Matthew 25:14-30
When we moved from Great Bridge last summer, Katheryn
and I had to decide what to do with our house. After considering the
pros and cons of selling it, or keeping it, we decided that at this
point, the prudent course of action would be to keep it. Having made
that decision, we got in touch with Howard Horowitz. Howard is a real
estate agent with the William E. Wood agency, and he specializes in
property management.
After interviewing Howard, discussing the services he could offer and
the fees he would charge, we basically signed our house over to Howard.
Our house, our investment, our property is now in Howard’s hands.
And we have to trust that Howard will be a faithful and responsible
steward of that valuable asset we have put under his care.
There are a couple of things I expect Howard to do while he is in charge
of our house. First of all, we expect Howard to keep our house rented…rented
to tenants who will treat it well…who will respect it and not
abuse it. If Howard doesn’t keep it rented, we can’t pay
the mortgage…so keeping it rented out is critical.
We also expect that Howard will maintain our property. If the hot water
heater goes out, or a window gets broken, or a pipe springs a leak…we
trust that Howard will be on the scene, making sure that it is fixed
and fixed right. We are away. Howard is in charge. We are trusting
that Howard will do right by us with the property we have put into
his care.
It’s not totally unlike the story we have before us. In that
story, the landowner takes what he has and divides it three ways. He
brings in three Howard Horowitzs…and gives each one of them a
share of his property. One gets five talents…a talent is worth
about five year’s wages…so in this case, he gives the property
manager the equivalent of 25 years of wages. That is a pretty large
asset he’s trusting someone to manage. The second guy gets two
talents…about ten years of wages. And the third guy gets just
one talent. Just five years of wages. Not a terribly great sum…but
still, nothing to sneeze at.
It’s a risky thing that landowner does. It’s risky to put
your house in the care of a property manager. You have to trust that
the manager is going to do the right thing. Back then, it was even
riskier than it is today. I can call Howard on his cell phone or send
him an email and ask him questions about how it is going with my house.
But back in that day…once the landowner left town, the managers
were on their own. The fate of the trust was in their hands.
Now, you know the story. The first two guys were savvy businessmen.
They wheeled and dealed. They played the stock market. They bought
bonds. They did what they could to maximize the wealth of the owner…and
they made a pretty good return on his investment.
But that third guy…that guy was a different story. He was afraid.
Now, maybe he had good reason to be afraid. Maybe he wasn’t savvy
about investments and wondered if he would really be able to do anything
with this one talent. Maybe he looked at the prospectus for Independence
Air and thought about buying some stock…and then had second thoughts.
In any case, he was afraid. He was afraid of disappointing the landowner.
He was afraid of taking a risk. He was afraid of stepping out.
Now…sometimes, fear can be a good thing. It’s good to have
a bit of fear when you are about to cross a busy street. Or, when you
are on the platform at the Metro and steer clear of the rails. But
sometimes fear can be harmful. An overabundance of fear can be dangerous
in and of itself.
Back some years ago, a middle-aged woman living in a small southern
town became desperately frightened. She was morbidly afraid that burglars
would break into her home. Maybe she saw too much violence on TV, or
too many local news reports. Maybe there were rumors of break-ins around
town, or maybe a home on her street had been burglarized.
In any case, her fear mushroomed…to the point of paranoia. She
pleaded with her husband until he gave in and, hoping to ease her mind,
agreed to putting heavy bars on all of the windows and doors.
She was still frightened, so she talked her husband into adding additional
strands of steel across the window bars…thus making it almost
impossible for anyone to gain entry into the house. Only now, when
she was virtually sealed off from the outside world, did she feel safer
and more secure.
But, one afternoon, tragedy struck. As she was taking a nap, her house
caught fire. When she awoke, she discovered that she was trapped. Her
husband, the fire department, the police, the neighbors, the rescue
squad… everyone worked frantically to get into the house to get
her out…but to no avail. They could not remove the heavy bars
in time. And, tragically, the woman lost her life. A terrible, terrible
tragedy.
Her fears were so great that they led to her death. Fear can do that.
Fear can lead to death. Fear can lead to inaction. Fear can paralyze.
I think that’s what happened to the third guy with the one talent.
He was so afraid of making a mistake, so afraid that he would slip
up and make a bad investment, that he was paralyzed. He couldn’t
act. He took what the master had given to him…and he buried it.
He took the master’s blessing. He took the gift he had been given.
He took what had been entrusted to him…and he dug a hole out
in the back yard. And he put his gift into it. And he covered it up.
And he probably sat there, in fear, anxiously watching, unable to do
anything more. Paralyzed by fear.
I think that one of the things Jesus is saying in this little story
is that fear…paralyzing fear that leads to inaction…has
no place in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is where one can
live boldly. The Kingdom of God is where you and I can live fearlessly.
The Kingdom of God calls for disciples to take risks.
Naturally, we aren’t talking about foolish, dangerous risks.
I did a Google search for the words “risk taking” the other
day and came up with a list of sites about risky sexual behavior, the
risks that lead to heart attacks and cancer, the risks of unsafe driving,
and other similar kinds of risky behaviors.
We aren’t talking about those kinds of risks here. When I say
that the Kingdom of God is a place where disciples are called to take
risks, I mean risks on behalf of the Kingdom. Risks on behalf of grace.
Risks in which we use the gifts we have been given to bring grace and
justice and peace more fully into the world.
That is the kind of risk Jesus took. He risked it all…in order
to bring grace and life into the world. There he is on the way to Jerusalem…on
the way to the cross…on the way taking a risk for his mission….when
he tells this story. “I’m getting ready to go away. I’m
taking a risk here…I’m going to risk putting my ministry
into your hands, disciples. What are you going to do with it? Are you
going to be up to the task? Will you be willing to risk what I am giving
you so that it may continue to have an impact on the world?”
Two of the guys risked and succeed. One guy was paralyzed by fear…and
nothing happened.
Where are you…where am I…in this story?
Listen to how Eugene Peterson tells this story in his Bible paraphrase, “The
Message.” The master has just returned and the three property
managers are giving their reports. It is time for the third guy and
he says: “Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless
ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I
WAS AFRAID I MIGHT DISAPPOINT you, so I found a good hiding place and
secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.”
The master was furious. “That’s a terrible way to live.
It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was
after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could
have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where
at least I would have gotten a little interest.” He goes on to
call the guy a “play it safe” who won’t
go out on a limb.
Paul Tillich, the great theologian, said, “He who risks and fails
can be forgiven. He who never risks is a failure with his whole being.”
I think that master would have been more pleased had that third guy
taken a risk and done something creative with his gift…even if
he lost some or all of it. Instead, the master was angry because the
one who had received the gift took no risk, but lived in fear…and
did nothing.
Can you hear the call of the Christ??? “Don’t be paralyzed
by fear. Take a risk, go out on a limb, for the sake of the Kingdom
of God, for the sake of grace, for the sake of justice and righteousness.”
One of the most powerful examples of risk taking I have ever heard
of comes out of the Vietnam War. We all know of the My Lai Massacre.
It was a low point of the war, a low point of American history…when
American soldiers engaged in killing innocent, civilian villagers…women,
children, elderly…
You know that story. You may or may not know the story of Warrant Officer
Hugh Thompson and the risk he took to cut short that tragedy at My
Lai. Just a couple of years ago, Chief Thompson was presented the Soldier’s
Medal. His award citation says: For heroism above and beyond the call
of duty on 16 March 1968, while saving the lives of at least 10 Vietnamese
civilians during the unlawful massacre of noncombatants by American
forces at My Lai, Quang Ngai province, South Vietnam. Warrant Officer
Thompson landed his helicopter in the line of fire between fleeing
Vietnamese civilians and pursuing American ground troops to prevent
their murder. He then personally confronted the leader of the American
ground troops and was prepared to open fire on those American troops
should they fire upon the civilians. Warrant Officer Thompson, at the
risk of his own personal safety, went forward of the American lines
and coaxed the Vietnamese civilians out of the bunker to enable their
evacuation. Leaving the area after requesting and overseeing the civilian’s
air evacuation, his crew spotted movement in a ditch filled with bodies
south of My Lai Four. Warrant Officer Thompson again landed his helicopter
and covered his crew as they retrieved a wounded child from the ditch.
He then flew the child to a hospital. His radio reports of the massacre
resulted in an order for cease fire and an end to the killing of innocent
civilians. WO Thompson’s heroism exemplifies the highest standards
of personal courage and ethical conduct, reflecting distinct credit
on him and the United States Army.
Hugh Thompson wasn’t paralyzed by fear…but took a risk…and
saved lives…and ended a tragic chapter of the Vietnam War.
I think that is the kind of risk taking Jesus would envision. Risk
taking that uses our gifts, our positions, our abilities…in the
cause of what is right, in the spread of grace, in the support of the
Kingdom of God.
I make one final observation. And that is simply…the guy with
one talent matters. One talent people…men, women, children…one
talent folks matter to Jesus.
When you come down to it, lots of us are one talent people. We don’t
have the skills of a professional athlete or musician or Nobel award
recipient. We don’t have the money of Bill Gates. We don’t
have the fame of Oprah Winfrey. We might see ourselves more like the
one talent guy than the five talent guy in the story. And it might
be tempting sometimes to say, “I’ve got this one talent.
I better preserve it. I better hide it. I’m afraid…afraid
that I might lose it.” Don’t give in to that fear. Don’t
give into that temptation.
In the economy of the Kingdom of God, in the plan of Jesus Christ,
the one talent man or woman is just as important as the five talent
person. The one talent guy can contribute. The one talent disciple
matters. That one talent can make a difference.
Three property managers were entrusted with the talents…the assets
of their master. Two took risks and their talents grew. One was paralyzed
by fear. It’s a parable about the Kingdom of God. An unusual
Kingdom, to say the least. It’s a Kingdom where disciples are
expected to use what we’ve been given. It’s a place where
we are called to take risks on behalf of Christ. It’s a Kingdom
where one talent is as important to God as ten talents.
Take a risk…don’t be paralyzed by fear…
And live to your fullest for the Kingdom of God.