“Well Done, Good and
Faithful Servant”
Rev. Alison
Longstaff, Oct. 12th, 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 29th, 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.
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.
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.
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.’”
