“Being All That God Meant Us To Be”

 
I am sure many of us have heard people excuse themselves from upholding the church by their prayers, their presence, their gifts and their service by appealing to what they do not have…
… “I’m too old.”…
… “I’m too young.”…
… “I’m not educated.”…
… “I’m too busy.” …
… “I’m not good enough.”…
… “I could never do that.”
When God asked Moses to tell Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go, Moses used a number of phrases to complain about what he did not have:
“Who am I that I should go…?…
… “Suppose they do not believe me….”
… “I have never been eloquent…”
After listening to Moses’ complaints, God said to him:
“What is that in your hand?”
In essence, God was saying: “Moses, I am not interested in what you do not have; I am only interested in what you do have….reach out your hand…and certainly I will be with you.”
For years an army recruitment advertisement has been challenging young men and women to “Be all that you can be.”
As a Christian the challenge is : “Be all that God meant you to be!”
The parable of the talents tells us that God creates and that God calls us to be co-workers for the unfolding of history.
To help that become a reality, God invests in us and expects a return on that investment.
In the parable of the talents, a man set out on a journey, entrusting his property to his servants.
It is important that we recognize from the outset that this man represents God.
It is God who owns the world. And, apparently we are His servants.
The word “talent” has come into our language from this parable.
Rather than money, however, it has come to mean abilities and special gifts.
Now, we must be careful not to interpret the parable of the talents simply on the meaning of the word “talent” that has evolved over the years.
Rather, the question that each of us must ask is: “What did Jesus mean by the talent?”
I would submit that everything we have and everything we are comprise the talents entrusted to us by God.
This includes our abilities…
…each precious moment of every day, every week, every month, and every year given to us…
…our material and financial resources…
…our relationships with loved ones and friends…
….the gift of God’s salvation and redemption in Jesus Christ…
…in short—our very lives!!!
All of this is entrusted to us by God, and we are called to be God’s stewards!
Now, the work of the Kingdom is so great that many people may wonder why God left it to us….
…but He has…and we must keep that in mind….because people’s souls are at stake!
But just think of how exciting this makes the Christian life!!!
Yet how often are we like the one-talent man?
Our faith, instead of being an adventure, becomes a heavy chain of obligations.
We cling to the status quo…hoping we can get by without too many crises or challenges.
We are content with the usual routine.
The one-talent Christian fails to see how much he or she is needed….and the result is deadly.
In actuality, no Christian is one-talented. We are all many-talented!
We can pray…
… we can be present at church and invite others to come with us…
….we can share our faith…
….we can share our gifts…
….and we can serve.

The front page of a Texas newspaper a few years ago carried the picture of a young and beautiful African American mother born without arms and legs!
The State Department of Public Welfare had charged in court that she was incapable of taking care of her five-month-old daughter.
During the court hearing the mother surprised everyone by proving she was competent to take care of her baby.
There…before their eyes…she undressed and then dressed the baby again by using only her lips and tongue.
The judge was so impressed that he not only awarded custody of the baby to her, but said, “I have to commend you very much for your courage, spirit, and ingenuity….You have proven that physical endowments are only a part of the spectrum of resources that human beings possess.”
The young mother was a good steward of her wounds.
She did not dwell on what she did not have.
Rather, she chose to use to the utmost what God had given to her.
God calls all of us to realize the potential of our lives…
…to maximize the years of our lives!
And this is exciting!!!
There is an urgent purpose that God has given to each of one of us, and this purpose demands the very best that we can believe and give.
In our gospel lesson, one servant gets five talents…
…one servant gets two talents…
…and the other receives just one talent.
When the time came for an accounting, they were not judged on an absolute scale…
…they were judged in accordance to what they had been allotted.
So, the important factor is not what we have or what we have gained….
…What is important is what we have done in relation to what we have been given.
God wants His stewards to be action oriented.
 What image do we have of God in today’s Gospel lesson that guides our behavior?
Sometimes our perceptions are distorted…
…and this leads to self-defeating behavior!
The master in this parable is Christ and we are those to whom He has entrusted His substance.
Everyone who has been baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity has been fashioned by God into a new creation…in order to accomplish God’s works.
Therefore, we are richly endowed with that which is His!
 Jesus invested His love in those whose lives were out of control…such as prostitutes and tax collectors.
He scattered the Seed of the gospel wildly, letting it fall where it may take root-- where it was able.
 This parable makes it very clear that, as stewards, we are accountable to God…
…And with accountability comes consequences.
Jesus’ point is that talents are entrusted to us to be used!
If an opportunity is not taken, it is lost forever. Amen