[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermonj for Proper 28A: “Use It or Lose It” or “Spiritual Gifts”

[Joe Parrish]

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-----Original Message-----
From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org>
To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org>
Sent: Sat, Nov 18, 2017 5:16 pm
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermonj for Proper 28A: “Use It or Lose It” or “Spiritual Gifts”



This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Use It or Lose It”or “Spiritual Gifts” and deals with the gospel (Matthew 25:14-15, 19-30).  Here it is: 
 
This morning we heard theparable Jesus told of the three servants and how they took care of theirmaster’s money while he was away on a long trip.  Since the master “knew what each servantcould do” he knew their potential.  Themaster gave one servant 5 talents; another 2 talents; and to the last he gave 1talent.  I can hear you now- “Thatdoesn’t sound like much; how much is a talent?” Well, a denarius was the amount you got paid for a full day’s manuallabor.  How many days in a year?(365)  So if you did hard manual laborevery single day for a year, you’d be paid 365 denarii.  What if you worked straight doing hard manuallabor every single day for 15 years (and saved every last bit), how much wouldyou have then?  (365 X 15 [forget aboutthe leap years] = 38, 325 denarii or 1 talent) That’s right... 15 solid years of hard manual labor would earn you (ifyou lived then) one talent.  So you see,the master invested a lot of money in each of his servants.  Even the servant who only got one talent wasgiven a lot of money to take care of for his lord.  Then you recall, when the master returned hedemanded an accounting of his servants? He must have said something like, “What have you done with the talents Igave you?”  As you recall, the first andsecond servants had doubled the master’s money, and the master was extremelypleased with their stewardship.  It waswith the third servant that the master was angry.  Do you remember what he did?  He buried the money- did nothing with it, sohe could give it back safe and sound to the master.  Do you recall how the master reacted?  The master was furious.  He took the talent from the third servant andgave it to the first servant, basically saying that the unproductive servantwould be outside looking in, and that he would gnash his teeth at theopportunity he had lost!  There, that’sJesus’ parable.  What’s it to us?  
 
I’d like us to use thisparable to understand our spiritual gifts. What is a spiritual gift?  Doesanyone know how much you weighed when you were born?  (Take answers.)  I bet you were a cute baby!  But more important than cute- you know onething that’s was true about you at that time? You were born with incredible potential. Any baby we look at might be potentially gifted as a musician or carpenteror speaker or scientist or cook.  Infact, there are as many possibilities for giftedness as there are peopleborn.  What makes a gift a “spiritual”gift?  Not what it is, but how it’sused.  Look- I have a gift for talking-any of my friends will tell you that I’m good at talking (in fact, sometimestoo good at talking).  If I am onlytalking to boost myself up, my talking is a gift, but not a spiritualgift.  If, however, I talk to preach andteach God’s word, encourage people, welcome people, be a peacemaker- than mytalking builds the Kingdom and now is a spiritual gift.  Here’s another example: do you sing or playan instrument?  That’s your gift.  Now if you are willing to use your voice oryour instrument in God’s service, it becomes a spiritual gift.  Here’s still another example: are you acook?  If you only cook for yourself orto make yourself look good, your cooking is a gift, but you are wasting itspiritually.  When you begin to use yourcooking to reach out to others- then it is a gift in God’s service and it is aspiritual gift.  So you can see, we havea double job- first: accept the gift (as did all of the servants- no one turnedit down), and then second: use the gift for God’s work- and that’s where thedoubling comes in (2 talents to 4 talents and 5 talents to 10 talents).  Using the talents as spiritual gifts is whatmade the master so delighted with the first two servants and makes Goddelighted with us.  Not using the talentas a spiritual gift is what made the master so infuriated.
 
I have a question for you:what if we don’t like the gifts God gave us? What if we have friends (like in the Psalm) who are proud and conceitedand verbally abusive?  What if we getteased each time we open our mouths to sing; or what if we are female and getcalled names if we let our intelligence show in school?  Let me tell you about a teacher who taughtfirst grade in the school where I first started teaching.  She was considered a master teacher, and otherteachers advised me to watch her and learn from her, and since her room wasdirectly across from mine- it was easy for me to do just that.  In the springtime since all her little firstgraders loved her, they brought her the only present within their reach-dandelions.  Day after day, week afterweek- here came these cute little 6 year-olds with their teeth missing andtheir hands clutching dandelions for their beloved teacher.  Do you know what she did?  She stood by the door with the waste basket;and each time a child held up his or her offering of flowers for the teacher,she said- “Drop those ugly weeds in this wastebasket!”  I watched their faces and I felt theirpain.  Did I learn anything from her?  I surely did- I accept all gifts, becauseevery gift has a bit of the giver in it. To reject the gift is to reject the giver.  Have you rejected God lately?  What gifts has God given you that you aresitting on?  Here are the excuses Ihear.  Tell me which one do you thinkwill work for God?
 
1.  “I’m too busy.  I don’t have time to use my giftedness toserve God.”  (To think about: how manyhours do you have in a day?  [Askaround.]  That’s strange- we all seem tohave the same amount of time.  Maybe youshould look at how you use the time God has given you.)
 
2.  “My gift is different from everyone else’sgift.  (Of course it is- how many cookscan God use?  Remember the Rev. LynnCollins (our Absalom Jones preacher many years ago) made the following neatstatement: “Our God must love diversity- he made so much of it!”  God intended for all of our gifts to be puttogether into a package for the Kingdom. This means if each of us uses our giftedness spiritually, St. Paul’swill have everything we need for wonderful worship; a beautiful building withlovely grounds; and all we need for discipling our own members; mentoring ouryouth; and reaching out to others.  Ifyou hold back, God’s Kingdom loses.  Howcan you tell if someone is holding back on God by not using gifts as spiritualgifts?  Look around.  Whatever is missing represents someone who isholding back on God.)
 
3.  “My life is too full now- I’ll do itlater.”  (Did you notice the advice St.Paul gave to the Thessalonian church?  Beready.  You don’t know the time or thehour when God will take you home, whether it’s at the second coming or whetherit’s at your own death.  Do it now- theremay be no tomorrow for you.)
 
And if we don’t, whatthen?  
1.  Look at the thought for the week; “Use it orlose it.”  That sounds extremely harsh,but isn’t that exactly what happened to the third servant who buried (or saton) his gift?  That’s life- we use ourtalents or they’re gone.
 
2.  Worse yet, did you notice verse 30 when themaster says: “You are a worthless servant, and you will be thrown out into thedark where people will cry and grit their teeth in pain.”  I can hear you now- Rev. Judy, would Godreally do that?  Perhaps not, but wemight do it to ourselves.  Pictureyourself the second after you die.  Jesusis there with open arms and He asks you, “What have you done with the talents Igave you?”  Then, with his arm around youhe shows you all the people who needed your help or encouragement- but youdidn’t have time; all the evil or pollution or pain or ignorance in his belovedplanet that he specifically gifted you to heal, but you didn’t want to bebothered.  Then you see the tears in hiseyes.  Won’t you feel like running awayto a dark place where you can hide; won’t you feel like grinding your teeth andscreaming at yourself for the opportunity you missed?
 
My friends, I’ve gotnothing else to say, except please, please, please develop every single area ofgiftedness with which God has blessed you and then use those gifts for God, forSt. Paul’s church, for the multiplication of good and the diminishment of evil,and for the spread of God’s blessed Kingdom.
 
For anyone who isinterested, this sermon and updated African-American wisdom statements areposted on our parish’s web site under “Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org .
 
Blessed preaching,
Judy Boli
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Saginaw, Michigan

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