WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:04.799 Our first scripture reading today comes from Matthew's gospel, the 25th chapter. 00:00:04.959 --> 00:00:07.040 Hear now the word of the Lord. 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:13.839 For as if a man going on a journey summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them. 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:21.600 To one he gave five talents, to another, two, to another one, to each according to his ability. 00:00:21.920 --> 00:00:23.359 Then he went away. 00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:29.280 At once the one who had received the five talents went off and traded with them and made five more talents. 00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:40.799 In the same way the one who had the two talents made two more talents, but the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. 00:00:41.039 --> 00:00:45.280 After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:54.000 Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, Master, you handed over to me five talents, see? 00:00:54.159 --> 00:00:56.320 And I have made five more talents. 00:00:56.640 --> 00:01:00.479 His master said to him, Well done, good and trustworthy slave. 00:01:00.719 --> 00:01:02.960 You have been trustworthy in a few things. 00:01:03.200 --> 00:01:05.439 I will put you in charge of many things. 00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:08.159 Enter into the joy of your master. 00:01:08.480 --> 00:01:14.719 And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, Master, you handed over to me two talents. 00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:17.280 See, I have made two more talents. 00:01:17.599 --> 00:01:21.840 His master said to him, Well done, good and trustworthy slave. 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:24.159 You have been trustworthy in a few things. 00:01:24.400 --> 00:01:26.719 I will put you in charge of many things. 00:01:27.040 --> 00:01:29.439 Enter into the joy of your master. 00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:41.599 Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, Master, I knew you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter. 00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:45.760 So I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. 00:01:46.079 --> 00:01:48.239 Here, you have what is yours. 00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:58.239 But 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. 00:01:58.480 --> 00:02:05.359 Then you ought to invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:14.800 So take the talent from him and give it to one with ten talents, for to all those who have more will be given, and they will have an abundance. 00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:19.439 But from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 00:02:19.759 --> 00:02:26.000 As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 00:02:26.240 --> 00:02:28.000 This is the word of the Lord. 00:02:30.319 --> 00:02:31.759 Y'all see the cross by me? 00:02:32.879 --> 00:02:33.280 Yeah. 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:35.680 Um, I know it's easy to miss. 00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:40.719 You know, what with uh the other much larger sacred object next to it? 00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:41.919 The organ. 00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:50.639 Um, but it's there, uh, looming over every single person who steps foot in this pulpit. 00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:57.599 Last week, for those of y'all who were here and remember it, uh, we talked about the second coming of Christ. 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:01.840 And uh and it reminded me of a joke that I'm sure a lot of you've heard. 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:11.199 I've heard it several different places, where you know, Jesus comes back and uh and Jesus goes to church and he sees all the crosses, right? 00:03:11.280 --> 00:03:24.879 He sees crosses around people's neck and on top of steeples and uh even over pulpits, and he goes up to you and he says, crosses, crosses, did you read the story? 00:03:25.039 --> 00:03:28.719 What makes you think I want to be honored with crosses? 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:32.240 It's not the happy part of the story, right? 00:03:35.039 --> 00:03:52.000 But the gospel is not really just a bunch of happy success stories either, which I believe is why we have to really pay attention and read closely the parable of the talents. 00:03:52.800 --> 00:04:04.719 Because on the face of it, it looks like the parable of the talents is basically a story about God rewarding success on the one hand and punishing failure, right? 00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:06.159 I mean, we just heard it. 00:04:06.240 --> 00:04:13.120 Um, God gets five talents, he turns them into ten, guy gets two talents, he turns them into four. 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:16.160 Go and enter into the joy of your master. 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:20.800 But the last one, the last guy, he just got one talent. 00:04:20.959 --> 00:04:24.480 Uh, he buried it in the ground, he failed. 00:04:25.040 --> 00:04:27.839 Throw that one into outer darkness. 00:04:29.519 --> 00:04:55.199 So anyone who has read the Gospel of Matthew closely, as we have been doing over these past several weeks, um, frankly, anybody who's ever sat through a Good Friday service, um, they will tell you that the story of Jesus Christ is not just a story about God blessing success, God punishing failure. 00:04:56.160 --> 00:05:07.439 Frankly, anybody who's ever been in the ministry will tell you it's not just a bunch of happy success stories up here either, folks. 00:05:07.759 --> 00:05:13.120 Um anybody who's lived life knows that too. 00:05:14.319 --> 00:05:20.079 I was thinking as I was writing this, like, that's kind of the problem with preaching, you know? 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:31.680 Because everything you get up here is written and rewritten and practiced and rehearsed and fine-tuned most of the time. 00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:33.759 Most of the time. 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:43.920 But trust me, everything in ministry, it is not practiced and rehearsed and fine-tuned and always successful. 00:05:45.600 --> 00:05:47.519 I learned that early on. 00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:57.920 Um, I've told you all a couple of these stories about how when I was in college, I worked as a youth minister for the Baptist church that I grew up in. 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:10.160 And uh, and before that, when I was a teenager, when I was a youth back in the 1990s, um, we had like a very stereotypical 1990s youth minister. 00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:21.360 Like he wore flannel and he had a guitar, and uh, and he would lead us in praise courses, and and he could just sing, he could sing beautifully. 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:24.480 He was a tenor, just fantastic singer. 00:06:25.279 --> 00:06:31.120 So when I started as a college youth minister, I just thought, like, hey, I'll do that, right? 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:38.079 Like, I could string a few chords on a guitar, um, I could lead kids in praise chorses. 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:40.399 I mean, how hard can that really be, right? 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:45.120 Um, here's the thing I didn't realize. 00:06:45.279 --> 00:06:50.079 Um, I can sing, can't really sing on tune. 00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:51.439 You know? 00:06:52.879 --> 00:07:02.079 Um, but I was such a young and innocent and doe-eyed uh looking college kid. 00:07:02.319 --> 00:07:09.199 At first, nobody had the heart to tell me that I wasn't singing on key for these praise courses. 00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:16.160 Um, it wasn't until like about a month in that I realized like nobody was singing with me, you know? 00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:31.600 And then about two months in, I kid you not, like suddenly, when it was time for me to lead the praise courses, all the adult volunteers who were older than me, they suddenly like had to go use the bathroom during praise course time. 00:07:32.480 --> 00:07:40.399 Um so trust me, not everything in ministry is turning five talents into ten. 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:41.839 It's just not. 00:07:43.279 --> 00:07:47.839 To be fair to the parable, though, let's go to the parable real quick. 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:58.399 Um, taking five talents, turning them into ten, probably was not just like a very simple success story either. 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:06.079 Um, there wasn't like investment strategies back in the first century that guaranteed success like that. 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:17.279 Um this slave, and mind you, he was a slave, so anything he did with money was putting him at substantial risk. 00:08:18.319 --> 00:08:24.480 But just think about this he was investing five talents, which is a fortune. 00:08:25.199 --> 00:08:29.600 Five talents is about two million dollars, our money. 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:38.639 And he had to put that money at substantial risk to make a profit like that. 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:48.639 So surely, while he was going through the process of doubling it, um, there was a lot of success, but surely he met with some failure along the way, too. 00:08:49.360 --> 00:08:55.600 Um, and he certainly had to put himself through a lot of risk to do it. 00:08:56.159 --> 00:08:59.039 He probably lost some, he probably gained some. 00:08:59.360 --> 00:09:03.039 We just don't hear about the ups and downs of through the parable. 00:09:04.080 --> 00:09:07.120 What we do hear about is the failure of the last guy. 00:09:07.200 --> 00:09:08.799 You all remember that, right? 00:09:09.679 --> 00:09:13.759 Notice, though, the difference between the five talents and the one talent. 00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:19.440 The guy with the one talent, he wasn't willing to risk anything, right? 00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:26.639 Um, he just buried it in the ground because, Master, I knew you were a harsh man, he said. 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:28.720 He didn't even try. 00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:36.159 So let's just say out loud, well, the parable skips over maybe a bit too quickly. 00:09:36.720 --> 00:09:42.399 To live in the kingdom of God is to risk failure. 00:09:43.120 --> 00:09:45.279 Not even to risk failure. 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:51.840 To live in the kingdom of God is to experience failure every once in a while. 00:09:53.360 --> 00:10:00.480 This is the problem when you read the parable of the talents as just a story about rewarding success. 00:10:01.039 --> 00:10:09.360 You really, if you read it too quick, you miss the fact that turning five talents into ten was risky business. 00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:13.120 Probably had a lot of failure along the way, too. 00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:25.519 To be frank though, got to thinking this week, like this is kind of the problem with like with everything we do up here, right? 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:30.159 Like um, like even communion, right? 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:31.759 Like, like, think about it. 00:10:31.919 --> 00:10:40.720 Um, in just a few minutes, you all are gonna come up here and you're gonna come up here in your Sunday best, right? 00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:59.120 Um, it's a problem if through doing that we assume that God only wants to see successful people, that God only cares about you when you're all tidied up and looking great. 00:11:00.159 --> 00:11:08.480 Um it's a problem if we assume this table is just for perfect Sunday people. 00:11:09.919 --> 00:11:11.200 Because it's not. 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:15.279 That's not what communion is about. 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:27.200 Um what communion is really about is bringing up not just your Sunday best, but really like your whole self to the communion table. 00:11:27.440 --> 00:11:40.559 Um your success, but also your failures, your uh your risk and also your failures, um, your rewards, but also your failures. 00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:48.240 Um, all of it, all of it, your your whole self is about supposed to come up here. 00:11:48.720 --> 00:12:00.080 What what God turns into the beautiful people of Christ, the beautiful people of God, the body of Christ, um, is a bunch of imperfect people, just like you and just like me. 00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:09.200 That's what God mysteriously turns into the body of Christ every time we come up here. 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:12.720 Our whole selves are transformed. 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:21.679 And if you think about it, if you think about the communion story, I mean that's actually like how communion got started, right? 00:12:22.559 --> 00:12:23.919 Like, think about it. 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:31.279 Like, communion got started during the Last Supper, when you'll remember Jesus took bread. 00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:35.279 And you remember what happened right after the meal? 00:12:35.840 --> 00:12:39.440 Uh, he was betrayed by somebody who was really close to him. 00:12:40.080 --> 00:12:46.159 And um, and then he was condemned by the state, and then he died on a cross. 00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:55.039 So Jesus' um own life of faithfulness, it wasn't just a simple success story, right? 00:12:55.519 --> 00:12:59.360 It wasn't just taking five talents, turning them into ten. 00:13:03.679 --> 00:13:17.919 Last week, you might remember, I told you about a preacher, famous preacher named Fred Craddock, whose book I did finish this week. 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:25.519 Um, some of you actually, after the service, you came up to me and you said like you had heard of Fred Craddock. 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:28.159 Some of you had actually even seen him preach before. 00:13:28.799 --> 00:13:39.360 Uh, for those who don't know him, believe me, uh, in Presbyterian preacher world, Fred Craddock is like the top of the top. 00:13:40.159 --> 00:13:50.639 Um he was a brandy distinguished professor of preaching and New Testament at Emory University like for decades. 00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:57.600 He taught thousands of students, like literally thousands of ministers. 00:13:58.320 --> 00:14:02.960 Um, he lectured and he preached all over the country. 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:09.600 On the face of it, Fred Craig looks like a really successful story. 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:26.559 Which is why it was so striking to me uh in his book on preaching, where he says the life of a preacher, and frankly, the life of faith, it's not like that at all. 00:14:26.799 --> 00:14:27.919 That's what he said. 00:14:28.960 --> 00:14:40.720 Um he says that like when you look at the pulpit from the pews, it looks uh really neat and really nice, doesn't it, from where you're standing, sitting. 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:48.159 Um, but once you get behind it, you notice it's it's a little bit of a mess. 00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:49.279 It's my fault. 00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:51.039 I'll I'll take responsibility. 00:14:51.200 --> 00:14:55.840 Um, but there's like there's old bulletins back here. 00:14:56.879 --> 00:15:00.879 Um this is water from last week. 00:15:02.720 --> 00:15:08.000 Um here's my my sweat rag starting to turn a color. 00:15:09.519 --> 00:15:12.240 And this is something I was thinking about last week. 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:16.159 Um, there's a fire extinguisher back here. 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:22.960 Like, I don't know what you want me to do with this thing if like a fire broke out. 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:31.200 Um, in other words, uh the life of faith. 00:15:31.679 --> 00:15:35.039 It's not all just like turning five talents into ten. 00:15:36.240 --> 00:15:46.399 Craddock says when he was first called into ministry, like he envisioned it as like a once and for all, like, yes, Lord, here I am, right? 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:50.399 Like, are you able, Fred Craddock, to drink this cup? 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:52.480 Yes, Lord, here I am. 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:57.600 Are you able to write that one big check for your life and give it over? 00:15:57.759 --> 00:15:59.759 Yes, Lord, here I am. 00:16:01.519 --> 00:16:14.240 But then, like, he got into ministry, he got into life, and he realized that big cup, you don't just swallow it once, right? 00:16:15.039 --> 00:16:19.519 You take a little sip here, take a little sip there. 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:24.000 You preach a sermon that flops, there's a sip. 00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:28.559 The McKinnon room tiles fall apart, there's a sip. 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:35.039 The kids stop singing when you're trying to lead them in singing. 00:16:35.840 --> 00:16:37.200 That's a sip. 00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:44.159 There's also, he said, there's no just like one big check that you that you pay for your life up front. 00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:46.320 It's more just like little withdrawals. 00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:51.440 Like, you know,$1.50 here, five bucks there,$10 there, right? 00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:58.960 Like um, like you stay up late in the office, you miss your kid's baseball game. 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:02.159 That's a withdrawal from that check. 00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:06.400 Um, your teenager yells at you for the first time. 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:09.759 That's a withdrawal from the check. 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:14.559 Um you get that unexpected call back from the doctor's office. 00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:17.279 That's another withdrawal. 00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:19.279 Um, all the time. 00:17:19.440 --> 00:17:27.359 It's like life is just like a little bit here, a little bit there, these withdrawals from your soul. 00:17:29.119 --> 00:17:34.960 Truth is though, Jesus never said being faithful would be easy. 00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:43.519 He did say in this parable, though, to be faithful, uh, you do have to try. 00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:46.240 We have to try. 00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:52.079 That last guy with the one talent, he didn't he didn't try. 00:17:53.039 --> 00:17:58.400 That guy with the one talent, he's like, sorry to name names, but he's like Joel Olstein, right? 00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:06.079 Like, he's the guy standing up in front of uh a thousand people saying, Jesus is gonna bless you with success. 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:07.599 I guarantee it. 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:11.920 But then he never preaches a sermon about a hard topic. 00:18:12.720 --> 00:18:20.960 Um, he never admits that a life of faith takes some risk and that it can be hard. 00:18:22.240 --> 00:18:34.160 And sorry, last time, but to to return to communion again, um, just to underline it, that's what that's what the bread is all about, right? 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:49.599 Um, Jesus, in his lowest moment, that turned into one of his highest moments, all of that was rolled into one through the bread. 00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:54.880 In the bread, you can see both cross and resurrection. 00:18:55.680 --> 00:18:59.279 In the bread, you can see Jesus' whole ministry. 00:19:00.319 --> 00:19:04.720 You can see your whole life of faith in this. 00:19:05.839 --> 00:19:11.680 Um all of that is celebrated here at the table. 00:19:14.240 --> 00:19:20.960 I'm gonna leave you with just just one more youth ministry story from back when I was in college. 00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:26.240 Um there was a kid in my youth group. 00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:29.839 He was a teenager, uh, his name was Jesse. 00:19:31.680 --> 00:19:35.200 And Jesse like struggled to make friends. 00:19:35.599 --> 00:19:42.559 And he was the type of kid that was like he's really sensitive, he was really thin-skinned. 00:19:43.839 --> 00:19:54.880 And when I was a college student, I actually used to just go over to Jesse's house to play video games after school because like I was starting to worry about him. 00:19:55.119 --> 00:19:59.200 Like he was really, you could sense it, like he was really starting to withdraw. 00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:09.599 And I don't remember where we were at, but I was leading a retreat for the youth group one night. 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:12.480 And uh, and yes, I had my guitar. 00:20:13.279 --> 00:20:17.599 Um, thankfully, I wasn't singing, so the kids didn't have to go to the bathroom. 00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:20.000 I was just strumming the chords. 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:26.799 And and I asked the kids to wash each other's feet. 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:29.279 Uh, it wasn't Monday Thursday. 00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:31.039 I don't know why I asked them to do that. 00:20:31.119 --> 00:20:33.759 It just felt like a cool youth group thing to do. 00:20:34.880 --> 00:20:54.160 And they did it reluctantly, and it got to be Jesse's turn, and somebody washed Jesse's feet, and suddenly Jesse just started like sobbing, crying. 00:20:55.039 --> 00:20:59.359 And it wasn't like like an embarrassing type of thing. 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:04.400 Um, it's not like the kids like laughed at him or like drew away or anything. 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:10.640 Um I don't know, like maybe it was a miracle, maybe it was the Holy Spirit. 00:21:10.799 --> 00:21:17.920 But like I remember several kids like came over to Jesse and like just put a uh hand on his shoulder. 00:21:19.519 --> 00:21:29.119 And uh and Jesse said something like, I just never thought anyone would ever do something like that for me. 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:33.519 So I was trying to keep it cool, right? 00:21:33.759 --> 00:21:39.119 Um, like I was I was strumming my guitar, just acting like everything was normal. 00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:46.000 But inside my head, I was thinking, like, yes, like they get it, they finally get it. 00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:50.559 I had a dream about that night recently. 00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:56.000 Uh I don't know if you would call it a dream or a daydream, um, but I was thinking about it. 00:21:56.240 --> 00:22:04.799 And probably I was thinking about it because Craddock in his book, he talks about something very similar, so it like it got me thinking in this way. 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:14.160 But um, but anyway, I'm dreaming about how present Jesus felt in that moment. 00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:43.759 And in the dream, I'm um I'm strumming my guitar, and Jesse is there and he's crying, and the kids they're they're up and they're rubbing his shoulders, and all of us are there together, our full and our complete and our imperfect selves, at once, taking a risk, trying to be the body of Christ. 00:22:45.200 --> 00:23:01.279 And um, and in the dream, I'm strumming my guitar, and then suddenly I look down, and it turns out I'm not holding a guitar at all. 00:23:02.480 --> 00:23:07.039 What I'm holding is a loaf of bread.