Rev. Kevin Murphy
NOVEMBER 13, 2011
Preparation Scripture:
Psalm 123
1 To you I lift up my eyes,
O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
2 As the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
until he has mercy upon us.
3 Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
4 Our soul has had more than its fill
of the scorn of those who are at ease,
of the contempt of the proud.
Matthew 25:14-30
14“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ 21His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ 23His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 30As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
This sermon, based upon this parable, reminds us that our wealth as well as our talents are gifts from God. We can choose to hoard and express pride in our possessions... or we can multiply and use them for the good of mankind and the glory of God.
It is natural for children to cling to possessions as being MINE! After a time and encouragement, they learn the value of sharing. As we grow and mature, we continue to secure and maintain our hard earned achievements, but we also continue to learn that sharing God’s blessings benefit all including ourselves.
The Church is a community for achieving an ideal state where we learn to understands and please God. Should we isolate and protect this community from all “outside the wall” who do not enjoy our blessings?
To do this might become comfortable, but would fail to spread the word and grow God’s Kingdom.
We should instead, make every attempt to share our time and talents to help others discover God’s blessings also available to them. We can do this by our generosity with what we can afford to share. We can also do this by contributing our cheerful attitude and honorable treatment of others.
If we achieve God’s plan, perhaps one day we will need no walls as we enjoy a peaceful coexistence.
CLICK THE FOLLOWING:
https://soundimages.box.net/s/k05bvvui82uzzaky9olp
