“Your One Precious Life”

Matt. 25: 14-30 - Parable of the talents

Nov. 19, 23 - 25th Sunday after Pentecost

Pastor Deb - BRCC

There is a children’s show on PBS called ARTHUR, in which the fictional family of characters look like aardvark animals. Arthur is about 8 years old and has a 4 year old sister named Dora Winifred, caring parents and many friends. The episodes are designed to teach young children how to navigate some of life’s challenges. In one episode, Arthur takes his little sister Dora for her first visit to the public library, and helps her very own library card. Dora is impressed and excited when she learns she can take several books home to read and enjoy, but she also gets a bit worried when she is challenged to be careful with the books, keeping them clean and safe and returning them on time. You can imagine how her little four year old mind might worry, as she has a tendency to get rather messy and careless from time to time. So…rather than read and enjoy her library books, Dora uses cooking mitts to carefully lay them into a box in her closet where she knows they will be safe, but she is too afraid to take them out to read them. Instead, she counts the days until she has to return them safely to the library. This, of course, gives Arthur and his parents the perfect opportunity to teach Dora that books are meant to be read and life is meant to be lived…and that everything involves both risk and responsibility.

The parable of the talents in our gospel text today is another “zinger.” Again, I need to remind you that Matthew is quoting Jesus during a time of great animosity when the public pressure to silence and crucify Jesus is imminent. Jesus’ words…”worthless slave…throw him into outer darkness….” are harsh, but his point is to awaken human understanding of the character of God’s generosity and love and our human sin of careless entitlement and selfishness. We might assume that the word “talents” here refers to money, but really, it refers to the abundance of gifts God bestows on his children and his creation, and the dream that God has for their use and prosperity.

What might some of those talents be?

I’ve put together a little half sheet in your bulletin this morning and I’d like you to take it out right now. Here I have listed a few of the many many life-giving; life-sustaining; life enhancing gifts God generously gives to us in our walk on earth. Things like: our health; our family; our community; our wealth; our freedom; our senses of sight, hearing and touch that allow us to experience and celebrate life. I’ve also listed some of our special talents like: mechanical; architectural or technological abilities to create something new; the ability to solve and fix problems and right wrongs; leadership skills that encourage others to dream and follow; organizing and directing so those dreams come true; cleaning and sustaining our home and environment for healthy living; cooking and backing and growing food to feed the hungry; parenting skills that raise responsible and emotionally strong children; friendship skills of compassion, empathy, encouragement that get others through the ups and downs of life; planting trees to replenish the earth; a listening heart of prayer and worship that intercedes on behalf of others….the list could go on and on. As you look at this very incomplete list….what are the talents God has gifted to you personally? Do you see yourself and your gifts and talents in any of these? Might you add others? Were you given ONE talent? Two Talents? Five Talents? How have you used them over the journey through this life? Have they multiplied and brought forth fruit, or have they been lying dormant because, like Dora, you are too afraid to mess up to risk being all that God has created you to be?

Poet Mary Oliver, whose most famous poem is entitled: “When Death Comes” wrote this: “Tell me, what is it that you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

It’s a sobering question isn’t it? In the apostle Paul’s time, as he wrote his letters to the many churches that had sprung up in response to Jesus’ death and resurrection, the END TIMES were expected at any moment! In Paul’s response to the living Christ, there wasn’t a minute to waste…even while he awaited his own death in prison. Paul’s letters responded to the question : “How do we live as followers of Jesus NOW…while we await his return, and the completion of the Kingdom of God?” Paul says we are to live as children of the LIGHT…who put on the breastplate of faith and love; wear a helmet of hope while claiming our destiny of salvation. Paul reminds his flock that God is not a God of wrath…but of everlasting grace and life. “Walk as a child of the Lord!” he says…”Walk using the gift of life by following Jesus.”

Recently, the ELCA church wide Bishop, Elizabeth Eaton, shared a message of encouragement to the church during this time of political upheaval, cultural crisis, and escalating war. Her encouragement was this: LIVE AS IF THE RESURRECTION IS TRUE! Don’t allow fear to keep your talents under a bushel basket…but LIVE, giving, being, sharing, doing whatever you can! For the Resurrection is the opposite of FEAR! It is life that cannot be stopped! While we await the full realization of the Kingdom of God, we are called to put the Kingdom of God into practice. And right now, one of the most important talents we can share with our neighbor is to lift up the positive things…the LIGHT that is happening rather than bemoaning the doom and gloom of darkness.

As I finish my work among you as a Bridge pastor, I’d like to share an example in which I have witnessed people like you and me using their ONE WILD AND PRECIOUS LIFE for God’s glory.

While I was at Christ the King LC in New Brighton, I had the privilege of leading ministries of outreach to a very diverse neighborhood. I wasn’t sure how God wanted this to unfold, but then I met a retired man by the name of Vern Rice. Vern had energetic enthusiasm and authentic relational skills…he was a “spark plug” of ideas and possibilities. He also had a passion to know, really know, those who came from other cultures, other settings, and those who were searching not only for a life in the US, but a connection to God and one another. Vern brought that “talent” to Christ the King when he retired and stepped up to lead a group we called, “Mission Partners.” Over the course of my 10 years at Christ the King, I watched as Vern ignited and built lasting, life-giving relationships with a struggling congregation of Hmong immigrants, a congregation of Chinese Christians, and communities of Latino’s and Liberians. Vern made connections and encouraged participation wherever he went. We found out that we had so many Latino’s in our neighborhood that today, a full time Latino pastor has been called to Christ the King to attend to that Spanish speaking community.

How did he do this? Like I said, he was a “spark plug!” By sharing a need and opportunity with a team of others who had a heart for the “other”, more and more caught the vision. Together they organized “get acquainted” picnics, gatherings that shared cultural stories and traditions, they helped immigrants move into their apartments, find jobs and gave them rides…and had them over for dinner. Over time, we began visiting each other’s worship services, programs and events, inviting them to our church, and bringing a group of visitors to theirs. Then, to cast a wider net, we decided to offer a Block Party summer event that was free and welcoming to all our neighbors. We walked in the local summer celebration parade to spread the invite far and wide. Over the course of a few years, that block party event went from a few hundred attendees to over 1800! Parents, children, grandparents, and people from all walks of life and ethnic, social origin came out to enjoy corn on the cob, hot dogs; ice cream cones; music; children’s carnival rides and fun; laughter and conversation. It took 200 church volunteers to offer this event, and several months of fund-raising and planning; but it was worth it. The Synod eagerly got behind our idea and expanded it across the twin cities where other churches developed mission partnerships and block party events. Even the local TV station sent the weatherman to give his weather report in the midst of our party to share our story far and wide. This is a story of ONE TALENT…that didn’t sit saved in a box, or held back out of fear, but a talent that was used, shared and multiplied in amazing ways.

You might be thinking, but we are so SMALL…we don’t have the depth and breadth of talents to make a real difference here in this tiny village of Finland. But….look at that list again. Ponder how you might give thanks to God for the gift of those talents that are uniquely given TO YOU. Pray and ask God to show you one way…JUST ONE WAY… your talent can be used to be a blessing…multiplied to give glory to our creator. For the true character of our God and His Kingdom is abundance and life that cannot be stopped. My prayer is that as God gives us the gift of Pastor Michael and HIS talents, we might be set on fire to bring our talents to the table too. Amen.

What are your Talents?

Health - family - community - a home

Wealth - freedom - a body that moves

Eyes that see- ears that hear- fingers that touch

Mechanical - technical - electrical - construction abilities

Ability to read and learn - Capacity to solve and fix

Ability to inspire and lead- Ability to encourage and follow

Ability to bake and cook food

Ability to clean and maintain a home or work environment

Parenting/grandparenting skills- Love for children- Teaching Skills

Friendship skills of compassion - empathy -listening

Planting tree - growing crops - mow grass - shovel snow

A heart that prays and intercedes on behalf of others

Fill in the blanks______________, ___________________, _____________________