Like last week’s lectionary gospel passage, the parable of the talents seems to go against the grain of Jesus’ typical message of sharing with one’s neighbors. Instead we are presented with a case study in model capitalism, in which a boss rewards his employees for producing a healthy ROI (return on investment). But in this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Dean Feldmeyer suggests that parable really offers a message about the importance of overcoming our fear and taking risks in our lives. While those with more resources “went off at once and traded with them,” engaging in the inherent uncertainty of the market and doubling their initial outlay, the primary concern of the fellow entrusted with a single talent was to avoid taking any chances that might lead to catastrophic mistakes. Thus he chose the most risk-averse path of all by burying his talent in the ground -- the equivalent of stuffing his bankroll in a mattress. But he’s raked over the coals for his timidity -- and after the master harshly excoriates him for not even bothering to deposit it at the local bank and letting it earn interest, he’s humiliated by having it taken away.
Dean notes that the message seems clear -- we are to take risks, to push ourselves to bear fruit for the kingdom. The alternative is distinctly unpleasant: to lose what we have been given, and to be thrown “into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” That’s a lesson that our political leaders might be well-advised to heed, particularly in the aftermath of last week’s midterm elections. We’ve heard a great deal about no more gridlock between the House and Senate, and how Congress will now be able to “get things done for the American people.” But the only way that goal can be accomplished is through bipartisan compromise -- something that is extremely risky in Washington’s current environment. As Dean points out, most voters feel like they’re taking a chance when they cast their ballots, since the candidates they support may not actually follow through on their campaign promises -- and the sense in many quarters that voting itself is a losing bet is a contributing factor to historically low turnout rates. So what about us -- how willing are we to risk everything we have for God? Jesus calls us to go “all in,” to bet it all on him and his kingdom. So are we willing to take the chances that are required to increase the investment we’ve been given (like the slave with five talents), or will we instead take the risk-averse road of the slave with one talent -- and end up losing it all?
Team member George Reed shares some additional thoughts on the Judges and Psalm 123 passages. George notes that these texts remind us that despite our opinions about our political leaders (“Our soul has had more than its fill of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud”), God is our true judge and the true beacon of our lives. God is the real “hand behind the throne,” and everything happening on the temporal stage is but mere human machination. As a result, our calling is to discern God’s vision for us amidst the cacophony of voices beckoning for our attention -- and to faithfully carry out his plan of action.
All In
by Dean Feldmeyer
Matthew 25:14-30; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
In poker, “the nuts” refers to an unbeatable hand.
No one is sure where the term came from, but one likely theory is that it dates back to the old west. Players with very good hands would sometimes bet their horse and wagon. If they did so, they were required to remove the nuts from the hubs of their wagon wheels and place them on the table to guarantee that they wouldn’t flee if they lost.
So a “nut hand” came to mean a hand that was so good a player would bet his livelihood against it. And a “nut player” did not mean a crazy player, but one who only bet on very good hands or sure things.
Experienced players, however, know that there is really only one unbeatable hand in poker: the royal flush (the ace, king, queen, jack, and ten in the same suit). It’s the only hand that can’t be beaten. There are only four ways of making a royal flush, and the odds of getting one in Texas Hold’em (the format of the game Americans are most familiar with thanks to the rise of professional poker on television) are 32,486 to 1.
If you bet big on any other hand you are gambling, taking a risk.
Yet if you decide to play poker you can’t always wait for a royal flush before you place a bet. You have to play the cards in your hand according to the odds. In other words, you have to take risks -- sometimes small, sometimes large, but you have to risk from time to time.
“Nut players” rarely get rich.
The parable of the talents is often thought to be about investing resources, but it is in fact about taking risks.
In the News
Only 36.6 percent of eligible voters went to the polls for the midterm election last week. And, while voter turnout is always lower for midterm than for presidential elections, this one may have set a new record. Turnout for the 2010 midterm was 40.9 percent.
According to the web site Blue Nation Review, the turnout for Democrats was the lowest since the Second World War. And California, New York, and New Jersey may have set all-time lows. But why? Why aren’t people voting, especially in midterm elections?
The reasons, according to pollsters, are legion: difficulty getting to the polls, confusing ballots, dissatisfaction with candidates, inability to differentiate between the parties or candidates, general dissatisfaction with the system, the requirement to pre-register or re-register when we move, overall satisfaction with the government, etc. The Gallup organization says that voter turnout is higher when people are dissatisfied with the job the government is doing, and lower when they are satisfied.
But perhaps it has something to do with risk-taking.
Most people willingly admit that voting is often akin to rolling the dice. You mark your ballot, put it in the box, and hope that the people you voted for will do what they said they will do if they get elected. You gamble, in other words. It doesn’t cost you that much, and what the heck, right?
But what if you knew going in that your bet wasn’t going to pay off?
Would you bet on even a penny slot machine if it said right on the front that there was a zero percent chance that you would win? Maybe once, just to see the lights go off and on and hear the bells and whistles -- but after that, probably not. Maybe that’s the way voters are feeling this year.
Given the behavior of our elected representatives in Congress these past six years, the odds are that your bet isn’t going to pay off whether you put your money on red or blue.
Meanwhile, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 90-year-old World War II veteran Arnold Abbott is betting that the local police won’t throw him in jail... again... for feeding the homeless... again.
He’s a professional chef and he runs a kitchen where he feeds the homeless population of the city hundreds of meals a week -- but sometimes he likes to take the food to where the people are, and they are often in public places, i.e., on the beach, in the park, etc.
So successful are his impromptu picnics that hundreds of people are showing up -- blocking traffic, cutting off access to the parks, and causing image problems for local businesses who appealed to the city council, which passed a law making it illegal to feed the homeless in public areas. You can feed them as much as you want as often as you want in any of several soup kitchens and/or shelters around town, just not in a park. If you choose the park for your feast, you face up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
But you can feed them on the beach if you want. Mr. Abbott has already sued the city over a ban on feeding the homeless on the beach, and he won that one.
So he’s betting 60 days and $500 that he’s going to win this one too. After being arrested once, he went right back out and did it again and was cited again, only this time they didn’t put him in jail. Apparently he believes that it’s worth the risk.
And last Friday (Nov. 7), Dallas ended the monitoring period for 177 people who were thought to have been in contact with Thomas Eric Duncan, the man diagnosed with the Ebola virus on Sept. 30 and who died in a Dallas hospital on Oct. 8. Two nurses who treated Duncan before it was known that he had Ebola contracted the disease, and they have since recovered and been cleared. However, another 50 people who have returned to Texas after visiting African countries where the Ebola epidemic is ravaging the population will continue to be monitored.
Nurse Kaci Hickox finally came to an agreement with Maine authorities who wanted to place her under an enforced quarantine. You will remember that Kaci was met by armed police at a New Jersey airport and forced into quarantine upon her return from West Africa a few weeks ago, and Maine officials wanted her to voluntarily remain in her home for 21 days -- even though she displayed no symptoms of Ebola and had tested negative for the disease. (Hickox took a bicycle ride in protest.) A judge recently ruled that she could not be forced to stay at home and could travel as she pleased. She has agreed to closely monitor her own health and report any symptoms should they arise, as other American health care workers returning from West Africa have done.
And in Louisville, Susan Sherman, a nurse and teacher at St. Margaret Mary School, resigned from her teaching position after she returned from a mission trip to Kenya and was asked by the school to take a “precautionary” 21-day paid leave of absence and to “provide a doctor’s note stating that she was in good health.”
The problem: Kenya has had no reported cases of the disease and is over 3,000 miles from the west African countries where the Ebola outbreak is spreading. By comparison, the distance from New York to Los Angeles is about 2,450 miles -- and Kenya has had fewer Ebola cases than the United States.
These stories beg the question: While American medical caregivers are taking huge risks to stop the Ebola epidemic before it jumps the ocean to North America, what risks are the rest of us willing to take, if any, to prevent a pandemic?
In the Scriptures
First thing to remember: the people receiving the money in this story are slaves. They have nothing that is their own. The clothing on their back is there at the pleasure of their master.
So when he gives each of them some money, quite a lot of money in fact, it is his money that he is giving them. And it’s still his money after he has given it. It is not their money. It is his.
And that’s another thing: it’s money. The original audience who first read this story (or heard it read) would not think of the word “talent” as we do, as abilities or aptitudes. It was money. At first a talent was a measure of weight, and later it became a coin. But either way, this story is about money... cash... Benjamins.
If talking about money makes us uncomfortable, well, too bad. This story appears in Matthew and Luke and the Gospel of Hebrews. It’s probably part of the Q tradition, and there’s no way you can preach the gospel without dealing with it.
He gives the servants each a big, honking lot of money to take care of, the varying amounts dependent on his understanding of their different abilities to handle the responsibility. Then he leaves.
Okay, a little anxiety here. We know, because we’ve read the story through to the end, that this guy is no soft touch. He’s a hard case. He’s a take-no-prisoners businessman. He doesn’t tolerate excuses. All he’s interested in is results.
So the first slave takes his portion -- five talents -- and he invests it in what has got to be a fairly risky enterprise. How do we know? He doubles his investment, that’s how.
If someone offers you an investment opportunity and promises to double your investment in a short period of time, he’s probably Bernie Madoff or one of his ilk... a con man... a flim-flam artist.
Sidebar: People who invest money for a living calculate how long it takes to double an investment by using what they call the “Rule of 72.” Just divide 72 by the average percentage rate you expect to earn on your investment.
Example -- if you expect to earn an average return of 8 percent on your investment, you just divide 72 by 8. The answer is 9 -- so it will take about 9 years to double your investment.
To double your money in a year you would have to earn an average 72 percent return on your investment. And NO ONE is going to promise you that kind of a return. No one! Except Bernie Madoff.
To get that kind of return in a brief period of time you have to take an extremely high risk. Like betting it all on black at the roulette wheel, or placing it all on a hand at the blackjack table, or going “all in” at the poker table with something less than a royal flush, or betting the favorite horse to win at the track and having him actually win! (According to world-renowned handicapper Rich Nilsen, horse racing favorites win 35% of the time, place [come in first or second] 55% of the time, and show [first, second, or third] 69% of the time.)
So you get it, right? A huge risk. It takes a long, long time to double your investment without taking a big risk. And even if you take the long road, there is no guarantee that you can double the investment.
But that’s exactly what this guy does.
And the second guy as well. He takes his two talents and doubles them. Again, another high-risk investment pays off.
But not the third guy.
He’s kind of timid. He knows that his master is a hard man, and there’s no telling what he might do if the slave loses his money. So the slave buries it in the ground, which was not all that uncommon back in those days. In fact, it was pretty close to the only sure way of not losing it: bury it in a place where only you know where it is.
So, “after a long time” the master returns. We don’t know what “a long time” is, but watch what happens.
The first slave with the five talents reveals that he has doubled the master’s money, and the master isn’t even surprised. He nods, pats his slave on the head, and says, “Good job.” And he gives him a promotion -- “You did well with this responsibility, so you get more responsibility.” (Not everyone would welcome that outcome, but that’s another sermon.)
Second slave, same thing. He doubled his investment. Good job. Promotion.
Third slave... there’s a problem.
He has probably seen what has just transpired with the other two, but timid soul that he is, he is undaunted, clueless. “I know you are a hard case,” he says to the master. “I know that you take no prisoners in matters of business. I know that you are only interested in results and you don’t listen to excuses. So I took good care of your money and I didn’t lose a single cent of it. Here it is, the very same coin that you gave to me, nice and shiny. Good job, right?”
But no such luck.
The master is furious. “You buried it? You buried it in a coffee can in the ground and just let it sit there all this time? You didn’t even put it in the bank so it could earn a few bucks in interest?”
Oops.
Take the talent of silver from him and give it to the first slave, the one with the ten talents. And throw him out of the gates, into the outer darkness where he will be alone and unprotected.
And then the master (or Matthew or Jesus, I’ve never been sure) makes a business pronouncement: Those who take on big responsibilities and show big results because they aren’t afraid to risk will be given even bigger responsibilities and the opportunity to show even bigger results.
But those who are afraid of responsibility and are afraid of risk and make no return on their investments will have even those responsibilities taken away from them.
In the Pulpit
Faith, real faith, is different from mere belief in that it requires risk.
My father used to say, “I can believe that you can push me across Niagara Falls on a tightrope in a wheelbarrow, and believing that doesn’t require me to do anything. I can believe it from right here in this chair. But faith means getting in the wheelbarrow.”
All that’s required for belief is intellectual assent. Faith requires action, and action requires risk.
The story may be apocryphal, but it is nonetheless told that Steve Jobs once entered the research and development department at Apple and announced that there were far too few failures being experienced. This, he said, was an indication that his researchers and developers were not trying new things, not taking enough risks. They were relying on the tried and the true, the safe and the easy.
The story goes that he warned his employees that, if the number of failures, blind alleys, and false starts in the research and development department didn’t show a decided increase and soon, heads would roll.
The indicative of this parable is clear: God has invested in us. God has placed creation in our hands. We have been invited to participate in and shape our own evolution. To do so can be risky, dangerous. But to not do so is to leave our future in the hands of chance and the whims of fate.
The imperative is to act, to take the risks inherent in every authentically human endeavor, to weigh up the possible outcomes and then to act -- trusting, in the words of Paul, “that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.”
SECOND THOUGHTS
Take Me to Your Leader!
by George Reed
Judges 4:1-7; Psalm 123
Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt. Our soul has had more than its fill of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud. (Psalm 123:3-4)
From the political ads that we were bombarded with prior to the elections, and from most of the conversations I have been a part of or have overheard, it would seem that these verses from the Psalm sum up the feelings of much of our country’s electorate. People don’t just disagree with politicians from the “other” party, they seem to have contempt for them. And the politicians seem to have that same contempt for each other. In spite of the rhetoric of cooperation, the smart money is on at least two more years of bickering and squabbling without any real progress. Add to this the prospect of campaign ads for the 2016 presidential election cycle beginning within a few months, and hope seems to indeed be a crumpled figure at the bottom of Pandora’s box.
So what word do we have to offer our people at this time? In the Judges passage we see some interesting political changes going on. The leader of the Israelites, Ehud, has died and the people have gone astray from God. They find themselves under the domination of a local king and his general. A prophet by the name of Deborah was judging Israel. A change in leadership... the ruling of the people divided by two factions. Sound familiar? So what can we learn from this?
A word of God comes to Deborah to act, and she is faithful to that word. But the content of the message makes it clear that it is God who is in charge and it is God who needs to act. Yes, God will use human beings to carry out the divine will -- but it needs to be God’s plan of action that is carried out.
So, in the midst of all our political turmoil and angst, we know that God has a vision for us. God has a realm that we are being called into, and we need to act to bring it to fulfillment. It is not our realm or our vision of the way things should be that is important, but rather God’s vision that needs to be our main priority. Grounded in the faith that God has the vision, we need to be a people of prayer and discernment to catch that vision clearly. We need to sit under our “palm of Deborah” and listen for the word of God to come to us.
This is hard difficult work. There are many voices speaking around us that would clutter up God’s message -- the most insidious being the one in our own heads that constantly calls for things to be done for our own good and according to our own wishes. We need to model for the nation and for each other the assurance that God has a vision -- and our task is to see it and act on it.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Ron Love:
Judges 4:1-7
The 6th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals recently upheld bans on same-sex marriage in four states -- Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The court’s majority opinion stated: “A dose of humility makes us hesitant to condemn as unconstitutionally irrational a view of marriage shared not long ago by every society in the world.”
Application: The justices’ opinion may not be shared by all, but they acted with the knowledge and wisdom afforded to them. Deborah in her pronouncement acted with the insight of wisdom that was bestowed upon her.
*****
Judges 4:1-7
In an article for USA Today, Ann Oldenburg presents the case that Twitter is today’s new social police. She writes that at “a mere 140 characters comes great power” -- the great power being that Twitter takes on the form of being a “mob” as thousands of individuals instantly express their anger or joy regarding an event. She cites the most recent example as the reaction to Brad Paisley’s joke about the television show Blackish at the Country Music Association awards show, with 75% of the respondents in one poll approving of the joke as not being racist.
Application: Deborah’s words carried even more power than any Twitter post, even if multiplied by the thousands.
*****
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Christopher Nolan, director of the current movie Interstellar (and also well-known as the director of the Batman Dark Knight trilogy), is not concerned if viewers understand the technology portrayed in his films -- only that they are caught up in the message. Nolan says, “My films, if people go to them worrying about whether they’ll understand and approach it like a crossword puzzle, they’re not going to get as much out of it. You’re meant to go along for the ride.”
Application: We do not have to understand the rapture to enjoy the anticipation of it.
*****
Matthew 25:14-30
It came 151 years after his death -- but First Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing was recently awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Cushing was cited for his heroism while commanding an artillery battery for the Union forces during Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg. At one point he placed his thumb on a cannon vent until the heat burned through his flesh to his bone. Wounded twice and leaning on his sergeant, he continued to command his troops until he was shot in the head. It should be noted that his battery was stationed at the cluster of trees on Cemetery Ridge, the focal point of the charge.
Application: Jesus in his parable calls us to dutiful service and to take risks in our ministry.
*****
Matthew 25:14-30
Three toys were recently selected to be added to the National Toy Hall of Fame: little green army men, because they represent make-believe play; bubbles, which provide pure joy; and the Rubik’s Cube, for its intellect challenge. Chris Branch, vice-president for collections at the Strong Museum of Play (which houses the hall of fame), said of the selections: “For under $20 you can have all three inductees and a phenomenal play experience.”
Application: We can multiply what we are entrusted with for ministry into a phenomenal experience for others.
***************
From team member Mary Austin:
Matthew 25:14-30
Essential Risks
Psychotherapist Elizabeth Donovan observes that risk is embedded in everything teenagers do, and parents spend a lot of time and energy trying to reduce risk in teenagers’ lives. She contends that teenagers need to take risks to develop, and says that “many risks are not only good, but promote healthy neurological development and growth during the critical adolescent period. Risk-taking and rule-breaking is linked to developmental changes in the brain that serve to help teens become healthy, analytical adults. Thus, a certain amount of positive risk-taking is necessary for adolescents to fulfill their universal need for independence, developing a separate identity, and testing authority.” Positive risks, like playing a sport, allow for the possibility of failure. Donovan says that “learning how to win and lose as well as how to take risks to help others are important social milestones that every teen must learn to conquer.”
Risk can teach us lessons of the spirit that we can’t learn any other way -- for teenagers and, no doubt, for all of us.
*****
Matthew 25:14-30
What We Miss About Risk
It seems that Ebola is right around the corner, that terrorists are coming back to our neighborhoods from training with the Islamic State army, that young college graduates will never find full-time jobs, and that the whole country is in a slump both economic and civic. Writer Maia Szalavitz observes that even worrying about risk is risky: “These days, it seems like everything is risky, and worry itself is bad for your health. The more we learn, the less we seem to know -- and if anything makes us anxious, it’s uncertainty. At the same time, we’re living longer, healthier lives. So why does it feel like even the lettuce is out to get us?”
She adds: “The human brain is exquisitely adapted to respond to risk -- uncertainty about the outcome of actions. Faced with a precipice or a predator, the brain is biased to make certain decisions. Our biases reflect the choices that kept our ancestors alive. But we have yet to evolve similarly effective responses to statistics, media coverage, and fear-mongering politicians. For most of human existence, 24-hour news channels didn’t exist, so we don’t have cognitive shortcuts to deal with novel uncertainties. Still, uncertainty unbalances us, pitching us into anxiety and producing an array of cognitive distortions. Even minor dilemmas like deciding whether to get a cellphone (brain cancer vs. dying on the road because you can’t call for help?) can be intolerable for some people. And though emotions are themselves critical to making rational decisions, they were designed for a world in which dangers took the form of predators, not pollutants. Our emotions push us to make snap judgments that once were sensible -- but may not be anymore.”
So what to do with a world that feels so risky? Szalavitz suggests thinking about the real risks we face. We tend to see risk as dramatic (cancer, snakes) instead of as the accumulation of hundreds of small choices (heart disease, car accidents). We also forget that risks are tied to our values -- say, the risk of playing high school football. Logic will serve us better than emotion, if we can slow down long enough to take a deep breath.
*****
Matthew 25:14-30
Risk-Taking Can Get You a Date
Taking some risks can make you look more appealing to possible mates. NPR reported earlier this year that “both men and women find certain kinds of risk-taking attractive. So, swimming in deep water or washing windows in a tall building, this is the kind of risk-taking that can make you seem attractive.... Driving a car without a seatbelt or working in a chemical factory, for example, they’re risky behaviors, but that’s not the kind of thing that can make you look attractive.”
Scientists think that the sexy risks have their roots in evolution. The risks that look appealing are the ones that “have analogs in the ancient evolutionary world -- risks that involve dealing with heights or deep water or predators -- these are the kind of risks and risk-taking that can make you look attractive. There is no evolutionary analog to driving a car without a seatbelt or working in a chemical factory.”
When looking for dates, choose your risks wisely.
*****
Matthew 25:14-30
And About That Multitasking...
Researchers say that people who take risks are also the ones who insist on doing more than one thing at a time -- the two behaviors go hand in hand. As NPR reports, “Even worse, these demon multitaskers thought they were terrific at it, though the cold, hard data proved they weren’t. ‘People don’t multitask because they’re good at it,’ says David Sanbonmatsu, a professor of psychology at the University of Utah and lead author of the study, which was published online in the journal PLOS One. ‘They do it because they are more distracted. They have trouble inhibiting the impulse to do another activity.’ ” Time to put down the phone and just drive.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by Chris Keating
Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 123 and Psalm 90)
Leader: We raise our eyes to you, O God!
People: As the eyes of servants are alert for instructions,
Leader: So do we look toward you.
People: You have been our dwelling place for all generations.
Leader: From everlasting to everlasting you are God.
People: So teach us to be faithful, so that we might gain wise hearts.
OR
(based on Zephaniah 1:7, 14 and 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)
Leader: The day of the Lord is at hand; let us keep silence before God!
People: Let us be awake and prepared.
Leader: The great day of the Lord is approaching.
People: So then let us not be asleep, but prepared in hope.
Leader: Jesus who died for us has given us salvation.
People: Therefore let us encourage one another and build each other up.
OR
Leader: God has given us many gifts.
People: We praise you, O God, for your abundance!
Leader: When the harvest comes, we will be called to account for our stewardship of God’s gifts.
People: Help us to be children of the light, O God! Let us remain alert to your will and your desire for our lives!
Leader: May our eyes look to God, just as a servant carefully watches the master. Come, let us worship the Lord together.
Hymns
“Gather Us In”
“O God, Our Help in Ages Past”
“Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”
“Take My Life and Let It Be”
“God of Grace, and God of Glory”
“Who Would True Valor See” (“To Be A Pilgrim”)
“Rejoice, Rejoice Believers! And Let Your Lights Appear”
“Soon and Very Soon”
“Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning”
“God Whose Giving Knows No Ending”
“There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy”
Contemporary or Global Songs
“Lord, Be Glorified”
“Create in Me” (Keith Green)
“We Are” (by Chuck Butler, Ed Cash, et al; performed by Kari Jobe)
“We Will Glorify” (by Twila Paris)
“We Are Marching in the Light of God” (“Siyahamba”)
“When We Are Living” (“Pues Si Vivimos”)
“Wait for the Lord” (Taizé)
“Stay with Me” (Taizé)
Prayer for the Day
God of all light, you shine your mercy on us, and your promised day is coming. Help us to remain awake and steady in faith, ready to risk the gifts you have entrusted to us so that we may glorify you and serve you in hope. Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray, Amen.
Call to Confession
Sisters and brothers, God calls us to be alert at all times, and to pray that we might be ready to stand before the Lord our God. So let us not remain in darkness, and instead confess our sins to God and to each other.
Prayer of Confession
Faithful God, you have entrusted great gifts to us, and have called us to take risks in your name. Too often we have been afraid to reach out, worried that we might not live up to your expectations. At times we have kept our gifts hidden and ignored your instructions. Wake us up, O God! Remind us that time is short, and that we are called to live as children of the light. Forgive us for our foolishness and help us to uncover our gifts, rejoicing in all you have given to us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Believe the good news! “Since we belong to the day, let us put on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of hope. 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.” Be at peace and know you are forgiven. Amen.
Prayers of the People
Loving God, we praise you for your goodness, and celebrate your continuing mercy in the world. You created the world, and filled it with good gifts. Your mercy has sustained us from one generation to the next, and we lift our eyes to you in adoration and praise.
We are troubled by the contempt and scorn that fills our world. Help us to be awake to all that you are doing, and to be alert at all times. Encourage us to take bold risks in discipleship, using the gifts you have entrusted to our care. Help us not to bury our gifts, hiding them out of fear of making a mistake. Instead, help us to be us daring stewards of grace, living in hope and offering to one another words of encouragement. Let us wear garments of faith, hope, and love as we live in the light of the salvation you have given us in Jesus Christ.
We offer to you the concerns of our hearts, O Lord. Hear our prayers for the world, that you would bring peace and an ending to hostilities. We lift before you our nation and its leaders, that they would carefully follow your commandments and do all you have instructed us. Hear us as we pray for each other, for the sick, and for those who are grieving. Let us help the weak, and be patient with those in need. Allow peace to fill our lives so that we may build one another up in the hope which is ours in Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom all glory and honor belongs now and forever, Amen.
Offertory Prayer
Giver of all good things, we bring our gifts to you. We thank you for the abundance you have entrusted to us. As we offer to you our time, talent, and treasure, we pray that your blessing might be added to all these gifts. Increase them by your grace so that the hungry may be fed, the despairing given hope, and the good news of your mercy be shared. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Children’s Sermon
Props needed: five plastic grocery bags plus a variety of coins
(In one bag, put a large handful of pennies so that it seems to be very full; in the second bag, place three quarters; in the third bag, place two dimes; in the fourth bag, put one nickel; and in the fifth bag a single penny.)
Explain the parable of the talents to the children in ways they can understand. Remind them that in the Bible a talent was a type of money and not a skill. One talent equaled 15 years of earnings for a typical worker. So, for example, if a worker made $30,000 a year, one talent would equal $450,000. That is 15 years of working! This is a lot of money. Lift up each bag to show what the talents might have looked like. Ask the children: “How do you think the employees felt about being given so much money?” Would you feel scared or excited? Then tell the story of how the employees used the gifts -- the one who had a lot, made a lot; the one who had a little bit less still made quite a bit of money, and so on. But the one who had only a single talent was very scared. He was afraid he might lose his boss’ money, so he took the money home and buried it in his backyard. He did not lose it.
But the boss wasn’t happy with him because he kept his treasure hidden.
Explain to the children that a “steward” is someone who manages things for other people. That’s what God calls us to do -- to take God’s gifts and use them to help spread God’s love. We can do that no matter how much money we have, or whether we are big or small, or whether we can play an instrument or a sport. No matter who we are, God loves us and has given us good gifts. We can use those gifts to help others -- and that is what God wants us to do.
Prayer with children: God, thank you for the gifts you give us. Thank you that you love us. Help us to share what you have given so that others may know of your love. Amen.
Benediction
Leader: Friends in Christ, whether we are awake or asleep, we live with Christ. Therefore encourage one another, build up one another, and let us keep doing the work God has called us to do. May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace through the power of the Holy Spirit!
People: Thanks be to God! Amen.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Use It or Lose It
Matthew 25:14-30
Object: a dollar bill
Can anyone tell me what this is? (Show the dollar and let the children answer.) Yes, it is a dollar bill. Now, if I take this dollar bill, hide it under my mattress, and leave it there for ten years, how much will it be worth at the end of ten years? (Let them answer.) It will only be worth whatever a dollar will buy ten years from now. That will probably be a lot less than it is worth right now. What could I do with the dollar that would make it be worth more than it is right now? (Let them answer.) Yes, I could put it in the bank or invest it in some way so that it will grow and get bigger. That would certainly be better than hiding it under my mattress.
The Bible tells us that God expects us to do something like that with all the things he gives us. If God gives us a talent of some kind, he wants us to use it. If God gives us money, he expects us to use it wisely and be generous with it. God gives all of us faith, and he expects us to use that too. God wants our faith to be used and to get stronger and stronger. How do you think we ought to use our faith to make it stronger? (Let them answer.)
You are strengthening your faith right now by coming to church and Sunday school. You strengthen your faith every time you read the Bible or have it read to you. Faith, believing in Jesus, is what gets us into Heaven. If we don’t use our faith, we will lose it. Let’s ask Jesus to help us strengthen our faith.
Prayer: Dear Jesus: We believe in you and know that you are our friend and Savior. Please help us use our faith so that we will never lose it. Amen.
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The Immediate Word, November 16, 2014, issue.
Copyright 2014 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
