"The human Masters of this world are the ones who cast people into the darkness, not God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." The Reverend John Smith ~ CookingFood.Org

Taking Risks

I started to prepare this sermon and forgot that this Sunday a number of us from St. Alban will be vanning to Guatemala City for the consecration of our new bishop Co-adjutor, Sylvestre Romero. Since I’ve been thinking about the texts all week, I thought I would share some thoughts with you that I hope will be helpful.

On this second to last Sunday of the church year we continue in apocalyptic literature which asks the question: What will the End be like? The first thing to keep in mind is that there is a long evolution of thought from what the Hebrew prophets thought the End would be like, through St. Paul and other New Testament letters, and the Gospel teaching of Jesus himself. For example, today’s Zephaniah reading:

The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter, the warrior cries aloud there. That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness . . .

St. Paul stands in that same prophetic tradition, but tempers his thought with hope, especially for the believer.

But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness.

In other words, the Day of the Lord will come, but believers don’t need to fear it. The believers live in the light not in darkness.

The Gospel today from Matthew 25, the Parable of the Talents, speaks in terms of a Day of Reckoning. A Master gives each of his servants an amount of money (Talent); one servant is given 5 talents, a second is given 2 talents, and a third is given one talent. The Master leaves on a journey saying “Boys let’s double up those talents.” The first two servants take some risks and do double up the Master’s money. The third servant buries his talent, afraid to take any risk, so he will be able to give the loan amount back.

When the Master returns he calls for an accounting. He is very pleased with the action of the first two servants and the increase of his investment. When the third servant gives back the one talent he was given, the Master is very angry and disappointed. He has harsh words for the third servant who played it “safe” and did nothing with the Talent he was given.

As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

As in the other parables, we can’t just say that the Master in the story is the Lord. Jesus is telling a very common, very human story that people of his day would understand. There’s always been ways to invest and ways to play it safe and take no risk. What we do depends on how we think of the Master. The third servant tells him why he took no risk:

Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground.

Ok, what can be our take away from these readings and the Gospel?

-How we think about God, either as a harsh or merciful judge will affect how we take risks and act toward others and serve them; If we believe God is gracious, merciful, and loving, we can take great risks. The greatest risk is shaping your life around what Jesus revealed about his Father: God is merciful, forgiving, and a God of peace without a drop of vengeance or violence. Acting on this belief is very risky, don’t you think?

-If we think God is going to be a harsh judge, counting each sin and mistake, we, or others make, then it’s every person for him or herself. Use any power you can muster to protect yourself against those who might take from you or harm you. The “weeping and gnashing of teeth” will notbe the result of God’s action, but the result of the actions of other humans. God allows human beings to suffer the consequences of their own violence. The human Masters of this world are the ones who cast people into the darkness, not God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I hope these thoughts will be helpful to you. There is a sense of urgency communicated by these apocalyptic texts. It’s time to risk it all.

Amen!

John+

St. Alban

Saint Alban Episcopal Mission (English, Anglican Communion) meets for mass every Sunday at 10:00 A.M. (see welcome letter at sidebar) at Casa Convento Concepcion, 4a Calle Oriente No. 41, Antigua, Guatemala.