Fear of Talents - Matthew 25 - Proper 28A

Fear of Talents

Tony E Hansen

Sermon based upon Matthew 25:14-30; Psalm 90; Zephaniah 1: 7,12-18

Opening Prayer

This week has been an emotional roller coaster for me. I was coming off a busy weekend with Iowa Code Camp and our wedding parable from last week.  Even with that, I was feeling good. I get unpleasant news from the doc, and Microsoft decides to break many services. Life has a way of reminding us that things can shift quickly and unexpectedly.

This week, we encounter the parable of the talents. Each are given an amount with no specific direction, and each are entrusted an enormous amount of money. Two of them take a risk and manage to double their holdings. The third digs a hole and simply buries it.

The third gets tossed out for not doing anything with it. This is a bit difficult for us to hear when stacked next to the other parts of the gospels. Yet, it is fully in line with what Jesus teaches about fully living in God’s kingdom.

This has a lot to say about how we view God and what God will do for us and what we might be afraid. What does a well lived life look like?

When we look at this master returning and see the results ,  I can imagine that the person with one talent - watching the two who doubled their share- perhaps think to themselves, “I didn’t take risk, and I squandered something.” 

We do that in life more than we would like to admit.  When we have a marriage, a friendship or a good relationship, how do we treat that? How do we make the most of it? How do we honor what we have and allow that to grow. 

When politicians are entrusted with the offices they hold, how do they make the most of it and for whom?  For us in ministry, what do we do to make ministry truly matter and for whom? In any of our positions, are we good stewards of the responsibility in our hands or are we just playing it safe? 

Remember, what we noted last week that we know “neither the day nor the hour.”

We have to ask ourselves, Are we “afraid” to do the right things and just making excuses to avoid them? For whom are we afraid and is that fear really serving us?

Notice that the third buried the talent in the ground away from light. This was done out of fear - not necessarily malice. There was fear of judgment, vulnerability, fear of exposure and risk. This may be justified because fear is a natural response to protect ourselves. 

There is some self-preservation and self-protection in fear as I said.  The catch, however, is that fear often tricks us into something cramped, secret or half-lived existence. In trying to protect ourselves, we then, end up losing the very things that we genuinely value. 

As a queer person, I see this a lot and wonder about the countless number of people hiding in plain sight - people who feel they cannot be honest with themselves or the world. This living carries a heavy cost. There is a cost to themselves, their souls, as well as to people around them. What are we valuing so much that we choose to walk through life in constant fear of being exposed?  

As a single divorced person, I sometimes cross paths with wonderful people, only to learn they are living behind closed doors - bound by secrecy and commitments that limit what can ever be shared. I have to recognize there is cost to me if I agree to stay hidden in the shadows with someone else. I cannot carry the weight of someone else’s double life, even when letting go leaves behind real grief in me. 

Look at the gifts and people in your life right now. What are you doing to honor them and help them flourish? What would it look like to step into the light, not bury ourselves in fear, and walk through this life without fear?

The Lord sees our secrets, our failures, our fears and still guides us to the light. 

Make a wise investment with the enormous gifts you have been given. Don’t squander your opportunity. Walk with the courage of the Spirit so that you “may gain a wise heart.”

Thanks Be to God, Amen.