"Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant" - a sermon

 “Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant”

Rev. Alison Longstaff, Oct. 12^th, 2014

Bath Church of the New Jerusalem

Psalm 19: 7-14; Matt 25:14-30

You are watching a movie.  The hero is a teenage boy, pretty cool, fairly respected, fairly together.  And he comes upon a scene where a younger kid is getting beaten up by some gang members.  The gang has the kid down on the ground and are kicking him.  Our hero looks around but there’s nobody to call for help.  He realizes that if anybody is going to help this kid, it’s got to be him. 

He hesitates.  He knows about this gang.  They have put more than one kid in the hospital.  He knows that if he steps up to defend this one, he will become their next target.  And he’s on his way to a sports practice, and has a big test the next day, and a date to the prom on the weekend.  He doesn't have time to get beat up.  He teeters on the edge of decision.

I’ll warn you, this isn't a Disney movie.  There won’t be some magical solution, and there might not even be a happy ending.  This movie is like real life.  Our hero, who we really like, could end up badly hurt—internal injuries, stab wounds—he could even die.

 

And, as this is a fairly modern movie, I’ll let you choose the ending.

Ending one:  the boy risks his life, his plans, his prom—everything—and steps up, drawing the attention and wrath of the bullies toward him so the younger kid can escape.  And he gets seriously thrashed.  He is punched and kneed, and once he’s down, he’s kicked repeatedly in the face and head.  Yes, the younger kid manages to get away.  But our hero—our hero wakes up a few days later in the hospital in major pain.  He’s missed the big test, he’s missed the sports practice, and he’s going to be missing the prom.  In fact, he’s going to miss the next eighteen months at least, as he’s got a crushed kneecap, a bruised kidney, a cracked vertebrae in his neck with some spinal damage, some missing teeth, a broken nose and a possible brain injury.  He can’t eat real food for a while as his jaw is wired shut.

 

But he is alive.  And he’s a hero.  We see him being tearfully thanked by the boy’s parents.  The gang leaders are finally rounded up and will not harm anyone again for a long time. 

 

And . . . his sports team wins the regional trophy without him, he misses graduating with his class, and his prom date attends with another guy.    Our hero is lucky that the brain damage was minimal, but he’s looking at several years of rehab before life is back to normal.  The boy who escaped has cracked ribs and a bloody nose, but is alive and doing well.  We leave our hero in the hospital bed, bandaged and in pain, looking out the window.

Ending two:  The “hero” walks away, pretending he didn't see.  He gets to a phone (this is before cell phones) and he calls the police to report the incident anonymously.  Then he heads off to his sports practice.  The next day he goes to school and takes his test.  When he gets out, the halls are abuzz with the news:  a boy from the sixth grade died that morning.  He’d been beaten so badly that the doctors weren't able to save him.

 

Our “hero” goes on to win the regional trophy with his team, takes his girl to the prom, and graduates with his class.

But he will be haunted forever by the face of the boy who died, and will feel uneasy for the rest of his life about his choice.

What would you choose in his place?  I don't know what I would choose.

But I do know that one of the best bits of advice I ever heard was, “When you have a decision to make, ask yourself, ‘When I’m on my death-bed looking back, which choice will make me feel the best’?”

Now honestly, I've never had to make a choice like this.  Generally our choices are on a more mundane scale.  I may look back from my death bed and think, “I am so glad I spent the money and visited my friend in Holland, even though I was a bit short for several months after that.  The memories are so worth it!”  Or, “I am glad I chose to let the house-cleaning go this week and chose instead to visit that lonely woman.”   These are not life and death, physically, but they do affect the quality of our lives spiritually.

And that is why I suspect that if our hero had stopped to ask himself which choice he would feel proud of on his death-bed, he would have chosen the first ending.  He would choose to step in front of the bullies to save the younger boy—because by doing so, he gains his own soul; because by doing so, he can look himself in the mirror, and feel no shame or doubt.  His body might become fractured and damaged, but his spirit will have grown in integrity and wisdom.

And that is the deep, underlying message of our parable.

Yes, it is about “talents.”  It is about God giving us gifts that we are to use in service to others.  But it is bigger than that.  It is deeper and richer and much more broadly applicable.

It is about choosing love over fear.  It is about choosing courage over comfort.  It is about choosing spiritual health over spiritual hiding.  It is about taking a risk in aid of another.  This parable is asking us to stretch our awareness and stretch our compassion to cover more ground, no matter where we are on the spiritual journey.  This is the “use it or lose it,” parable.  When we don’t use the life and opportunities and strengths that God gives us, we lose them, just the same way muscle atrophies if it is not exercised.

On the face of it, this isn't a very nice parable.  It seems as though Jesus is saying that it is right if the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.  It even seems to be promoting money-lending with high interest rates. 

But, like a lot of the rest of God’s Word, this is actually an incredibly compacted bundle of wisdom.  And like a lot of the rest of God’s Word it contains a metaphor for the way spiritual life works.

It is saying, if we show up in life and do our best, we will be spiritually enriched.  If we withdraw and hide and make excuses because we are afraid, we are going to “lose our soul,” which means we will lose self-respect.  We will also lose some courage and some strength.  It will be a bit harder to choose well next time.

This parable also tells us that it is fear that stops us from living the life we have been given.  What does the third servant say?  “I knew you were a hard man so I was afraid.  I went and hid my talent.”

He blames God for his cowardice (“I knew you were a hard man”), but then comes the real truth.  “I was afraid.”

It is scary to do the work of spiritual growth.  It takes courage to look into our dark places and admit to the times we have buried our talent—the times and ways we have chosen inactivity in the face of need, because we feared for our own discomfort.  It is rarely (ever?) life-or-death.  We fear making mistakes in front of people, or getting our feelings hurt, or not knowing what to say. But those things don’t kill us.  They are just uncomfortable.  In fact, it can be a little ridiculous how much energy we can put into avoiding something emotionally uncomfortable, as if it really would kill us, rather than be, well, emotionally uncomfortable.  It is rather silly when you think about it.

But also, this parable is not saying that God will punish us when we don’t step fully into using our gifts.  Instead, it is describing a spiritual law—a kind of cause-and-effect.  The law is this: if we do the spiritual work to which we are called, we will enter into joy—actual, vibrant joy and peace.  Life becomes WAY more fun.  (It is a myth that angels don’t have fun.  They experience pure, unmitigated joy.  Belly laughs.  Utter delight!) “Come and enter into your master's joy!”

But if we don’t—if we hide, or look away, and let fear of some unknown, possibly uncomfortable outcome run our lives and choices—we will experience a diminished life.  We will have less of a sense of personal integrity or self-respect.  We will have lost the opportunity to see how good it can feel to serve, and the confidence that comes with it.  We will be behaving “faithlessly” which means we will be acting as if we don’t trust God to bring a good spiritual outcome.   Choosing fear, avoidance, and hiding will result in a more limited, less vibrant, and far less enriched quality of life.  It is a choice for smallness and for “can’t”.  It is not a choice for trusting God. 

In the parable, when God commands that the “faithless servant” be cast into outer darkness, this is a description of the spiritual cause-and-effect we invite when we choose fear.

The truth is, a lot of the time we are already in outer darkness.  We are born fearful and ignorant. It is not our fault.  We start out primarily unconscious of our feelings and motivations; we are primarily reactive rather than mindful, outraged rather than humble, judging rather than compassionate, wounded rather than forgiving. 

Our fault is not that we start out this way, but it is a problem if we choose remaining in ignorance when we could be doing the work of understanding. Our fault lies in being content passing judgment rather than extending the forgiveness we would wish to receive.  Our fault lies in not stepping out in courage to extend forgiveness and go the extra mile.  We even blame God, and hide behind the excuse that God might judge us for not being perfect, and somehow that justifies not trying at all.

“And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  (Harsh!)

But let’s be honest.  Life in community, yes, especially in church community sometimes includes weeping and gnashing of teeth.  The work itself is hard, but the work isn't the problem.  It is the interpersonal resentments, miscommunications, and misunderstandings that make it hard.

We seriously mean well, we want to get along, we want our church to succeed, but there we are, weeping; or gnashing our teeth over the one who is weeping; or gnashing our teeth over the one who made him or her weep….  This is life in community.  But when the conflict is going on, it can sometimes feel like outer darkness.

On the other hand, the working together, the job well done, the relationship building, the inside jokes, and the consequent deep affection for each other brings deep contentment and satisfaction.  When we get past the disagreements and disappointments and look at what has been accomplished, there can come a glowing sense of integrity and pride.

When we take the gold we are given (love), and put it to service in the world, it grows and expands. When we hide it, it becomes nothing.  That is what today's parable is saying.  And so, in our lives, our families, our church, and our community, let us take risks for love.  

We all want joy, don’t we?  So let us forgive radically. Let us own our own foibles, and make amends when we can.  We who want joy in our lives will step out of our comfort zones to serve and show kindness.  We will make choices that we will be proud of later.  And we will have as much fun as we can loving each other along the way.

Then we will hear as we each look back over our lives:

 Well done, good and faithful servant!  Come and enter into your master's joy!'

Amen

Originally preached March 29^th, 2009, Fryeburg New Church, Maine

  

The Readings:

Heavenly Secrets 543. Certain spirits wished to understand heavenly joy. And so they were allowed to feel their own deepest joy, even to the point where they could not even bear it.  And this joy didn't even approach angelic joy. It barely resembled the slightest of angelic joys. They were allowed to perceive this through the communication of their joy. Their own joy was so meager that it seemed quite tepid, yet they called it most heavenly since it was the deepest joy they knew. From this it became clear not only that there are degrees of joy but also that the deepest level of one degree comes scarcely anywhere near the moderate or even the shallowest level of the next. It was also clear that when we experience our deepest joy, this for us is heavenly joy. Nor can we tolerate anything deeper in that moment, as it would be so marvelous as to be painful.

Psalm 19: 7-14 (NIV)

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.

They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.
By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
But who can discern their own errors?  Forgive my hidden faults.
Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
    be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Matt 25:14-30

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.  To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.  The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more.  So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more.  But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.  So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?  Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

“‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags.  For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”