Sermon for the Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost, November 19, 2023

Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18+Psalm 90:1-12+1 Thessalonians 5:1-11+Matthew 25:14-30

It's been a very long time since I went through a nine-month's pregnancy, and I'm sure there is a lot that I have forgotten about those times, but the overriding memory I have is how much I loved being pregnant. I was not plagued with morning sickness or other issues that sometimes arise, and with the regular health care and vitamins and "eating for two," I never felt better.

Another clear memory I have is of those finals weeks when sleeping was a bit of a challenge, but the overarching mood was one of anticipation. I had made all kinds of preparations, from childbirth classes to setting up a crib to installing a car seat.

And then, we waited. We knew the time was coming, but we did not know when. For anyone who has been through it, it is a very odd place to be, knowing that your life is about to change in a big way but having no idea when it would actually happen.

In the very earliest writings in the New Testament, this is how the Apostle Paul describes waiting for the Day of the Lord.

For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, ‘There is peace and security’, then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3)

Labor is coming, ready or not, so best to be as ready as you can be. There is no escape.

From the earliest days of the Church, people wanted to know when Jesus would return as he had promised, inaugurating God's reign of peace and harmony for all people. The Greeks to whom Paul was writing believed in signs and portents based on seasons, and Paul is telling them that they already understand about watching and waiting and being prepared.  God has destined us for salvation no matter when that day might come.

Matthew is also operating under the assumption that the Day of Judgment is near although more than three decades have passed since the resurrection. In these parables we read at the end of Year A in the three-year lectionary cycle, it's all about being ready.

Today's particular parable about the talents is probably one of the most misused of all the parables. Coming as it does toward the end of the season during which many congregations have their annual giving campaigns, it might be interpreted as giving all those talents - worth about 20 years' wages each - to the church so that you will have treasure in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21). Tempting as that might be, that's not what Matthew is talking about here. Nor is he proclaiming some kind of prosperity gospel where you take all your money and invest it and earn huge rewards for yourself. That is, simply put, nonsense. As I said last week, Jesus would like nothing more than if we thought less about ourselves and more about our neighbors.

So why the punishment for the guy who buries his talent in a field? Well, the first thing you need to know is that burying money in a field was not all that unusual of a thing to do at this time. The second thing you need to know is that this guy was looking out for himself, contrary to what Jesus wants us to do. He says he knows the master is not kind, and he wants to save his neck. Now, maybe we don’t need to read an unkind master as representing God. In fact, we could interpret this slave as refusing to be part of an economic system that uses and abuses others, but I'll save that exploration for another day.

Here, Jesus is instructing the disciples on what is expected of them, and what that is most certainly not is caring more about their own well-being than the well-being of others. What does it look like to be faithful while waiting? For Jesus, it's doing those things followers of Jesus do: feeding, curing, serving - all things we are called to do even today while we wait. It isn't about doing these things to earn our salvation. It's doing those things as fruits of our life and labor as followers of Jesus.

But here's the thing, according to Paul, even those who are asleep, who have died, who are doing absolutely nothing to win life for themselves, are saved.

For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11).

If we are following the Great Commandment that we heard about a couple of weeks ago, loving God and loving neighbor, we are ready for whatever comes. So don't worry. As Matthew wrote way back in chapter 6, "...strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (6:33).