Matthew 25:14-30

“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all 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. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

There is a common thread running through Jesus’ parables about the Kingdom of Heaven; we are called to pay attention to the presence and gracious activity of God in every minute and all the minutiae of our lives.

The parables of the leaven, the mustard seed, the lost coin, and so on...they all invite us to bring our attention to the presence and gracious activity of God in every minute and all the minutiae of our lives.

And last week’s Kingdom of Heaven parable about the 10 bridesmaids concluded with the admonition to “stay awake”–or, in other words, “pay attention!”

The parable of the talents begins right after the call to pay attention. This parable paints a picture of the blessing inherent in paying attention and having faith in God’s character and promises. It also presents an image of the dismay and disorder of failing to pay attention and consequently getting God’s character and promises wrong.

Jesus has already informed his disciples about his imminent death and resurrection, so there’s an obvious parallel to consider as Jesus tells a story about a master who is preparing to go away for a time and then return. In his absence, the master leaves talents with his workers. A talent is an incredibly-large sum of money–equal to 15-20 years of wages for labor. Not every worker receives the same amount of talents. One receives five talents, another receives two, and the other receives one. The test tells us the difference in amounts is related to their ability, though that’s still pretty ambiguous. What is clear, however, is that this is just how life works. In life, some receive more than others. The point of this parable is to illustrate what to do with what we receive.

The two who are entrusted with the most go and invest the talents in such a way that they double. This incredible increase hearkens back to Jesus’ insight from earlier in the gospel when he says, “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life” (Matthew 19:29). Jesus continually teaches and demonstrates that abundance is a foundational characteristic of the divine. Our Kingdom inheritance multiplies exponentially when we freely give the divine gifts of love and resources to others.

The two workers who received such incredibly valuable sums from their master had paid attention. They knew the master. They knew that he was joyful and generous. These workers were motivated by gratitude and love for their master. Their actions were rooted in a belief of the master’s promises and as a result were invited to share in the joy of the master.

The other worker, the one who received one talent, was not as confident about his master’s joy and generosity, likely because he had not been paying attention. This worker failed to pay attention to his master’s joy and generosity and drew inaccurate conclusions about his master. He took him to be a harsh man, reaping where he did not sow, and gathering where he did not scatter seed. In light of the allegorical understanding of the master as Christ, the worker’s insights are clearly shortsighted. After all, it is impossible for Christ to reap where he did not sow because every corner of creation and every seed that is sown belongs to God.

The parable’s conclusion is harsh and might be triggering for anyone who grew up thinking of God as punitive and angry; but try to hear its warning: there are real consequences for those who fail to pay attention and understand God’s character as good, loving, and generous. When we fail to notice these abundant attributes of God, we think they are scarce and are unwilling to share them with the world. If we do not share them with the world we will certainly not receive them double or a hundredfold in return. Instead we will end up in a darkness of our own making–a state of life in which there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

If we hide what God has given us, we are living out of a sense of fear and scarcity. God’s gifts of love and grace are not able to be minimized or stolen. They are only gifts if they are shared with the rest of the world. Love and grace only truly exist if they are given away. Share the good stuff with the world and watch it grow, expand, multiply, and return to you double or even a hundredfold!

Again, the call is to pay attention. Pay attention to the character of God. Meditate on God’s goodness day and night and watch as your eyes are opened to the presence of goodness all around you. Pay attention to people who are suffering or in need so that you can share God’s blessing with them. And watch as everything you give away multiplies and becomes more and more valuable.

I’ll conclude by offering a sneak peak of what is coming because it has to do with paying attention. Throughout the season of Advent I will invite you to a daily ancient prayer practice called The Examen. There’s an adage that if you do something for 30 consecutive days it becomes habitualized. I would like everyone in this church to spend 30 days developing the habit of pausing each day to pay attention to God’s presence and activity in your life. It simply involves looking back at your life experiences and underlying emotions from the past 24 hours. I will explain more later; but just know that it is a prayer of uncovering and savoring the presence and gracious activity of God in every minute and all the minutiae of our lives. As today’s parable makes clear, there is profound joy and blessing available to those who develop the ability to pay attention to the true character of our master.

Amen.

1 Kings 19:11-15a

[The voice of the Lord] said [to Elijah] “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.

When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” Then the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus…”

There is an obvious irony involved in preaching about silence. It would be counter-productive to spend a lot of time talking about the importance of being quiet. So I’ll be succinct with a couple points and then I’d like to talk briefly about my experience with silence a couple weeks ago.

Most cultures, be they ancient or modern, tend to deemphasize the importance of silence. Esteem and power is most often claimed by the most vociferous of the population. The loud ones get attention paid to them. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, as the saying goes.

Quiet people, on the other hand, are often viewed as subservient, timid, disengaged, and weak. The adjective most closely associated with silence is “awkward” – as in, awkward silence.

As a word of encouragement for all the quiet people out there, take heart in this helpful reminder from Susan Cain’s incredible book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. She writes, “There's zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas.”

Again, the concept of equating loudness with power spans history. Privileging loudness is evident in scripture also. After all, it is a loud noise that begins creation as we know it. Whether you understand it the “Big Bang” or the voice of God speaking creation into being, a loud noise is involved. When God speaks in scripture it is often with gusto, be it a burning bush, thunder, or a talking donkey.

One of the beautiful ideas presented in this story from 1 Kings, however, is the idea that God is present in sheer silence. You might be familiar with the translation from this story as “a still small voice”; however, it is more accurate to translate it as “sheer silence.”

God is able to do anything, but I imagine one of the hardest things for God to do is to speak in silence to people who prize loudness. People who lack awareness of God’s nature need flashing signs and loud trumpets to accompany God’s word or else they would miss it. A more spiritually mature person is already attuned to God’s nature, which means God doesn’t have to try as hard to communicate with that person; it simply becomes second nature. Spiritual maturity requires a spirit of discernment. And it’s very hard to spend time discerning God’s will when you’re being bombarded with noise or being loud yourself.

If you are curious and would like to know more check out the book I mentioned earlier, called Quiet, and also visit the chapter about silence in The Soul’s Slow Ripening. Now, however, I want to share my recent experience with silence.

I am participating in a 2-year certificate program in Christian spiritual formation. A couple weeks ago I was in Mundelein, Illinois for a week-long residency with each day packed with lectures, worship, and rich conversation. Each residency concludes with a 24-hr silent retreat. We surrender our cell phones and are left to our own devices as to how we spend our time, so long as it is in silence.

This was my second 24-hour silent retreat and I approached it with no anxiety nor any plans. A few hours in I decided to take a leisurely 2.5 mile walk around the lake on campus of the seminary.

Not long into my walk I passed by another retreat participant. I decided at that point that I would spend my silent walk praying for each person whom I passed on the trail. I made a sign of prayer to her to indicate I saw her and was including her in my prayers.

With her in mind, my attention turned to dead logs scattered throughout the woods and I recalled how she had shared her despair at the recent loss of a dear friend. I prayed that she would be reminded that God is the Lord of Resurrection and that God refuses to let death have the last word. I prayed for the new life that was at work in that decaying log.

I walked by another colleague and was struck by her smiling response. I prayed for her and her work as a spiritual director. I gave thanks to God that she is so aware of and infused with the goodness of God that she is able to share it with people looking for spiritual companionship, comfort, and hope.

I passed by another colleague and was led to pray about a somewhat difficult conversation we had earlier about homosexuality. We were coming from different perspectives and of course had not changed one another's minds. Something she said had crept under my skin and kept irritating me. I prayed for grace in difficult conversations, not just with her but others as well. I should add that our first night as a group we were asked to lay an object on the altar that symbolized our current relationship with God. This person brought in a piece of lichen (the algae/fungi symbiotic organism) to symbolize how she felt God was working in her to create a new thing. At some point during the walk I realized that I had stopped praying for her and was back to letting my monkey mind take me from random topic to random topic. Then I spotted a piece of lichen right in the middle of my path. It immediately brought her back to my mind and I returned to pray for her. This happened twice more along the walk.

I then walked by another participant and was reminded of his incredible gesture of hospitality when he learned that I would be traveling by his home in England this summer. Despite being practically a complete stranger, he immediately told me how we must come to his house and eat together and have our kids play together and get the inside experience of his hometown.

As I walked I decided to pay attention to all my senses, not just the physical sensation of being very cold, which my fingers and ears were screaming at me. I wondered if there was anything to smell so I took a deep inhale through the nose and was immediately met with the burning sensation of cold air as it enters the lungs. I was reminded of the Holy Spirit, so often portrayed as a rushing wind; so often portrayed as a burning fire. I had not previously noticed how intertwined the two seeming-opposite dynamics of wind and fire are. I prayed that the Holy Spirit would continue to fill me with grace, faith, life and love...even when the initial experience seems painful.

Walking further I noticed that I was alone. I hadn't seen anyone in a while. I started to pray for myself, letting God's spirit shine like light from a candle on the parts of my soul that I would prefer to stay hidden.

As I neared the last bend in the road and the residence hall came into view I thought about how my time at the residency was coming to an end and that I would soon return to my family, friends, and family of faith at Cross of Grace. I shifted my prayer to the ministry that God is doing here among us.

While I haven’t had a 24-hour silent retreat since returning, I do sense that the prayerful attentiveness to life and my fellow human beings that characterized that walk has stayed with me. That walk was a time of profound relationship intimacy with God that I will cherish and that will inform my regular spiritual practices. It was a reminder that God is available to me at any moment, especially when I eliminate the noisy distractions in our lives.

Amen.