Rev. Rebecca M. Heilman-Campbell

Matthew 25: 14-30

In the heartwarming show, Ted Lasso, the character, Rebecca, who is the owner of a local football team, has a secret sauce for her fearful moments, the moments when she does not feel confident. She says, “I make myself big. Before I go into the room, I find somewhere private, I stand up on my tiptoes, put my arms in the air and make myself as big as possible to feel my own power.” According to studies at several universities, including The Ohio State University, “standing in a dominant upright position may have a positive effect on how confident we feel.”1

My own Uncle has a different approach. He likes to remind us children of the family, now grown adults, to “be bold”. It’s a phrase that I keep close, repeat like a mantra when fear tickles in my throat, when the unknown looms over my head, when danger feels imminent. It’s a phrase I like to give to the Spirit, for we know the Spirit pushes and pulls the church towards bold decisions. It’s a phrase that terrifies me and comforts me all at the same time. All of these approaches invite the least confident to be daring, adventurous, grasp hold of, take on an opportunity. It’s an invitation to lean into faith. To trust that you are not alone, and that God has
given you everything you need. Because to be bold, to be daring means to shift from fearful people to faithful people.

Think of our parable today that Anna just read. A master or lord entrusts three servants with a total of eight talents. A talent was an exorbitant amount of money. One talent would equal to today’s amount of one million dollars. And so, the first servant is entrusted with five talents (about five million dollars), another servant, 2 talents (about two million dollars) and the last, one talent (one million dollars). That’s a lot of money to entrust, to trust in the hands of your servant. Now it’s important to understand that these were not gifts. The master entrusted the servants with this money. It was never the servant’s money. And so, the master goes away for a long time, enough time for the first two servants to trade and invest, doubling their master’s talents in the end. The master praises them saying, “Well done, good and trustworthy servant, enter into the joy of your master.” While the third servant buries the money out of fear of losing it, a fear of scarcity thus receiving a verbal lashing from his master. Think about this. Think about the courage it took for the first two servants, slaves, in some translations, people who are unpaid, dehumanized and under the control of a supposedly harsh master, think about the courage it took for them to take five million dollars (that’s not their own) out into the markets of ancient Greek culture. A culture where there are no banks, no bonds, no stock markets. No way to easily double the money. It’s a risky endeavor. If you ask me, in my cautious, fearful self, I
would be like the third servant – bury that money and protect it at all costs.

But is that who we want to be? Fearful people in the Kingdom of God or faithful people in the Kingdom of God? Be bold Jesus is teaching his disciples. The first two servants rolled up their sleeves and
got to work, as one theologian suggests, “with daring and imagination” utilizing the gifts given to them. 2 They took what was entrusted and grew it to enormous amounts. They took what they were given, the resources they had and operated out of courage and abundance. Fearful people or faithful people?

Mr. Fred Rogers is well-known for saying “When I was a boy, and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” After Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina, we looked for the helpers and the helpers showed up. We read articles and heard stories of neighbors lifting each other out of harm’s way, taking each other to higher ground. Churches with very little resources somehow doubling their food like the feeding of the 5000 story. Rescue workers entering dangerous areas to search for loved ones, even risking their lives for pets. Helpers who lost a lot and gave nearly everything. Fearful people or faithful people?

The Reverend Mary Katherine Robinson, the pastor of Black Mountain Presbyterian preached on love last week. She told story after story of love showing up in a desolated community, well, what we learned from her
sermon was that it wasn’t so desolated after all. She told this story, “Fourteen days ago, three young adult men who have never stepped foot in this church, started cooking. They didn’t have any power to play video games at home, so they joined their mom and dad, their grandma and stepped out of their usual isolation and into community, found some purpose. There were times when they got overwhelmed, moments when they had to take serious breaks. But they saw that they were needed, and they responded, “Do we want to be fearful people or faithful people?” 3

That’s what this parable is about. It’s stepping out of what we’ve always known and stepping into faith. It’s to be daring, to be bold in the face of the unknown. But “what sort of “daring” does Jesus have in mind?”4 As a theologian says, “Not the reckless, thrill-seeking sort, but rather the wise, generative sort, the kind of boldness that perceptively surveys any given situation, and then — with vigor, hope, and imagination — invests resources (money, yes, and also time and effort and talent and humor and all the good things God gives us every day).”5 We invest boldly “in ways that amplify and multiply the goodness of the world.”6 Friends, it’s
when we invest in what we have, what we have been given, opportunities arise, needs are met, communities are nurtured, hope dawns in the distant. As we say each week, generosity, sharing what we have and what we hope for, intimately connects us to God and each other.

It reflects God’s love for us and draws us closer to God. When we share our talents, we align our hearts with God’s, sharing in God’s mission to care for the world. We can’t deny that it builds deeper connections with others and bonds of trust, love, and compassion are made, while strengthening our faith and relationships. Just like the young men in Black Mountain. I imagine that they never thought they would be working at a church feeding hundreds of people. I imagine they never thought that there will be a time when no power would be available for weeks on end and they would not be able to do what they want, but instead get up and do what is needed. I bet they never imagined being invited into a community of love and then sharing that love with others. I wonder if they ever thought they would be nurtured while nurturing. And through it all, I imagine it must have been a little scary for them.

So, what courage do we have here at Trinity Presbyterian Church? Do we bury our gifts, our talents, our hopes, our love for this community or foster it as place we love? A place that feeds us and cares for us. A place that invites us into community. A place where all are welcome, and love is welcome. A place where children are excited to be, and adults can give a sigh of relief. Most importantly, a safe place where we can worship God and embody a faith that some days challenges us and other days envelopes us into a warm hug. So, Trinity, do we bury our gifts or invest them in a place we love? Are we fearful people or faithful people?

 

  1. https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/superman-pose-power-posing-confidence-boost/135719/
  2. 2 https://www.saltproject.org/progressive-christian-blog/2020/11/9/be-daring-salts-lectionary-commentary-fortwenty-
    fourth-week-after-pentecost
  3. On Facebook by Black Mountain Presbyterian Church and Rev. Mary Katherine Robinson.
  4.  https://www.saltproject.org/progressive-christian-blog/2020/11/9/be-daring-salts-lectionary-commentary-fortwenty-
    fourth-week-after-pentecost.
  5.  Ibid.
  6.  Ibid.