An Investment in Joy

November 15, 2020 The Rev. Mark Pendleton Christ Church, Exeter An Investment in Joy 14 "For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15 to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17 In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18 But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 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, I have made five more talents.' 21 His 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.' 22 And 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.' 23 His 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.' 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; 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' 26 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? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29 For 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. 30 As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' Matthew 25:14-30 So where does one go with the Parable of the Talents? Over the years I been known to dust off this well-worn gospel story to make a point or two about how we use the money that we have been given or have earned. A stewardship sermon is there for the preaching. Do we take a risk to put into motion something beyond ourselves or do we hide and bury it away out of fear? Fear that we might lose some or all, or give up the most precious commodity in many of our lives: control. The word 'talent' of course can be confusing at first because it leads us to think of the way we understand the word today, as in: a talent to speak in public, or sing, write, excel at sports, rather than what it meant in ancient times -- mainly a measurement of money. What was the street value of a talent of silver? Probably the best way to think of it was that it equaled roughly 15 years of an average wage. We are talking a lot of money here. What is the moral or meaning of this story? Is Jesus advocating aggressive investing in the stock market in order to double one's money? The stock market, in which I've read only half of the American public have any money invested in, can be a roller coaster ride with white knuckle losses and jar dropping gains. But I can't see Jesus as a trusted financial advisor, because in most cases, given a chance, he tends to recommend that people with money give it away to those without. Maybe a greater lesson of this parable is about what awaits us when we work and invest in what God most cares about. When you think about it, the parable begins as the opposite to the familiar Prodigal Son in Luke, where the younger son is the one who takes his treasure and journeys far away from home. Here a master is the one who leaves on a long journey, and leaving behind something of great value. He entrusts valuable assets with three slaves according to their ability. The parable doesn't tell us what abilities those three possessed, it is left to us to imagine. Maybe the master knew something about their personalities and their tolerance for risk and reward. Biblical stories of masters and slaves are always problematic, as our ears and minds are more attuned to the meaning and power of these words for listeners today. We have to work through those difficult words to get to a larger message: what is being given away and later promised. I have an assignment: not for this week but right now. Take a moment and think about God. And one step further, if we believe that God continues to live and move among us, consider what is that God does. This is an important exercise so we don't think of God as unchanging, static, and far away. Since I've had some time to think this over: I could name a few things Scripture tells us that God does: God loves. God heals. God creates and makes. God gathers and re-gathers. God forgives. God strengthens. God breathes new life into people and communities. If we were to consider the master in the gospel parable as a Jesus or God-like stand-in - remember that there was a belief when the Gospels were being written that Christ would return again in people's lifetimes, I would add another core description in my imagining of God's core nature: God gives. Just rest there for a moment and think about it. Out of nothing, something. God gives. Out of chaos, order. Out of darkness, light. Out of oppression, freedom. Out of isolation, community. Out of exile, home. Out of conflict, peace. Out of blindness and ignorance, vision and understanding. Out of rejection, welcome. And so, it is in the very nature of the master to give away great treasure. What do those do with this great windfall and the trust given to them? As we hear, the first one given the most doubles the amount. The second most doubles what he was given. The last of the three as we learn takes a more cautious approach: he was afraid and buries what was given to him out of fear of upsetting a harsh master. His outcome was harsh and brutal beyond measure: outer darkness and weeping would be his fate. I wonder what the slaves were expecting to receive when their master returned? At the very least their freedom. What they were given was meant to exceed and confound their expectations. They are rewarded with new horizons and an open-ended invitation: "I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master." Having shown that they built up and multiplied what was given to them, they would be given much more. And better yet: an entrance into the joy of their master. We return to the word 'joy' from time to time as a parish community. At the top of our mission statement: to live joyfully in faith. It has been our metric to return to. If we cannot find joy in doing something, it should be scratched off the list of priorities. How do you and I enter the joy of our creator? Where do we take the first step? It is even the right time to be talking about joy when there is so much to think about as we live through these days: when things are probably going to get worse before they get better. I sought out two spiritual giants for some insights. "In the Book of Joy," Douglas Abrams captures the conversations between the Dalai Lame and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The word 'joy' can be felt and expressed in many ways: pleasure, contentment, excitement, relief, wonder, bliss, radiance, elation, gratitude, rejoicing, and delight. (pg. 33) Bishop Tutu is quite blunt when he says that people make a mistake when they wait for happiness or joy: when they wait to "get a job, when they fall in love, when they get rich, when they will be happy, then they will have joy." (pg. 59) "What too many people wait for is available right now, and perhaps the greatest joy is when we seek to good for others." Tutu believes to his core that "we are wired to be caring for the other and generous to one another." If this is true, and I do hope it is, we have a lot of relearning and practice ahead of us. There are eight pillars of joy referenced by the Dalai Lama and the Archbishop. (pg. 343) I think these might help us draw out the possibilities. Perspective. See yourself and your problem from a wider perspective. Step back from yourself and your problem. Recognize that your problem will pass. Humility. See yourself as one of the seven billion people and your problem as part of the pain and suffering that so many human beings experience. See how deeply connected we are with one another. Humor. Try to find the humor in the situation and in your struggle, your shortcomings and your frailties. The human drama is often a comedy, and laughter is the saving grace. (toilet paper) Acceptance. Accept that you are struggling and that you have human limitations. Forgiveness. You will hurt and be hurt by others. See the shared humanity of any others who are involved and forgive them for their part. Gratitude. Think of three or more people or things that you are grateful for your life right now. Compassion. You are not meant to be perfect. Have compassion for yourself. Now send that compassion to your loved ones, to anyone you are struggling with and to all who are in need. Generosity. Feel the deep generosity that is in your heart. How can you give your gifts? When we give joy to others we experience true joy ourselves. I hope that even if we have some dark days ahead of us a nation and a world, we won't lose sight of the welcome, the banquet, the open door, the front row seat that has been saved for us - right now -- to join with God to bring about this Kingdom of surprise, wonder and justice.