Matthew 25: 14-30; “You Knew, Did you?” November 15, 2020; Pastor Rebecca Ellenson
Today we read yet another parable of the kingdom. This time a master entrusts his servants with HUGE amounts of money. A talent was worth many years’ worth of wages. It would be an amount like winning the lottery. The first two invest and multiply what has been entrusted to them and are met with approval and joy by the master and they are given even more to steward. The third is afraid. He sees this generous master as harsh. He believes the opposite of what is demonstrated by what actually happened; thinking that the master reaps where he doesn’t sow and gathers where he doesn’t scatter.
The master’s reply may be the whole key to unlocking this parable. He says, “You knew, did you, that I reap where I do not sow and gather where I do not scatter?” What do you suppose he meant by that, “You knew, did you?” I think his question points out the flaw in the servant’s thinking. After all, he has sown a huge amount in the man’s care. He has scattered his wealth among his servants, ABUNDANTLY!
What happens when we live expecting harshness from God, when we live in fear of doing something wrong? Nothing except the hiding of our gifts and resources from the world. Nothing but living with an expectation of doom hanging over our heads. We live our lives in a scarcity mentality instead of the very real truth that we have been showered with gifts and resources beyond imagining. We hide and hoard what we think of as ours instead of recognizing the riches we have been endowed with.
I don’t really even think the servant needed to be cast out into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. I think he’s already living in a hell of his own making, shaped by his “knowledge” of the harshness of God. “You knew, did you?” the master asked.
Our beliefs shape our reality. We see what we are looking for. God is great, God is good! Open your eyes and see the goodness of God. Let go of your fears and stinginess. Life is for living and loving and risking, trying new things and investing in possibilities.
Perhaps you could ask yourself this week, “What do I know about God?” “What gifts and resources do I have that can be put to use to build the kingdom of God, the Beloved Community, where all are welcome and all are fed?” “Where in my life have I been hoarding and hiding out of a mistaken idea that there will not be enough?”
Let’s enter into the joy of our God, with gratitude and confidence. Amen.