Don’t Bury Your Head in the Sand!

Matthew 25:14-30
¹⁴“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them;¹⁵to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.¹⁶The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents.¹⁷In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents.¹⁸But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.¹⁹After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.²⁰Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’²¹His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’²²And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’²³His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’²⁴Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed;²⁵so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’²⁶But 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?²⁷Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest.²⁸So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents.²⁹For 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.³⁰As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

I begin my sermon today by asking a question: True or False - Ostriches bury their heads in the sand when they're scared or threatened. ?  Well, while researching my sermon this week I found an interesting factoid on the internet. In a study of 200,000 ostriches over a period of 80 years, no one reported a single case where an ostrich actually buried its head in the sand or attempted to do so. (www.ahajokes.com/fp036.html)

But in truth, this well known myth about Ostriches is actually an optical illusion! Ostriches are the largest living birds, but their heads are pretty small. "If you see them picking at the ground from a distance, it may look like their heads are buried in the ground," says Glinda Cunningham of the American Ostrich Association. But ostriches don't bury their heads in the sand—because they obviously wouldn't be able to breathe! But they do dig holes in the dirt to use as nests for their eggs. Several times a day, a bird puts her head in the hole and turns the eggs. So it really does look like the birds are burying their heads in the sand! http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/animalsnature/animal-myths-busted

Now I give you this pretty useless fact to frame our discussion of a pretty controversial story in the gospel text today; some stories don’t have to be factually true in order hold some truth. Perhaps that why I love preaching on the parables of Jesus. Let’s face it, Jesus told some really outlandish stories that don’t seem to make much sense in our contemporary society. And when we encounter such a story, like the one this morning, it is a great opportunity to again take pause and consider the reasons why such parables were told, and then written down and eventually published in the collection of letters and writings that we called the Bible.

But if we consider this story in the context of Jesus’ circumstances at the time, we remember that in the previous chapter, Matthew 24, he had just come out of the temple in Jerusalem where he had engaged in some pretty tense dialogue with the community’s religious leaders; the scribes and Pharisees. They had been trying to trap him with tricky questions like; what is the greatest commandment? But Jesus wasn’t playing into their trickery, and looses his temper calling them hypocrites, blind guides, snakes, and a brood of vipers—strong words for a Rabbi who was quickly making more enemies and friends. And after this insulting discourse, Jesus leaves the temple and ascends the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem.

When I was 12 years old I went on a church trip to the Holy Land. One of the most memorable moments was hiking up the Mount of Olives, also know as Mount Olivet, located across the valley from the Temple Mount where the Dome of the Rock sits. Mount Olivet really isn’t a mountain at all, but a 2900 foot hill that has served as one of the main burial grounds for the city of Jerusalem. From this vantage point Jesus could easily view the Temple and observe the hundreds of squatters, lepers and poor people who lived outside the city walls. He would regularly retreat to this hill after teaching in the temple. And it was on one of these nights, perhaps as the sun began to set, and the hustle and bustle of the city began to die down, that Jesus sits and begins to talk to his disciples.

As he stares out at the city he probably observed people bringing their trash out of the city gates and throwing it into the valley below. This small valley where trash was collected and burned was called Gehenna. It was a garbage dump where fires were kept burning to consume the refuse and keep down the stench. It was also the location where bodies of executed criminals would be dumped. And it was to this place, Gehenna that Jesus said the scribes and Pharisees would be sentenced for their hypocrisy.

As they sit on the mountaintop Jesus gives descriptions of the end of time and the coming of God’s kingdom. If you remember last Sunday, Jesus described the coming of God’s kingdom like 10 bridesmaids, 5 who were foolish and 5 who were wise, when preparing for the bridegroom.

Which brings us to our text today—Jesus also describes the coming of God’s kingdom like a man who decides to go on a journey. He summons three of his servants and divides all of his property between them. To the first servant the man gives five talents, to another two, and to the third servant he gives one talent. Matthew tells us the servants were given different amounts and he also tells us why. The man gave to each servant according to his ability, Matthew says, which presumably means that each servant was given no more than he could handle.

It is not a story about sameness, in other words, or about one person being more deserving than the other. It is a story about the gifts that are entrusted to each of us. And what tremendous gifts they are! For Matthew says that they are talents, which doesn’t mean what we mean by talents – the ability to play the guitar or to organize bazaars. A talent was the equivalent of 6,000 denarii, the earnings of a day laborer for twenty years. We are talking fabulous sums of money, even for the one talent fellow. He was given the equivalent of a quarter of million dollars and that is nothing to sneeze at! This is a story, in other words, about an incredibly gracious and generous master, whose grace is clearly evident in the gifts he gives his servants – all of his servants.

Then, the story says, the man goes away. He leaves them alone, trusts them to manage his money. Just like that. And you know what happens - the five talent man invests his money and makes five talents more. The two talent man does the same and makes two more. But, of course, it’s the third servant in the story that Matthew wants us to notice, the man who buries his gift of money in the ground. What precisely is this man’s problem? After all, he is not a dishonest man who is out to steal from his master. There is no hint of fraud or deceit or greed when it comes to this man. He’s not an embezzler. He’s not trying to swindle money from his master. He’s not a rascal like some of Jesus’ other notable characters. He’s not a long-lost son who has spent his money on wine and women. He’s a cautious man, Matthew tells us, and what’s wrong with being cautious? After all, discretion and prudence are virtues, are they not? Wouldn’t you have been better off if you had been more practical with your money at times? Wouldn’t I? Of course, we would.

This servant’s caution, however, turns to something else; and that something else is a thing called fear. For this servant refuses to take any chances with what he has been given. The way this servant figures it, he’s better off preserving his own safety and security than risking the wrath of his master because he judges his master to be a harsh man.

Now I was really tempted to make this a sermon about stewardship. After all, today is Stewardship Sunday. Usually around this time of year members in congregations are asked to consider how much they might plan to give toward the work of this church next year. And this text would make a great sermon about investing in the future of the church. And as easy as it could be for me to make this scripture about giving to God’s work according to what you’ve been given—I just don’t think that is what God is speaking to me—or to this church today. I think that would be a cop out—to make this scripture coercive. The fact is, I think this story has a much bigger message for us. It’s not about committing a pledge to your stewardship campaign. This story is about a man who is does not understand his Master. It’s about misunderstanding our relationship with God.

I ask you to consider, “What has God given you?” And I’m not talking about your finances, your investments or even your skills and abilities. I’m not referring to time, talent or treasure. What has God specifically instilled in you as a child of God? Each of us has the greatest gift imaginable—the gift of life—but all too often we can’t imagine what to do with it. We feel adrift and lost, longing desperately for meaning. We want to make our life count and to express the gifts of Spirit we know we are here to bring forth. But we search in vain to discover just what these unique gifts of ours are and how we might express them. We search in vain because we look outside of ourselves for answers. We look for an answer to our life’s purpose in family, fortune, and fame, or as George Carlin calls it: stuff, stuff, and more stuff.

Rev. Michael Beckwith, founder of the Agape International Spiritual Center in Southern Califormia, suggests that our very basic purpose for being here on this planet in this human form is to be an expression of God’s love. We are here to love—to perfect, amplify, and express the unconditional divine love of God. That’s our purpose. And if our life’s purpose is to express God’s love, then God’s vision for our life is the means or manner by which we bring forth that love. That vision of our life includes our talents, our gifts and abilities, our personality profile, our heart’s desire. When we express God’s vision for our life, we feel fulfilled. However, if our relationship with God is based in fear, or guilt, or shame, then we retreat into darkness. We shield ourselves from relationship. We push intimacy and love away. We bury our head—and our talent—in the sand.

Think about it. What if all you had to give was love? What if you no longer had time, talent or treasure to give? Could you still love? So often in the church we focus on the tangible ways in which we can express our commitment to God—our tithes, our service, our expertise. These are all critical to the work of ministry, but how do you know when they are motivated by love? Jesus says in both Luke and Matthew: “Give, and it will be given to you in good measure; for the same measure that you give will be the measure you get back.” To me “the same measure” also means the motive underneath the action—and that is what determines the nature of the result. That’s why the servant with 5 talents got back 10, and the servant with 2 talents returned 4.

Rev. Beckwich reminds us that "All that we do reflects who we are. All that attracts us, also reflects us. All that we give, we also receive."  You can see evidence of this all around you. If you are drawn to the Humane Society display at the mall then you most likely love animals, and probably honor all species of life. You express the divine love of God in this particular way. If you love to cook for others, organize the food drive, give homemade sweets away as gifts, you are one who naturally nurtures. You express love by feeding and restoring others. If you love the arts and give money to support them, you are probably naturally creative in your own heart and celebrate the Divine creativity in all of life.

Our instincts for generosity, for service and for giving, are more opportunities for reflecting this Divine love of God, and when we are doing it, we catch a better glimpse of our own life purpose. By listening to your own heart in these activities, following your own instincts, and giving where you are inclined to love, you discover your own unique way of expressing the love of God. These are not hobbies or just random opportunities. They are manifestations of your Christ-like nature, your Christian identity. They are expressions of your purpose for being.

In the end, it is how you express this Divine love gift from God that matters. Your life is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God. Those who risk giving away whatever they have been given will multiply their gifts. But those who surrender to fear will experience more of the same. When we live in the confidence that God is trustworthy and generous and loving, we have nothing to fear. Besides, who wants to live with their heads buried in the sand? Not even ostriches do that! Amen?
(Excerpts from Barry J. Robinson’s sermon “Death of a Salesman” for November 13, 2005 – www.fernstone.org)

Dear Lord, we thank you for the unique blessings and abilities you have given to each one of us. Help us to realize that all you want for us is to express the gift of love you’ve given to us. May this love multiply our gifts of talent, treasure, time and trust to build your heavenly kingdom, both within ourselves, and throughout this whole earth.