27th Sunday after Pentecost (November 16, 2008)

“Heaven’s Economics”
Matthew 25:14-30

INI

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

1. I did not take an economics course in college, so my knowledge on the subject is limited. But with the things that have occurred nationally regarding the economy over the past couple of months, you can’t help but learn a couple of things. This is what I’ve learned so far. I’ve learned that I like gasoline that is under two dollars a gallon! I’ve learned that people, no matter what goes on with Wall Street, will always be worried about money. I also know that I don’t know very much about economics. Those are three things that I’m pretty sure I know for sure. But here’s a couple other economic principles that I think are pretty foundational. If you invest a lot of money, there’s a lot of risk…but there’s also the potential for a big return! Also, if you invest nothing, you will make nothing. The people in our country who have lots and lots of money wrapped up in investments are probably have the most at stake in the stock market…and yet the same market that is now losing people money is the same market that probably made people all that money.

2. Big risk…big reward. Little risk…little reward. Those principles are the same ones applied by Jesus in his parable to the disciples. The difference is that in this case, you can lose more than the shirt off your back. Three servants…each entrusted with the property of the master. One receives five talents. Another receives two talents. A third receives one talent. The first two guys are risky investors. They take the money that was given to them and they put all of it to work. The risk pays off. Each of them doubles what was given to them. The third guy plays it safe…no risk…no chance of losing what doesn’t belong to you. But he does more than just refuse to invest. Forget tucking it under your mattress. He buries it in the ground. He puts it where he can forget about it. It’s a burden to him. He’d rather have nothing to do with it. Out of sight…out of mind.

3. Of course, the consequences in this investment game are eternal. God the Father bestows a treasure upon each and every one of us…and then we’re called upon to put it to work. God has a kingdom and you have been given a piece of it. What then do we do with this kingdom he has given us? Will we hide it away and act live we’ve never been given it? Or will we put it to work? Will we carry the name of ‘Christian’ proudly and boldly? Or will we be ashamed of the one who has put his name on each of us in Baptism?

4. If you haven’t figured it out yet, this is the Sunday where we hand out stewardship packets at the end of the service and we encourage each of you to fill out certain things. Will you attend Sunday worship? Will you study God’s Word in devotion and in Bible studies? Will you use your resources for the growth of this congregation and for the growing of the Church throughout the world? Will you assist the congregation in doing the tasks that need to be done to keep this operation going? How you answer those questions—that’s more than just “setting goals” or “putting your best foot forward.” What we’re talking about is the investment you’re going to make in God’s kingdom. After all, isn’t that what being a steward is? Isn’t being a “steward” looking after something you’ve been entrusted with? What will each of you do with God’s kingdom in 2009? Will you hide it away? Or will you put God’s treasure to work?

5. Obviously, the penalty for hiding your treasure away is tragic. “Cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” So let’s state the obvious—that’s somewhere you and I don’t want to be. The ones who will suffer that fate are those who are ashamed of the name of Jesus and of the kingdom he extends to each and every one of us. You and I obviously want to be those gutsy investors who took the master’s money and doubled what they had. You and I want to be those who aren’t afraid to put the kingdom out there and let it do its work. And do its work it will! The kingdom…the treasure that you and I have been given is the salvation that comes from Jesus Christ dying for our sins. The kingdom is the whole counsel of God that sinners are set free from the curse of the Law and freed to live eternally in God’s grace. You can’t keep a message like that quiet! You can’t hide away a treasure like that!

6. Let’s be certain…there is a risk involved when you invest in that kingdom. When you put your time…your effort…your resources…your energy into the Church, there is the possibility that it could even require your life. The pages of history are scattered with more stories than can be counted of people who suffered for the name of Christ…tales of those who had their families taken away from them…of those who had their possessions taken away…of those who had their lives required as a payment for their faith. Even more so now, as you and I approach the end of time that rings true. St. Paul tells us in our Epistle about how some will put their trust in their possessions. “While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.” Those who are not caught up in those days will be those who are willing to part with anything rather than forsake God!

7. With big risk comes the potential for a big reward. But heaven’s economics are different than those of Wall Street in one very important respect. When you invest all of your money in stocks, bonds, and whatnot, there’s a chance you could lose everything and find yourself broke. Perhaps if you’re shrewd and smart you can avoid that happening, but there’s no guarantees that you won’t end up with nothing. But in the case of the kingdom of heaven, despite the risks involved, the reward is guaranteed! Even though everything on earth be taken away from you, the eternal reward is yours! Both the first and second servant invested the master’s property and both of them got the same result. Their investment doubled. Both of them were invited into the master’s joy.

8. Here’s the lesson for you and me—no matter what you and I lose in this life, there is an eternal reward as God’s children in Jesus Christ. We actually heard this beautifully a few weeks ago on Reformation Sunday when we sang that verse of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” “Were they to take our house, goods, honor, child, or spouse, though life be wrenched away, they cannot win the day. The kingdom’s ours forever!” The riskiest investment you can make is also the surest investment you can ever make! St. Paul writes in Romans 8, “Neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

9. So what do you say? Should you and I do it? Should we take the “big leap?” Should we, as they say in poker, “go all in?” Think about it for a moment…think about where our congregation could go if you and I were to take the risk. Will God not bless us if we are willing to give above and beyond generously? Will God not enrich us if we are willing to immerse ourselves in his Word? Will God not give to us if we give to him? The answers to all of them are the same…of course he will! What if all decided that it was worth the investment? God’s Word is sure. He tells us it will be! What if every person who during this week contemplated their task as stewards said, “I’m going to make the worship of God’s house the center of my life?” What if everyone said, “I’m going to study God’s Word diligently?” What if everyone said, “I’m going to give God the very firstfruits of my income?” What then do you think would happen to us congregationally? I dare say, the results could be interesting to say the least!

10. The first place you and I start—because none of us will sell out completely for God’s kingdom—is with repentance. You and I repent of our complacency. The third servant was complacent. He was content to leave things the way they were. The complacent were those in the Old Testament lesson of whom God said, “At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill.’” We start with repentance, because that same complacency of the third servant is within each of us. As sinful people, you and I will cling to our goods. You and I will horde our time for ourselves. You and I will prefer to take care of our own interests rather than God’s interests. And that leads us to the most amazing bit of “heaven’s economics.” God invests in us sinful people by shedding the innocent blood of his Son Jesus. God fits each of us to be those entrusted with his kingdom through his love and grace. May he strengthen us to invest everything in his kingdom, even as he promises us the greatest reward of all. In Jesus’ name…Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.