Sermon Archive

Watch Out! Talent at Work

I've quoted it before. I'll quote it again: "There are three conversions necessary in the Christian life: the conversion of the heart, [the conversion of] the mind, and [the conversion of] the purse." Thus spoke Martin Luther.

And today is that once-a-year Sunday when I talk with you about that third conversion—the conversion of your purse!

Now we've just heard a parable by Jesus: the one about a man leaving on a long journey who entrusts very large sums of money to three of his servants who're staying behind. I said "very large sums" because in those days to earn the equivalent of the amount of silver called a "talent" the ordinary day-laborer would have had to work full-time for at least fifteen years—and the least of these servants was given that one-talent amount. The other two were given twice and five times that much.

For today's worker, a minimum living wage is about $12 an hour. So a laborer working at such a wage full-time for fifteen years would earn a total of about $325,000.

Thus, to put things into perspective, the wealthy man in Jesus's story is giving to his one-talent servant the equivalent of $325,000, and to his two-talent servant the equivalent of $650,000, and to his five-talent servant the rather unbelievable sum of over $1.6 million. That's a total distribution of some $2.6 million! Wow!

Now—in my preaching over these past years, I've spoken with you a number of times about how parables are to be read and interpreted. One of the things I've emphasized is that each reading of a parable can be a fresh, new interpretive experience. For parables are open-ended metaphors, with a multitude of possible meanings. You see, a parable is like a diamond, a gem that has many facets, many faces—a gem that, when rotated, catches the light in beautifully differing ways, so that it reflects back to the viewer a variety of colors while taking on ever-new appearances.

Thus, each parable carries within it many meanings, not just one. And while working on today's sermon I glimpsed another of the meanings within this parable—one that for me was indeed a "new appearance."

In the standard interpretation of this story, offered in most commentaries and sermons, the person who bestows these three extraordinary sums symbolizes God, and the servants who receive these sums symbolize ordinary Christians, and the sums themselves—those great bars of silver-symbolize the abilities, aptitudes, skills, and resources that God gives to each of us.

Now, many a stewardship sermon has been preached on that standard interpretation, and the essential point of such sermons is this: Don't hide the abilities, aptitudes, skills, and resources that God has given you. Multiply what God has given you, and be a faithful steward of your talent.

That's a magnificent stewardship message, and I would gladly have preached it this morning. Yet I was aware that this message has already been powerfully delivered to you in the letters you've received from the Stewardship Committee and your pastors.

So while this parable was rotating in my mind, I came to see a new facet of the text, an interpretation that for me was new and different!

In this reading, the one who bestows these extraordinary sums symbolizes any person whose support of God's work is generous; and the servants who receive these sums symbolize those "servant organizations"—those churches, those charitable institutions—that undertake the work of God in the world; and the great bars of silver symbolize the time, talent, and money that that generous person offers to God by investing them through churches and other "servant organizations."

So the new meaning of the parable that came to me is this: The local church, having received the time, talent, and money that its generous member offers to God by investing them through that congregation—the local church is charged to make that sum grow. The local church is charged to be an effective steward of the talents it receives from its congregants. And at the end of the year, the local church must be able to say to its congregants, "You gave us five talents; see, here's the ten talents' worth of good that's come from it," or, "You gave us two talents; here's the four talents' worth of good that's come from it." And shame on any local church that has to say to its congregants, "You gave us one talent. Well, we went and hid it in the ground, but you can have it back if you want."

Now, Rutgers is almost literally a five talent church—which is to say that our church budget, our budget for adding goodness and beauty and justice to the world, is this year a bit over $1.6 million.

And once I mention a sum like $1.6 million, it should become obvious to the one hundred persons who are here today how important it is for each and every one of us to be generous.

I'm sometimes asked, "Pastor, what would a generous annual gift for God's work amount to?" And the biblical answer to that question is, of course, clear: "A generous annual gift for God's work would be at least 10% of your income—a tithe." But of course, with your gifts of 10% you may want to support not only this local church but also a whole variety of other charitable organizations.

So a well-accepted rule of thumb is this: Assign half of your charitable giving to your local community of faith, and the other half of your charitable giving to additional worthy organizations.

Now let's suppose that you are choosing both to tithe and to give half of that tithe through this local church. Then the easy way to figure out your weekly pledge is to divide your annual income by 1,000. For example, if you have an income of $25,000 a year, that rule of thumb would lead to a pledge of around $25 a week. That's about the same as two people going to a movie. But of course, if you itemize deductions on your Form 1040, Schedule A, then what you give to the church is fully tax-deductible.

For an income of $50,000 a year, the well-accepted rule of thumb would point to a pledge of around $50 a week. That's about the same as two people eating out at a moderately priced restaurant. But the $50 you give to a church each week is tax-deductible!

Well, I'll stop there. You get the point.

Fast-food restaurants are always urging you to "super-size" your order. Well, this morning I'm not asking you to super-size your pledge. I'm simply asking you to Bible-size your pledge. I'm asking you to calculate your annual income, divide it by one thousand, and then offer to God that Bible-size sum weekly.

And to each and every one of you who's pledging today, I make this pledge to you in return. On behalf of the Session, Deacons, and Trustees of the Rutgers Presbyterian Church, I pledge that we will not bury in the ground whatever sum you give us. I pledge that we will not hide the "talents" you entrust to us. I pledge that we will put your gift to a wise use for God's purposes and that you will be able to see it multiply before your very eyes—into inspiring worship, comforting pastoral care, solid education programs for both children and adults, vigorous peace and social justice ministries, active outreach to our community and world, and dynamic evangelism. And isn't all of that a multiplication of goodness that far exceeds what a night at the movies or a dinner out can achieve?

I invite you to envision some of the ways your gifts will be put to work here and doubled in value. Picture this: our sanctuary will be warm, lighted, and filled with moving, uplifting worship and music—a place where you can count on finding solace and inspiration.

And picture this: When you or anyone else has a pastoral need, the ministers, our parish associates, our Deacons, and our Helping Hands will be available to counsel, visit, and offer you comfort. When you or a new family want growth for your children, you and they will find a Sunday School operating with marvelous curriculum materials and equipment and with trained, dedicated teachers. When you or new adult visitors seek greater depths of understanding and faith, you and they will find available to you here classes taught by knowledgeable, spirit-filled persons.

And picture this: When you and others are looking for a community of faith that is open and affirming of all persons—regardless of sexual orientation, race, class, previous religious experience—you and they will be able to find that open and affirming community right here; right here, you and they will experience a community of More Light. When people on the West Side of Manhattan are trying to cope with hunger, with homelessness, with AIDS, or with addictions, they will be able to find help and comfort right here. And when persons in our community are looking for toddlers' classes, after-school programs, youth outreach programs, scout programs, and programs in music, dance, art, and drama offered in the context of a loving, caring community— they can come right here to our Child's Play, Body And Spirit, and scout programs at Rutgers Church.

Yes, on behalf of the Session, Deacons, and Trustees of this congregation I pledge to you, the generous person in Jesus's parable, that this servant organization will use your pledge wisely and well: to proclaim God, to nurture and expand this community of More Light, and to serve our neighborhood, our city, and the wider world beyond.

In today's First Lesson, we heard the apostle Paul praise God for the Christian church in the Greek city of Thessalonica. Paul gave thanks for that church's "work of faith," its "labor of love," and its "steadfastness of hope," for it was Paul's experience that from that church the word of God was sounding forth like a trumpet.

To those of you who today pledge to support God's purposes in the world through the Rutgers Presbyterian Church, I make this pledge in return: When you receive our accounting of how your gifts for 2006 were used, you, too, will be able to give thanks to God for this congregation's "work of faith," its "labor of love," and its "steadfastness of hope." You, too, will be able to say that from this church the word of God has been sounding forth like a trumpet.

Well, the time has now come for us all to practice generosity. The time has now come for us all to make our pledges of support for the work of God through the Rutgers Presbyterian Church.

So I invite you to spend several minutes in quiet meditation and to use that time to reflect first on what God means to you, and to reflect next on what this church, its sacraments, and its ministries mean both to you and to our wider community as well. And finally, I challenge you to calculate one one-thousandth of your annual income and to pledge to give that amount each and every week to the work of God through this congregation. One one—thousandth—whether that be $10 a week, or $25 a week, or $50 a week, or $100 a week.

At the end of this quiet time for pledging, I will close with prayer. And then during the offertory anthem, please come forward to the communion table to place there both your pledge for 2006 and your offering for this morning. And remember to mark not only the inside of your pledge card but also the outside. The inside is for money. The outside is for time and talent.

Now, let us all experience the joy of pledging to support God's work.

Let us pray:

Ever-generous God, Jesus gave his life for us. In return, we now offer to You our "talents"—both our money and our abilities. In the name of Jesus, we pledge this. Amen.