Being Good Stewards – November 7, 2021
Jeremiah 29:10-14, Matthew 25:14-30
November 7, 2021
In Matthew 25 we find several of Jesus’ parables about the kingdom of God. And they are not like what we call the “Kingdom Parables” in Matthew 13. Those are short series of parables that describe the nature of God’s kingdom. “The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed.” That kind of thing. They point to the kind of things that are important in God’s kingdom, and the kind of people he wants us to be.
These parables in Matthew 25 are about this world – with the perspective of the preparation for the coming kingdom. And notice that they come right after chapter 24, which is known as “The Little Apocalypse.” In that chapter, Jesus speaks about the end times, and reading it, it sounds like the book of Revelation.
So here we have parables about that. We have the parable about the ten bridesmaids, some of whom were prepared for the coming of the bridegroom, some of whom were not. Here we also have the parable of the “Judgement of the Nations.” That’s the one about the sheep and the goats. In that parable, the Son of Man comes in his glory with all his angels, and all the nations are before him. And he separates them as a shepherd separates the sheep and the goats. The sheep were those who ministered unto the Lord by doing unto “the least of these my brethren.” Do you remember that? They were to “inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world.” The goats were not.
Then we have this parable for today, which is also a parable about the coming kingdom. And we see it as a parable about “Being Faithful Stewards.” Jesus says, “It will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property.” And this one also has a “kingdom ending.” In the end, the master tells the faithful servants, “Enter now into the joy of your master.”
In this parable, Jesus is describing this life in relationship to God’s kingdom. And he is saying that here, in our earthly life, the master has given us stewardship over his property. Think about that. The earth, and all that is in it, has been entrusted to us. And the question the parable asks is, what have we done with it? When the master returns to “settle accounts,” what will we have to show him?
Do we think of this life in that way? Think about the old hymn that we’ll sing next week.
We give Thee but Thine own, what e’er the gift may be,
All that we have is Thine alone, a trust, O Lord from Thee.
Sometimes we use that as an offering response – as an alternative to the Doxology. And it’s a good one! But do we believe it? Is all that we have in this life a trust from God? Do we think of ourselves as stewards of the master’s property? And what do we do with what we have been given? Are we using what he has entrusted us with to further his kingdom? These are all good questions that this parable asks.
But I like to point out even more. As you may remember, I’ve always been intrigued by the second servant in this story. Let me remind you that Jesus could easily have made this a parable about two men. He could have made it a parable that focuses on the “haves” and the “have nots.” And that would have been a good lesson. But he didn’t! He added the most interesting person of the three.
Think about it. The first and the third servants represent the “have’s” and the “have nots.” But this third man represents the “don’t have as much as the other guy” people. And I think that represents a lot of people! There are a lot of people in this world who don’t have as much as someone else, and they are envious of those who have more. And even churches can get caught up in that kind of thinking. Even us ministers! We hear of what’s going on in another church, and we think, “They have this and that?” “Well of course they have those things! They have a lot more people – and a lot more money!”
Sometimes we talk about having a “critical mass.” Do you know that expression? It comes from the world of nuclear reactions. (Atomic bombs!) “Critical mass” is the point in a nuclear reaction where there is enough material, enough heat, and enough pressure for the reaction to “take off.” And churches can get caught up in that kind of thinking. At what point do you have enough people, enough money, and enough enthusiasm that things “take off?” (And how much pressure and heat do you have to put on people to get there?)
So, is there such thing as a “critical mass?” Do we have to have a certain amount of people for things to “take off?” And what do we think if we don’t? Do we get envious of others? Do we get discouraged? And what do we do about it? Is the answer always to “get more people?” That’s often the church’s thinking!
Enter the second servant. He was given less than half of what the first was given. But! He had the same enthusiasm and the same results! When the master returned he said, “Look! You have delivered to me two talents.” Notice he didn’t say the word “only.” That would have made this a comparative statement. He didn’t say, “Master, you only delivered to me two talents. But I did it anyway! I doubled it, just like that guy!”
Jesus didn’t tell it that way. He told us that the second man had the same enthusiasm as the first, despite not being given as much. And I think that’s a huge part of this story. And I think it represents a huge number of people – probably the majority of the people who were listening to this parable that day. And I think it represents us. It speaks to the envy that might rise in us. If you remember, Envy is one of the Seven Deadly Sins! This parable speaks about our attitude toward God’s kingdom and what is really important to him!
God doesn’t ask or require that we have a lot. He just asks for us to be faithful! And being “faithful” is more than just being “reliable,” isn’t it? Being “faithful” is also a matter of the heart. The motto of the Marine Corps is “Semper Fidelis” or “Semper Fi,” for short. It means “Always Faithful.” And when the Marines use that motto, it means more to them than just a matter of the “discipline” of being faithful to each other. It means more than just being reliable, and being able to trust each other, and count on each other. It’s also a matter of the heart!
So, “Being Faithful Stewards” is also a matter of the heart. And what God asks of us, always has to do with the heart! I’ve always loved this passage we read today from Jeremiah. God said through Jeremiah, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
As I said last week, people always wanted to engage Jesus in matters of doctrine and belief, but he always turned their questions into matters of the heart. And I love how he made stewardship a matter of the heart. We read last week from “The Sermon on the Mount.” And there we read Jesus’ famous words, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” It doesn’t matter to God that we don’t have a lot. To him, it matters more that we’re faithful.
This reminds me of some of my favorite of all of Paul’s words. And I’ll end with this today. “For consider your call,” Paul wrote to the Corinthians. “Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many of you were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are.” (I Corinthians 1)
Don’t you love that? Do you ever feel foolish, weak, low, and despised? Do you ever feel like you weren’t given as much as someone else, like you weren’t blessed as much as someone else? Remember, God doesn’t ask that we have a lot. He only asks of us that we are faithful.
Prayer
Eternal God, we are amazed that you call even us to be stewards of your kingdom. Help us to be good and faithful servants, and to seek to serve you with all of our hearts. Please continue to bless and prosper us in all that we do. For we pray in Jesus’ name, and for the sake of his kingdom, Amen.