled in the Himalayas.  Since the country is too small and too mountainous to produce much, the concept of “Gross National Product” as a measure of economic and political health seemed pointless to the king.  So he decided that Bhutan’s well-being would be measured in “Gross National Happiness.”  Were the people satisfied with their lives?  Were the children being educated, did families spend time together, was there spiritual and religious participation?  All seemed to be going quite well until technological advances reached Bhutan; and people – especially teenagers – could connect to the internet and realize what they were missing.  We’ll have to stay tuned to see if capitalism reaches, and ruins, the Gross National Happiness of Bhutan.

Our Gospel today (Matthew 25:14-30) seems to have a similar theme.  Jesus’ parable presents the story of a very rich landowner who encourages his servants to make a huge profit while he’s away. And at the end we have the startling moral to the story: “To those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”

WHAT? How could Jesus say something that outrageous? (Some scholars: he didn’t say it…)

Before we take that path, or start making modern political comparisons, let’s go back to the story. “The kingdom of heaven is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his servants and entrusted his property to them…”  Presumably the man is God the Father, or perhaps even Jesus himself – at this point in the Gospel narrative, he is on his final journey to Jerusalem.  And after his death, resurrection, and period of appearances after Easter, he would disappear. Would he come back? What should we be doing in the mean time? Matthew’s community was struggling with this reality, and we’ve been dealing with it for an additional 2000 years.

Shopper’s Luncheon: “Jesus is coming, look busy!”  And we were… Is that what we should be doing?

Gospel story: Not just busy, but entrusted with huge treasure to be busy with.  Talent: about 20 years’ income…  Five talents, even two and one talent, unimaginable sum – especially for a slave or voluntary servant (could be either). The first two get busy right away, investing and trading.  They see an opportunity to be “good and faithful servants” as they are later pronounced.

On 20/20 there was a segment on incentive of making money: school in NYC, used to have worst scores in the state.  Show focused on teacher who had been in private sector as import/export business owner. At first: awful at teaching, was beaten up by kids in the hall.  Testimony from a bully who remembered the teacher’s early lesson on his import business, led to a new tactic on entrepreneurial economics. Worked amazingly well; kids started their own businesses and lifted their lives from poverty.  Comment made: often it is the poor who grasp the possibilities of money and make the most of it, far better than those who have always enjoyed having it.

Servants/slaves presumably didn’t have much; now given unimaginable treasure to manage.  What is that treasure?  Not money, though I could tell you this is a stewardship parable.  It is about stewardship – but of the most precious thing we have, the good news of salvation.  The word “talent” we know today – your innate gifts and abilities – actually derives from its ancient roots as they are found in this parable.  Our talents are what we make of God’s blessings.

So what will we make of God’s blessings, especially the blessing of Jesus Christ and our own salvation?  How do we express the fact that when someone asks us “Have you been born again” we can say YES, I have been baptized into the life, death and resurrection of Jesus?

This story encourages us to get creative, like the students in the barrio of New York City.  Knowing that we have little or nothing of our own, that we could never earn our place in God’s joy, can we celebrate every opportunity to make the most of our “talents”?  Will we take them for granted and hold onto them, or bury them in the ground; or risk making them grow? 

We all know that for an investment to increase, you have to take some risk.  And that’s uncomfortable, maybe even dangerous.  This parable tells us that we will be judged for how well we do, and perhaps we fear messing up.  But our fear in the Gospel-growing department usually has to do with looking bad in the sight of others.  Perhaps we even have the view of that lazy servant who was too afraid of the master, calling him harsh and unfair right to his face, to scared to do anything but bury the treasure. Do we fear that God won’t possibly approve of us?

Yet the master’s response to the first two servants, who risked doing their job well, was anything but harsh.  “Well done… enter into my joy…” is their praise and reward.  Do we still fear that God is harsh?  Or can we grasp his generosity – the fact that we have been given treasures we can’t even imagine – and know that we will be judged well for using them on behalf of the kingdom. 

May you be like those praise-worthy servants, who trust the master enough to risk the treasure by spreading it.  Be like the kids in the barrio who sense that by our creativity and persistence, we will succeed.  The treasure is invisible but its fruits are not; they are lives, churches and communities transformed by the presence and blessing of the master.  With such treasure our Gross National Happiness will be high indeed. 

410 North Main Street, Jamestown, New York 14701

Phone (716)483-6405 * Fax (716)483-6406 * stluke@madbbs.com