On this 32nd week of our masked worshipping, we are waiting on the Lord and we are of GOOD courage! Our musical selection is before us.
It is fair to say that the evil of slavery has
existed from the beginning of time. No matter what historical angle we view
slavery, it has always been some type of bondage. Bondage is the work of the
enemy. Bondage is designed to steal, kill, and destroy. Those in bondage are
enslaved with emotional, physical or spiritual chains. They suffer from a loss
of freedom. A slave is a captive, living with an unwelcome restriction and
forced servitude.
We can appreciate Bob
Dylan’s song reminding us that one way or another we are all going to serve
somebody:
You may be an
ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes
Indeed you're gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody
God calls us out of slavery into a life of freedom
in Christ. God calls us, not to bondage but to be servants to one who loves and
cares for us. It is our happy and humble privilege to serve such a God. When we
want to be truly free, we learn to love and serve our God with all our hearts
and all our souls and all our strength!
Adam and Eve dismissed, disrespected, and disobeyed
God. They not only lost their life of leisure and had to work by the sweat of
their brow, but they were banished from paradise. They became captives.
The Hebrew children of God were not trapped by their
disobedience like Adam and Eve. They were victims of a situation beyond their
control. In spite of their bitter circumstances, the God who was bigger than
their problems was there to swallow up their suffering.
When the Egyptians saw that the Hebrew children were
beginning to outnumber them, they were afraid. They began to worry about losing
control of their government, their military and their economic resources. Instead
of finding ways to work and live together, the Egyptians made laws and used
military might, cruelty and slavery to control and kill their brother and
sister Hebrews who were also human.
After a long time, Moses and his brother Aaron got
up the courage to acknowledge God’s call to help their sister and fellow
Hebrews leave their life of slavery. They mustered the strength to accept God’s
help, to act in obedience and lead the people to freedom.
Moses was among the most famous Hebrew slaves. He
was angry, very angry. And, his anger cost him. When he witnessed an Egyptian
beating a Hebrew slave, you know what he did. He killed the Egyptian slave
master. There is no record of Moses officially standing trial for that murder, though
there were hostile witnesses, but it is fair to say that he spent the rest of
his life in his own prison of rage and reckless behavior. His relationship with
God and the people of God were negatively affected.
This morning’s parable tells of a slave master who made
his subjects responsible for resources the bible calls talents. It was another
name for money, and it is also where we get the idea of talents meaning or
special abilities and aptitude.
Talents, like gold and silver today, were not taken
lightly in ancient times. The value could be high or low depending on the
economy. It could be hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Even today, things
made of silver and gold are never thrown into the trash because they are always
considered valuable.
This slave master, this boss, this CEO, however we
want to title or label this person - gave one slave 5 talents, another slave 10 talents
and another slave received one talent. Much of life is the same way. Each of us
has different resources, different gifts and talents worth, valued differently
depending upon where we are and what economic or spiritual season we are in.
Time and chance happen to us all. We are not in charge. We are subjects,
underlings, even slaves to our creator, for it is God who has made us, not we
ourselves.
At the same time, every one of us has something. No
matter who we are, where we come from and where we are going, God has left none
of us empty-handed! Each of us is, on many levels, free to choose what to do with
the many blessings that are God-given gifts. No matter who we are – you and I -
we are precious in God’s sight. You and I – we are highly valued. We are
worthy, beloved, the apple of God’s eye. It is good to see ourselves as God
sees us. It is good to see our family, friends, and neighbors near and far as God
sees them – valuable, worthy, beloved, precious.
So, what’s up with the slave master, the boss, the
CEO in Jesus’ parable? He gives kudos to those who invested their talents and
got a 100% return? He tells them in verse 23 ‘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.’
The two who made a profit received approval and were
called to joy. But, the one who produced nothing explained himself in verse 24
Then 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.’
God, can be seen in this story as our master, our
CEO, our boss who gives us gifts with a purpose and a plan. God gives us gifts so
that we can be blessed and so that we can be a blessing to those around us! If
we bury our gifts do not use them, blessings are blocked, delights are
detoured, and wishes are waylaid.
God is NOT harsh to say it is wicked and lazy
to bury our talents instead of using them to produce whatever good. No, God is
not harsh. God has boundaries that are healthy and holy. God loves us so much
that God accepts us just as we are, but God is too loving to leave us that way,
making us think we do not need to do better at times.
As Christians can be too hard on ourselves.
Sometimes we feel guilty when God is holding us blameless. Sometimes we work
twice as much when God is calling us to rest. Yet, sometimes
we are lazy and neglect to work the work God gives us to be the blessing God
intends. It always pays to serve our wonderful God. Serving God is money in the
bank. For example, scripture tells us when we give to the poor, we lend to the
Lord. Only what we do for Christ will last, as one song says.
Whatever God puts in our hands is a blessing. Our
job is to keep a conversation going with God as to how to use those blessings
in order to build others up and to build the kin-dom of God. It is a job. Laziness
is not acceptable. Laziness intends that the job be left undone or left for
someone else to do it. Laziness says “no” to a neighbor when God calls us to
meet a need. That’s wicked. Laziness refuses to listen and learn from our God
how to be the best servant we can be. That’s wicked.
When the world is upside down, we are ALL in
bondage, but God calls us to freedom in Christ. No matter how big our problems
may be, God is bigger. No matter what pain whips us, God is a healing balm in
Gilead. No matter how much suffering, sadness and despair come our way from
those in positions above us, God has enough peace and joy to calm our hearts.
No matter how hard the waves may rock our lifeboats in a storm, God is still in
charge.
We can always put our trust in the God who loves and
cares for us and holds us securely in a comforting hand. God lifts us up on
Eagles wings and carries us to a better place. God makes a way for us when
there is no way, saying ‘I reap where I do not sow, and gather where I do not
scatter.’ We can count on God to create something from what we think of as
nothing. We can trust God when we can trust nobody else.
Let us trust God today and always. Amen.
Shall we bow in prayer…
God, we love being your servants. We love being
loved by you. Show us all the more how to love one another, especially when we
are hearts are not as willing as thy need to be.
We pray as you taught the disciples:
Our father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this
day, our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who
trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,
for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Hopefully, this message has freed you for joyful service. Next week we continue in Matthew 25.31-46 in the Upside Down theme and the thought “Get These Angels Out of Here”. If you would like to make your contribution to the great ministry and mission of Bethel, the website is
Or you can send it to 952 Bethel Church Road, Spring
City, Pa. 19475. God bless
you!
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