SCRIPTURE: Matthew 25:14-30
TEXT: 30As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. THEME: The Kingdom of Heaven planting good, in a world perceived as darkness by Evil. INTRODUCTION This parable comes as the second installment of a triptych, three stories, about the Kingdom of Heaven. The first parable was on how the Kingdom of Heaven is like bridesmaids waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom. The message is for us to live as citizens of the kingdom of Heaven every day, all of the time. Living in the Kingdom of Heaven as our normal way of life. Today’s parable is trickier because our knee jerk reaction is to work harder to make more money. A common value that we all share, but this is not what the parable is about and, as an added twist, the God figure in this passage is not the Master. SCRIPTURE So, to move us away from our usual way of viewing this passage, we are going to make some observations about the Master. First the master calls us slaves and not children of God. We have no value other than what we can do for the Master. The talents that are being distributed are monetary. One talent is about 15 years of a base salary. They are not the gifts of the Spirit, which are used to build up of the body of Christ. The Master’s goals have nothing to do with the Kingdom Heaven and are all about his personal prosperity. The slaves have financial talent and were entrusted with amounts that matched their abilities. This is an exploitive economic system designed to enrich a few and impoverish the rest. It is like farming but not being able to eat the fruits from the trees. God usually entrusts us, with way more than we think we are capable of handling, for the building and enriching of the community of God. When we meet our limits of talent, ability and strength God empowers us with the gifts of the Spirit to accomplish God’s designs. This is not the case here as the goal is strictly about money. Two out of the three slave do really well with the Master’s investment, but the third slave refuses to participate in the system of economic depravity and buries the entrusted talent so it would not be lost but more importantly, wouldn’t even collect any interest. A subversive, protest against enslavement, usury, and one person’s personal wealth over the good of the many. There isn’t even that much of a reward, ‘enter into the joy of your master’, more money for the master at the expense of others. The Master berates our hero, admits that he uses anger and fear to manipulate, is a thief or con artist reaping where he has not sown and gathering where he hasn’t scattered seed. Then the Master professes a prosperity gospel to those who have, more will be given and to those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away; health insurance, social security, peace of mind, freedom, their health and separation from their children. The Master throws the worthless slave into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The Master is the personification of Evil, calling those who won’t do his bidding wicked, lazy and worthless. God creates us in God’s own image. God proclaims the world as good, not darkness. God takes on the flesh and blood of our good humanity in Jesus and comes to love us, contrary to the Master’s portrayal of the world, the world is good not dark and there is joy beyond the misery that the Master creates. APPLICATION The kingdom of Heaven is supplanting an oppressive economic culture. What does being made in the image of God incite us to do against an oppressive system? Our world may not be as we hoped for. God promises love and ways that are just. Created in the image of God, what is love motivating us to do? Slavery is found in the Bible but that doesn’t mean that slavery is an acceptable way to treat human beings. This passage may have been used to support slavery until we turn the characters around and see the master not as God but an oppressor of Christ. The unequal treatment of people, in whatever form is wrong. Our sensibilities are challenged to think about practices in new ways and wrestle with what we thought was true, for a new revelation. The kingdom of Heaven is like planting seeds of subversion, against the unjust treatment of God’s children. Jesus comes into our world to reveal God’s love for us. To show us how to live in relationship with God. We are rounding the corner to Advent, the season which prepares our hearts to celebrate Jesus’ birth into our world. Jesus plants seeds of Love over fear, Jesus plants seeds of our identity as Children of God and not slaves, Jesus plants seeds of our worth, that we are made in the Image of God and are not worthless, Relationships and the building of loving communities are more important than money, Coming to God, everyone has joy over the appeasement of a harsh dictator who could make our lives miserable at any whim or fancy. Jesus constantly planted seeds of the Kingdom of Heaven in speaking out for the just treatment of all. like speaking out against slavery, speaking out about the unequal treatment of blacks by Law Enforcement Officers. That all of our lives matter when it comes to a pandemic, and how simple practices like staying at home, wearing a mask when out and about, and staying 6 feet apart, plant seeds of the Kingdom of Heaven caring for the stranger, our family and ourselves. Jesus’ come to us with seeds from the Kingdom of Heaven that says, “We are good.” Jesus comes with liberating acts of justice and love, because we are valuable, worth full, loved, and precious. CONCLUSION The Kingdom of Heaven is like planting seeds of Heaven in a world where Evil is trying to create darkness. Sometimes it is the subversive act of resistance, refusing to participate and perpetuate exploitive practices. There are many Masters in our world that speak smack to us. Don’t succumb to their labels of who they think we are. Instead speak out about the injustices we see, lead a change of perspective, and a rally cry for God. In the Kingdom of Heaven, we are worthy of God’s very best. Jesus reveals the love of God to a world duped by materialism and shows us, how Heaven’s Reign can be lived in our world.
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