Paralyzed by Fear Matthew 25:14-30 Rev. Matt Nieman November 19, 2017

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1 Paralyzed by Fear Matthew 25:14-30 Rev. Matt Nieman November 19, 2017 There are a number of ways that we can give during the Thanksgiving and upcoming Advent seasons. Just through our church alone, there is no shortage of ways in which our resources can be put to good use. Scan the bulletin today and you ll see opportunities to support Sunset Gap and the Coalition for Appalachian Ministry. And, of course, we give you other opportunities throughout the year through special offerings for special causes, in addition to our regular giving that supports the operational budget of the church (including outreach giving) each year. All of us fall victim periodically to being skeptical of those who receive our gifts. We really wonder if the money we give the needy will really meet their needs or if the recipients will use our support in ways we deem unwise. If we see somebody on a street corner holding up a cardboard sign that says, Please help, we tend to think that the only assistance it will provide that person is to get their latest alcohol or cigarette fix. Or we think that most of those people aren t really in need; they re just part of a network of people who panhandle and pool their money as part of an ingenious, deceptive enterprise. This may be true in many cases; it may not be true in others. It is true, however, that we have a tendency to demonize poor people in general blaming the poor for their own circumstances that would cause them to rely on the generosity of others. While in some cases a person s poor decision or series of decisions has landed them in the spots they are in, this is far from always the case. As we read the parable of the talents today, we are tempted to think that Jesus is falling into this trap as well. When we think of a talent, the word has multiple meanings. It was originally used to describe a unit of weight (about 75 pounds). Then, it became known as an amount of money (in this case, each talent was worth about two or three years wages).

2 This is the meaning of a talent in this story today. Three servants are given talents. The first two invest theirs and double their money; but the one who was given just one hid his talent and presented that one talent back to the owner. And he s met with anger and disgust for not doing what the others had done investing it and making more money. The words of Jesus in verses 28 and 29 make us wonder if he s truly on the side of the poor or on the side of the wealthy. So take the talent from him, the landowner says of the one who put his talent in the ground, 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. Jesus seems to side with the rich here, with those who make more with what they ve been given. And to the ones who have nothing and settle for nothing even that will be taken away. This really seems to contradict what Jesus has said elsewhere in the gospels. He always seems to be on the side of the poor and blasting the rich for not taking care of the poor. I m not sure, though, that this is really a story about rich versus poor. And I m really not even sure it s primarily a story about money. We all know the third definition of a talent. It s a gift or a skill. We all have them even at times when we think we missed out on their distribution. And when we hear this story of a master dispensing talents, we have to think of the dual nature of the word both the financial resources we have and the gifts and skills we have been given. The master chides the servant with one talent for not doing anything with his talent. Is it really because he thinks this poorer of the three servants hasn t worked hard enough to make more money and become richer? Or does he chide the servant because of his fear? When he s confronted by the master and given the opportunity to justify his actions, the servant who dug a hole and hid his master s money said he hid the money in the ground because he was afraid afraid of losing what he had initially been given. The other two servants didn t seem to have that fear they went off and used the talents they were given to get more talents. Yet this last

3 servant almost couldn t function when he was handed the talent for he was so paralyzed by fear. Maybe this was the point Jesus was trying to make with this parable: we have been given so much that we should not sit back in fear but should risk our money, our skills, and our abilities in putting them to good use for the kingdom of God. Being fearful does not mean that some of our fears aren t justified. When we witness some of the rather tragic events that have occurred recently or observed the deplorable behavior by some in our public life, we have every reason to be scared for the world and its future. And yet, we need not be paralyzed by these fears so that we aren t living our lives for good. Over the last several weeks, we ve seen in the news almost every day a new allegation of sexual misconduct by a politician or entertainer. It seems to have started with the allegations that the Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein committed a series of rather despicable acts against many different women. That seems to have opened the flood gates for other victims to publicly come forward with their own accusations against well-known actors, comedians, and members or wanna-be members of Congress. And it s natural for us, as we see a new accusation almost daily now, to lament the moral decline of our world, to think the world has come apart at the seams and that we re doomed. I don t think so, though; in contrast, I think the world is much better off today in regard to the issue of sexual harassment and assault then it was a month ago. That s because some very courageous women decided to go public with their stories. And because they ve done so, they ve helped make the world safer for other women (and men, too) who might ve been victims in the future but who now may not be because would-be abusers will now think twice before they behave in such a way. And these women have also validated the complaints of many other people who over the years have seen their allegations go unheard or disregarded. In speaking out, these victims were paralyzed by fear no longer (and who can blame them, by the way, for being paralyzed by fear for so long

4 when your abuser is in a position of power and authority over you or your career). With great courage, they took the talent they were given and at great personal risk put it to good use on behalf of thousands of others who now may not have to endure what they ve endured. The easiest thing to do (and sometimes the smartest thing) is to take what we have time, talent, and treasure and play it safe, to do little or nothing. And yet in this story, Jesus seems to call us to smart risk-taking. And it s only in this kind of risk-taking that the kingdom of God (however we define that) is going to be fulfilled. It s always good to assess our talents how many of them we have and how varied they are and consider how it is that we are employing them for the sake of the greater good. Unfortunately, we tend to do much of our talents assessment only when we are younger thinking they will help us find our passions for careers and hobbies. As long as we have breath, though, this calling to put them to use will be upon us. They might only be able to be employed in lessening degrees or for shorter amounts of time as we get older; but they remain inside us nonetheless, ready to be employed at God s urging. Our motivation for being smart risk-takers with our talents should come, as it always seems to in our tradition, as our response to God s elaborate blessing of love and care. It is constant and permanent. In the parable of the talents, we don t get this same kind of impression about the slave master. There s not a quiet reassurance on the part of the third servant that the master is going to take care of him regardless of what he does with that talent. This is where we should avoid the common treatment of parables as being a one-for-one exchange: the master in the story is God, and the servants in the story are us. No, this master is not like our master in the sense that God is waiting to punish or disavow us when we don t produce. Our God loves us always, emboldening us to put our talents to use if only we might overcome our fears. William Sloane Coffin once wrote these words about fear: "Fear distorts truth, not by exaggerating the ills of the world... but by underestimating our ability to deal with those ills.

5 With our gifts, skills, and treasure, we can help resolve the ills of the world. The abundant grace and mercy of God makes it worth the risk.