25th Sunday after Pentecost

When we were kids my sisters and I used to pretend that we had our parents’ lectures numbered. So, for example, when my mom would start going on about how when she was a kid a Milky Way was a nickel, and a Pepsi was ten cents we would call out “Number 35!” or some other random number. It was our way of saying, “Yes, mother.  We’ve heard this before”.

I think we should institute a similar practice here. Anke and I both have themes to which we return on occasion, and it would be handy for you to know what’s coming up, and it would save a lot of time, as well. Because instead of carefully going through the argument or theory or whatever, we can just come up with a corresponding number. Now I realize that I’m springing this on you at the last minute, so in order to spare any confusion and so that we don’t have to have a whole bunch of people trying to agree on which number to assign to what, I’ll just go ahead and assign this one the number “12”. That way, in the future, when this whole subject comes up again I’ll just have to hold up a sign that says “12”, you can consult your reference sheet, and we’ll all know what I’m talking about. But since you don’t yet have that reference sheet available to you, I’ll go ahead and explain 12 to you.

I have talked previously about the appropriate way to read the parables of Jesus. One of the things that I come back to again and again is the fact that a parable is just that: It is a parable. And what are the characteristics of a parable? It’s a story that’s designed to express a particular thought or idea. It’s intentionally ambiguous, which is what draws us into the parable. In light of these first two characteristics, a third characteristic is that a parable, therefore, is not an allegory. Because an allegory can communicate multiple messages. And an allegory has direct parallels to our experiences, so that one character represents us, for example, and another character represents God, and still another represents Jesus, maybe.

So, if we’re not supposed to treat the parables in this way, why do we insist upon doing so? Well as I said, parables are intentionally ambiguous. But we often don’t like ambiguity. We like things to be concise, simple, and clear. And by turning a parable into an allegory we are also making the story easier to manipulate and therefore easier to interpret in a way that’s more favorable to ourselves.

Today’s gospel is yet another reason to get out of the habit of seeing all of Jesus' parables as allegories. Take a hard look at the behavior of the master: he's an absentee landlord who doesn't do any work himself, but lives off the labor of his slaves. Look at the behavior this master wants from his slaves: the profit-making that the master demands would, by necessity, come at the expense of other more honest people; it would be seen as greedy and grasping rather than smart or virtuous. The master tells the slave whom he treats most harshly that the punishment is specifically for refusing to break God's commandment against charging or receiving interest (Exodus 22:25-27), a practice consistently condemned in both the Hebrew bible and the New Testament.

And the Greek word for "talent" very specifically means a unit of money; It has no relationship whatsoever to the word for an ability. So, this is NOT a parable about us being the best we can be, no matter how much our culture of achievement wants to twist it into that. There are versions of that message that can be helpful, but it just isn't what the parable is about.

So, what's the message of the story, if it isn't about us using the abilities God gave us? Jesus tells us explicitly in verse 29: "to all who have, more will be given, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away." In other words, "the rich get richer, and the destitute lose everything." This is a parable about the nature of the world: The world at its worst, where those who participate in the abusive, exploitative ways of the world live not only off the fat of the land but do so on the backs of those who are powerless.

Is the behavior of the master in the parable something that God would commend let alone imitate? Is this the kind of behavior that Jesus expects of God's people? Well, of course not. If you've got any doubts about that, read what comes immediately after this story. It’s no accident that what immediately follows this story is the prophesy of the sheep and the goats: a prophecy which tells us that when the Son of Man comes, judgment will not be on the basis of how much money we made, or for that matter on how religious we were or whether we said a "sinner's prayer". Judgment will be based on whether we saw that the least of our sisters and brothers in the human family, whether in or out of prison, had food, clothing, and health care.

“41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You who are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’” (Matthew 25:41-45) We serve Jesus himself to the extent that we do these things, and we neglect Jesus himself to the extent that we don't.

In short, the message of this Sunday's gospel is not "make the most of the talents you've got". Its message is much closer to "care for those whom the world would leave destitute." Reading the parable in the context in which it appears in Matthew tells us how Jesus finishes that thought: We shouldn't be like the master in the parable because the world in which people like that come out on top is passing away. Jesus will bring his work in the world to completion; God's kingdom will come, and God's will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven, as Jesus taught us to pray. Jesus' parable is telling us that we should line ourselves up to ride the wave of God’s love and justice, which is coming into the world. It's coming – Bank on that, and not on what our culture says is most profitable!

The question for us is whether we can really believe that. Can we trust in that enough to risk living as Jesus taught us, rather than according to the demands of those who try to set themselves up in Jesus' place as our lord, those who try to enslave us to worldly standard those who tell us that our security lies in acquiring resources for ourselves and striking out at our enemies.

Well, you know what?  We can. We can because it's Jesus who told us this, and Jesus is absolutely trustworthy. And as we inch toward Advent, I want to encourage you to look for the signs that Jesus was right. I want you to look for the signs in the world that the Spirit Jesus sent is living and moving and active in the world, calling us, the church, to accomplish Jesus' work among us.

They're out there: small and large signs. I remember when the Berlin Wall came down. That was big. People were dancing in the street; People danced on the Wall itself as it came down, taking graffiti-covered pieces home to remember the moment. It was big -- the moment of a lifetime.

We even have our own little moment going on right here. This is where I’ve seen Jesus at work: right here. A couple of weeks ago during coffee hour, one of the people I was sitting with, someone who’s been a member here for quite some time, looked around the room. And with a smile on her face, she said to me, “There are so many faces here I don’t recognize. That’s wonderful!” OK. It’s not the fall of the Berlin wall. But it is a sign of God’s action in this world. And it’s a positive development for this community. And I don’t mean just the community of Calvary Lutheran Church, but the community around us. There’s a new spirit of excitement here, and a growing desire to engage in public ministry that makes a difference in the lives of other people. We have shaken off the last vestiges of our pandemic-induced anxiety, and we are stepping out boldly to do what Jesus calls us to do. “…for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’” (Matthew 25:35-36)

That's what Jesus has the power to do among us. Thanks be to God!

AMEN