Talents, Treasures, and Truth to Power

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 replied, ‘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.’”

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Last week, I talked about how – in that parable about the ten bridesmaids who get locked out of the wedding banquet – it is okay and even faithful to see the bouncer at the door – the one who locks them out of the banquet – as someone other than Jesus. That’s a new, different, surprising take on a familiar teaching for some. This morning, then, is a variation on a theme because today’s parable may not be what we’re used to seeing on its surface, either.

First of all, smarter people than me point out that this isn’t what they call a “kingdom parable,” which just means it’s one of those parables Jesus tells that doesn’t begin with the phrase, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…” And that’s good news because it is one of those parables that ends with “outer darkness,” “weeping,” and “gnashing of teeth.” So, just like it didn’t fit or feel right last week that Jesus would be the one behind the door, keeping others from entering the feast of God’s kingdom, it NEVER feels quite right to see the God we know in Jesus as the one who throws people into the gnashing teeth of the outer darkness.

So this may invite us to wonder, contrary to the expectations and assumptions of many people – and maybe contrary to the way we’re used to reading this parable – if the slaveholding Master in today’s parable doesn’t have to be a stand-in for the God we know in Jesus, either.

AND, we’re left to wonder then, if Jesus’ parable isn’t painting a picture of God’s kingdom then he must be painting a picture of something else – like the world as he understood it to be and as it was for those who were listening to him. And, by extension, unfortunately, the world as it still is for you and me. Which is to say, as we look to find ourselves in the middle of this one, it means Jesus seems to be railing against the ways of the world, and of our misuse of, reliance on, and love for … money.

See, if the Master in today’s story isn’t meant to be a stand-in for God or Jesus, it means he’s just some guy. And he’s a mean, selfish, abusive, greedy one at that. And it changes everything, once we’re allowed to consider him that way. It means that the slaves who please him aren’t necessarily to be commended, they’re to be questioned, if not pitied, even. Yes, they take his money and make more of it, but it was likely by unfair, unfaithful means – and everyone listening in Jesus’ day would have known or assumed that. And those first two slaves may have acted out of fear as much as anything else, knowing what we know happens to the third slave who let the Master down.

See, the truth about society and the cultural norm in Jesus’ day – especially for the faithful, Jewish peasant – was that people weren’t upwardly mobile capitalists, like you and I are trained to be.

Whereas we are inclined to look at these first two slaves who doubled their master’s money with admiration and a pat on the back, Jesus and his listeners would have looked at them with suspicion and judgment – maybe for defrauding someone or lending money with interest, like some sort of tax collector. (We know how people felt about their local tax collector, right?) The Old Testament scripture of Jesus’ faith, after all, is full of warnings and prohibitions against storing up more than you can use, lending money for interest, and the like, so there would have been questions. Maybe, those listening to Jesus would have simply questioned the motivation of any slave to line the pockets of their enslaver just to make their way into his good pleasure.

Because if this isn’t a “kingdom parable,” these slaves who “enter into the joy of their master” weren’t entering into the joy of the God, made known in Jesus. They were entering into the joy of someone more like Don Corleone, or Tony Soprano, or Omar Navarro. The Master in Jesus’ story might have been seen as a money-grubbing swindler who sends others to do his dirty work; this enslaver who reaps where he doesn’t sow and who gathers where he doesn’t scatter seed. And, remember, for their work in the end, these first two slaves were still slaves, after all, being put in charge of more dealings and dirty work that would have made their fellow slaves and the average, law-abiding Jewish peasant cringe.

And all of this means that the poor sap who buried the money… the one who didn’t invest wisely… who didn’t make more of what he’d been given… who didn’t do his Master’s bidding… who ends up cast into the outer darkness with all of that weeping and gnashing of teeth… is actually the hero of Jesus’ story.

This slave bucks the system, as it were. He’s a revolutionary rebel. We can imagine him standing up to the Master, with some measure of fear and trembling, and refusing to play the mob-boss’ game. He buries his money in the ground rather than try to make more of it by cheating others, by charging interest, or by otherwise growing that kind of wealth just for the sake of growing wealth, or adding to his Master’s capacity to continue enslaving and oppressing his subjects. And he returns to the Master the same, singular, measly, dust-and-dirt-covered talent he was given, perhaps balanced or spinning on the tip of his middle finger, if you know what I mean.

So, what does this have to do with you and me and Cross of Grace and with our lives as followers of Jesus in the world as we know it?

If we understand the parable this way, we see Jesus – not as painting a picture of God’s kingdom where dirty deeds, done dirt cheap are praised and rewarded in heaven. But we see this parable as an indictment of the way too much of the world was and is for so many. In that last slave – the one who gets thrown into the outer darkness? – Jesus may even be painting a picture of just what’s about to happen to him soon enough, when he refuses to play the game of the religious and political masters; when he, himself, is handed over to the outer darkness of the cross and crucified.

And here, then, is our hope and invitation. We are called, as always, to live more like Jesus. When we talk and pray and invite one another to use our money for the good of God’s church in the world, for the sake of the kingdom among us, we are doing nothing more and nothing less than challenging the ways of the world as we know it. We are standing up for generosity in the face of greed. We are choosing to be faithful instead of fearful with our resources.

Wednesday night, many of us heard from Charla Yearwood at the first event, put together by our newly-minted “Racial Justice Team.” As part of that, Charla talked about the inescapable, “normal” of whiteness in our world. She talked about how those in power generations ago began to set the standard for the way the rest of the world operates, still. This is true when it comes to everything from fashion, to academia, to politics, to church, even, as we understand and experience it. And it’s also true where the economics of capitalism are concerned.

A few of us were talking after Charla’s presentation, about how inescapable the ways of capitalism are in our lives and work in the world – especially in this country. How, in order to succeed, by the world’s standards, we have to abide by the rules and follow the ways and live up to the expectations of the capitalist culture in which we live. That’s impossible to deny and I’m such a product of it, I’m not sure it’s always bad. And I can see that it’s so deep and wide and woven into the fabric of our lives and culture and economy that it’s inescapable, even if we wanted to get away from it.

…except for here, in our life together as Christians in the Church and in this place … as believers … as followers of The Way and the ways of Jesus …

And I think that’s something like what we learn from the third enslaved person in Jesus’ parable. That we don’t have to follow all of the rules all of the time. That we don’t have to play the game at every turn. That we can buck the system – refuse to do “The Master’s” bidding – in the name of grace and mercy and equity; generosity, sacrifice, justice and love.

When we give our money away for the work of God’s Church in the world, it is counter-cultural. When we give to others with no strings attached – not expecting a return on our investment or an increase in principle – we rebel against the greed that surrounds us. When we do the math and decide to give a significant portion of our income to the work of God in the world – through church and charity; for the sake of philanthropy and fun, even – we bring the Kingdom to life, like Jesus did.

This is hard, holy work, for sure. But it’s why faithful stewardship, being mindful about our money, and using it as a tool for spiritual growth, are one of the greatest gifts of the church in the world and one of our greatest blessings as disciples. Our offerings are nothing more and nothing less than a spiritual practice that speaks truth to power – if/when we use it that way.

I hope we see the use of our money – especially the ways we are called to give it away – as a way of being freed from the Master that money and greed want to be in our lives. And I believe that when we give – with gratitude for what is already ours – we will be filled with the joy of a different Master – that we’ll be filled with the joy of the Master of grace and mercy and peace and new life – that really is Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen

Enough and We Know It

Matthew 22:15-22

Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap Jesus in what he said. So they sent their disciples, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and that you teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and that you show deference to no one, because you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?”

Jesus, aware of their malice, said to them, “Why do you put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.” So they brought him a denarius. He said to them, “Who’s head is this? And who’s title?” They answered him, “The emperor’s.” And he said to them, “Give, therefore, to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and give to God, the things that are God’s.” When they heard this, they were amazed, and they left him and went away.

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I get that the Pharisees and the Herodians were out to “entrap” Jesus. It happens all the time in the Gospels, you may know. Religious leaders and others were always trying to trick Jesus and get him into trouble. They asked him hard questions about marriage and divorce and about which commandment was the greatest. They present him with seemingly impossible situations, like that woman they wanted to stone to death after catching her in adultery. They watch him spend time with tax collectors, sinners, the unclean, the outcasts and outsiders of all kinds, just waiting to pounce and prove him to be the fake and the fraud and the false prophet they believed him to be.

But what he really shows along the way is that all of their questions, tricks and traps, reveal as much about them as they do about Jesus. What I mean is, they already knew what they wanted to hear – and they always thought they knew what Jesus would say or do. They didn’t expect there to actually be a “correct” answer. In fact they knew there wasn’t a single correct answer Jesus could give, which is why they asked their questions or posed their predicaments, like they did, in the first place.

For the Pharisees, for example, the right answer this morning is, “don’t pay the emperor’s tax.” Faithful Jews should be beholden to God’s higher authority, not that of any government. They weren’t really supposed to even handle graven images like the coin they brought to Jesus, let alone use them for the work of the world’s empire in Rome. That’s the answer the Pharisees wanted to hear.

On the other hand, for the Herodians – who were beholden to the politics and politicians of that same Roman empire – the right answer this morning is, “you absolutely should pay your taxes.” As subjects to the powers that be, it is right and lawful to obey and to pay, as the Emperor demands.

So, in the minds of those who confronted Jesus today – according to their plans – in keeping with their respective world views – Jesus was, to put it theologically … screwed. If his answer favored the Pharisees, then the Herodians would be upset. If his answer favored the Herodians, then the Pharisees would have a bone to pick. And they were all there for it … to catch Jesus in a pickle, get him into trouble, add one more strike to use against him when the time came.

And, of course, in this instance, it’s all about money. And, of course, both sides of the fence want more of it for themselves. And, of course, Jesus amazes them with his response because he gives them an answer neither side expected or hoped for or believed could be true. Jesus tells them to do both.

“Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s and give to God the things that are God’s.” And I think the lesson in that response is pretty simple – and something neither side, and too many of us, too much of the time, want to believe: that there’s enough to go around. That there’s enough to do both. That there’s plenty, and we all know it.

It reminds me of a question I’ve been asked a million times – and that I’ve wondered about myself, along the way. The question goes something like this: “When I decide about my offering … when I do the math about my tithe to the church … do I make that decision based on the “net” or the “gross” of my income?” My snarky reply is to say something like, “If your giving is an expression of gratitude – as it is intended to be – for the grace of God and for the forgiveness of your sins – are you grateful and hopeful that God forgives the “gross” of your sins, or just the “net?”

A more faithful and kind and thoughtful – less snarky – response, though, is to say something like Jesus implies … that there’s enough to be more generous than we are inclined, and we all know it, so give accordingly.

There’s an old joke about Lutherans … that the reason we don’t go down to the river to be baptized … the reason we merely sprinkle each other or cross our foreheads with water, rather than fully immerse one another as part of the sacrament … is because we don’t want to get our wallets wet. In other words, the joke is that we want all the blessing and benefits and abundance of God’s grace in our life, we just don’t want to have to respond to that with our money.

But again, Jesus would say, like he reminds us this morning, that there’s enough, and we know it.

There’s another story about the pastor who addressed his congregation during their latest financial stewardship campaign, telling them about all they were trying to accomplish with their ministry. The pastor told his people, “the good news is that, as a congregation, we have all the money – and more – that we need to do what God is calling us to do through our life together. The bad news is, that money is all still folded up in your wallets, and stuffed in your purses, and stored away in your checking and savings accounts.”

Again, as Jesus would say, and as Jesus showed, there is enough. There’s plenty if we’re faithful and honest and generous in the way God has already been so generous with us.

What Jesus is really calling us to today – and every day – is to be clear about where, in whom, and toward what we put our allegiance. And it’s about more than taxes to the powers that be, for sure. We are beholden to the IRS in more ways than some of us wish, but we are to obey the law, and we are to pray and work and vote in ways that move our government to deal with our tax dollars in God-pleasing ways – which can be a sad, frustrating, laughable proposition a lot of the time, as we know.

Which is why I happen to think it’s a gift to have somewhere else to give our money if and when our tax money doesn’t make God smile.

See, I hope you see the money you give to God through the ministry we share in this place as a blessing for the world around us that “the empire” can’t or will not muster. I’m talking about supporting organizations like Zoey’s Place – our Mission Sunday for the month, just as one example – that actually works alongside government organizations to do good work in the world…

… and, I mean building houses in Haiti, a place whose government is so broken and impoverished it can’t do the kind of work Zanmi Fondwa does with our help;

… and, I mean supporting organizations like Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, Lutheran World Relief, and Lutheran Disaster Response, organizations where our offerings do the work of God in ways our tax dollars just don’t;

… and, I mean feeding people who are hungry by way of our food pantry;

… and, I mean, generally creating a safe, welcoming, loving place of grace and good news and generosity and abundance for all people in a world that is full of so much to the contrary;

… and I mean doing our best as a family of faith to educate, encourage and inspire one another about what God’s kingdom can look like when we get it right in that regard.

We are called to give in ways that bless the world – even when, maybe especially when, the world doesn’t return the favor. We are called to give because we can, not because we have to. And we are called to do that through the Church – and in other ways and to other places, too – with the same kind of sacrifice and joy with which God has first given to us. And the truth, good news and holy challenge from Jesus today is that we have been blessed with enough abundance to do all of this, by God’s gracious generosity and in Jesus’ name.

Amen