Risky Business

“Risky Business”, A Sermon preached by The Rev. Canon Dr. C. Denise Yarbrough on Sunday, November 13, 2011 at Grace Church, Lyons New York


For 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. (Matt. 25:29)

If ever there was a biblical saying that could appear to justify giving tax breaks to the rich and taking welfare benefits from the poor, those closing lines of today’s gospel parable of the talents seems tailor made for the occasion! One might argue that when the Wall Street bankers who brought down the economy got their year end, seven figure bonuses even in the years when the government was bailing out their institutions, that this parable was coming to life in the 21st century! Given Jesus’ frequent teachings and preachings on the potential dangers of money, particularly its ability to corrupt the soul, it seems absurd that he would tell a parable in which he appears to conclude that those who are wealthy deserve to get more wealth while those who are poor somehow deserve to lose yet more. What on earth are we to make of this parable?

The parable of the talents is a tough one to swallow and it takes a fair amount of thinking to make any sense of it at all. This parable comes late in Matthew’s gospel and is part of a series of parables that Jesus tells about God’s judgment on humankind. Using a story about the various ways a group of slaves invested money entrusted to them by their master, this parable invites us to think not only about how we handle money and material resources given to us by God, but also how we use all the gifts God has given us for the furtherance of God’s mission. This parable is about judgment and accountability and calls us to be conscious of how we live out our faith in the mundane aspects of our daily lives. On one level the parable forces us to face the reality that we are accountable to God for how we live our life, for what we do in this life with all that we have been given. On another level the parable calls us to be mindful of the nature of our relationship with God and to reflect upon just how much we truly trust God to provide what we need in this life.

This is a stewardship parable and not just in its teaching about money. It calls us to think about how we manage the abundant resources that God has given us. Jesus reminds us that we all have a responsibility to make the most of what we have. In the story, one slave got five talents, another got two and another got one, each “according to his ability.” God gives gifts differently to different people, but all receive some gifts and all are called to make the most of that which has been given. While the vehicle for the story is money, the parable really invites us to think not only about our financial resources but about all the gifts we have received from God, tangible and intangible. One message of the story is pretty clear: take what God has given you and make more of it. Be responsible with the gifts you’ve been given so that you can offer back to the donor (i.e. GOD) more than was originally given you. Remember that what you have that you are investing is not really yours, but remains, in fact, the possession of the master who will expect a good return when the time for accounting comes.

On a deeper level, this parable talks about stewardship, not just of money, but of our entire lives. This parable suggests that God has given to each of us gifts, abilities, and talents that are unique to us. God expects, indeed, demands, that we make the most of those gifts, talents and abilities for the furtherance of God’s kingdom. When the master in the parable excoriates the slave who hid his one talent, he is very harsh – “you wicked and lazy slave” he cries out. Given that the guy didn’t lose the money, he did after all, safeguard it so it would not be lost or stolen, that seems a harsh and severe judgment, don’t you think? Is the guy wicked because he wouldn’t go out and take a risk and try to grow the money? Wasn’t he just a prudent and risk-averse investor, someone who preferred safety to risk, who just wanted to hedge his bets? This guy only had one talent – what if he had risked it and lost it? What was the sin here that brought about such a strong reaction from the master?

The so called “wicked” slave seems to have made two fundamental mistakes in dealing with the talent he was given. First, he insulted the master when questioned about his failure to invest the money and make it grow. He flat out told the guy that he didn’t trust him, that he considered him “a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter seed.” Now it is no surprise that the master didn’t take kindly to that kind of insolence. If the master in the story is God, then what we have here is a person telling God, “I don’t trust you to deal fairly with me or to manage the resources of the world fairly, so I decided to play it safe and give you back what is yours.” This is not a recipe for an intimate and trusting relationship! Lack of trust is a big issue in any relationship, as much in the relationship we each have with God as in any human relationship that we pursue. Stewardship, it turns out, has a lot to do with trust. Trust that God will provide for our needs, trust that we can take risks with the gifts we have been given and God will be there when we do so.

The second mistake the “wicked” slave made was being afraid to take a risk. He was so afraid of losing the one talent he had that he merely hid it rather than working with it to make more of it. His risk averse strategy preserved the “talent” but didn’t multiply it or spread it around so that there would be more of it. Indeed, in order to keep it safe he had to hide it. How often do we hide the talents we have been given so as not to have to do the work that using them entails? And how likely is it that our talents will grow and increase if we hide them away from sight? Jesus seems pretty clear as he tells this story that risk taking is an important part of our relationship with God and is crucial to being able to make the most of the gifts God has given us.

Jesus calls us all to be risk takers, to live out our lives of faith in daring and shrewd and active ways. A life of faith is a life dedicated to moving out in the world, taking the resources God has given us and multiplying them for the good of all God’s people. The commandments to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves suggest that our duty as people of God has something to do with using our “talents” to do love in the world. Doing love always involves significant risk and abundant trust, as anyone who has ever loved another person can attest. Nothing that is worth doing is risk free – any successful entrepreneur will tell you that. Jesus doesn’t expect us all to be able to do the same kinds of things – we each get different gifts and therefore different results are expected, but results are expected from all. Our fear of taking risks is directly proportional to our trust in God. If we really trust God, we are more able to take the risks that will grow our talents for the good of everyone.

All of us have taken a risk this morning. We have come to the feast of Life itself. We have put ourselves in the way of an overpowering Spirit, so that even if we are here only out of force of habit, or because we to see our friends, or because it feels safe and peaceful, not at all risky and dangerous, we are at risk of being caught up and filled with a life-changing, life-giving call to freedom and servanthood in the name of Christ. We have taken the risk of hearing the Word of God proclaimed and broken open, we have taken the risk of opening ourselves to the power of prayer in community, we have risked meeting the Risen Christ up close and personal at the communion table this morning. Putting ourselves in the way of God is risky business because God has been known to do wild and wooly things with people God calls to life in Christ!

Finally, lets think about what this parable means for Grace Church as a faith community. You have tremendous gifts and talents here –people with the gift of compassion and mercy who naturally reach out to those in need, those who have the gift of managing financial resources, those with gifts of music and singing, those with spiritual gifts of prayer, outreach, hospitality and teaching children. When God gave all of those gifts to this community, God expected you would take risks and multiply the gifts many-fold in ministry to God’s world. Each of us individually is called to make the most of our gifts and we are called as a church body to pool our resources and collectively take risks for the kingdom. If we take that call seriously, amazing results will follow.

That troubling last line of the parable may reasonably be interpreted to mean that those with a wealth of trust in God and the concomitant willingness to take risks for faith are those who will receive more – more trust, more love, more courage to keep on taking risks. From those who have not, that is those who lack that radical trust, even more will be taken away. If we do not trust God, we will not be able to take the risks that will lead to abundant life and fruitful ministry. Stewardship is about generosity and being truly generous is risky business. Being truly generous takes immense trust. To all those who have, more will be given and they will have an abundance. May we all be risk-takers for the kingdom of God, growing in an abundance of trust and love in the God who sends us into the world to do the mission of reconciliation, healing, justice, freedom and peace.