Sunday November 16, 2008
Proper 28
Brothers and sisters
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
There has been a lot of talk about fear in the news lately. Of course much of this talk has been in connection with the economy. But some of it has also been in connection with the presidential election. While some are rejoicing over the election of Barack Obama, others are somewhat apprehensive, and question whether he has enough experience to prepare him for the no-doubt incredible challenges that await him when he takes office. And still with others, there is perhaps simply a general fear of the uncertain times that we live in.
One can almost hear the echo of Franklin Delano Roosevelt saying that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. And in the context that FDR was speaking, things of the world, I believe that notion probably applied very effectively. But I believe in the Word that our Lord comes to us with this morning, the problem is not so much ‘fear itself’ but rather what we fear.
In the Gospel lesson, Jesus tells a parable of three servants who had each been entrusted with a certain amount of talents (money) by their master, a wealthy landowner, when he went on a journey. The landowner came back and each of the first two servants returned the money they were entrusted with, plus additional money that they had managed to make from the money that they had been entrusted with. It doesn’t really say how they made the money, whether it was from investing or what, but just that they had managed to take what they had been given, and from it, get more.
And then He went to collect from the third servant. And the third servant, whom He had given the least amount to, gave his Master only what he had been entrusted with. He explained that he knew that his master was a harsh man, reaping where He did not sow, gathering where He did not scatter seed. He confessed to being afraid, and for that reason, he just went and buried his talent in the field, rather than risk losing it. But his master replied in a most harsh manner, calling him a wicked and lazy slave, telling him he should have invested his money with bankers, so that upon the master’s return he would at least have made some interest. And He was thrown out into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The servant said that he was afraid, but it was not his master whom he was afraid of, but rather it was actually the perceived uncertainty of the world around him, in relation to the gift that he had been entrusted with. He was sure that the world around him would destroy the gift that he had been entrusted with, while the other two servants went confidently into the world, seeking to utilize the gifts in whatever way they saw possible, seeking whatever gains they could obtain from the gifts that they had been entrusted with.
And since we know that the master in this parable is God, then we know that the third servant in the parable was lacking the proper fear and reverence for God. We know that, like us he was guilty of fearing things of the world, and things of man more than God. For you see, we are guilty of this everyday.
Think about it. Throughout the day, throughout the last week, throughout the last month, throughout the last year, what have you feared? Have you feared the stability of your pension? Have you feared for your health or the health of loved ones? Have you feared whether or not you will be able to pay your mortgage? Have you feared whether or not you would reap a big enough harvest? Have you feared whether or not you would be able to pay your bills? Have you feared the prospect of having to call another pastor, and wondering just how many pastors there are that would be willing to come to Western North Dakota?
These are all valid things to be concerned about but they are ultimately things of the world. And since they are things of the world, we need not become so consumed with these concerns that they become a hindrance to our discipleship. We need not become so attached to the temporary things of the world that we lose sight of the eternal. When it comes right down to it, we are all just like the third servant, fearing the things of the world and things of man more than we fear the eternal things of our Lord.
But through the words of Zephaniah in the Old Testament lesson we are reminded that the day of the Lord is indeed something to be feared. Through the words of Zephaniah we are told that there will be great distress brought upon people because they have sinned against the Lord. He writes that their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. That does not sound pleasant, that sounds frightening and it is frightening. Indeed for some it will be a day of great darkness. It will be day of great despair.
Zephaniah writes that neither silver nor gold can save us from this day, and those sentiments are echoed in the explanation to the second article of the apostle’s creed from the small catechism where Luther reminds us that Christ Jesus saves us, lost and condemned sinners that we are, from this day of wrath not with silver and gold but with His holy and precious blood and His innocent suffering and death.
Every day we fear the things of this world more than our Lord and as such show ourselves to be deserving of the wrath that Zephaniah writes about, but our Lord Christ Jesus has taken upon Himself our fear and our doubts and our despair and our sin and He has saved us from the day of wrath. We have been freed from the darkness of that day of wrath and so hear the words of Paul from the second lesson through which our Lord tells us that we are not children of darkness but rather children of light and children of the day. Through the waters of baptism we have been claimed by our redeemer Christ Jesus, as children of the light, children or our Lord. We have been brought into the death and resurrection of Christ.
The old creation in us has been put to death, and the new creation in us is coming forth as the Holy Spirit comes to us in word and sacrament nurturing and sustaining us in our faith. And so to fear the temporary things of this world more than God is nothing but fearing and giving more reverence to the old creation that is being done away with; it is nothing but fearing this old sin-filled world that we have been saved from.
But such thinking is nothing but the type of backward thinking that we have been freed from, for the kingdom of our Lord is not a kingdom of this world, but the Kingdom of heaven. In 2nd Peter we read that we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth. As we live in the daily struggles of this old world, we should of course be concerned about the things of this world and the slings and arrows that sin and the devil hurl at us in the midst of this sin-filled world.
Concern over things of the world? Yes, but ultimately we need not fear things of this world for they are simply part of the old world that is being done away with. Having been brought through baptism into the death and resurrection of Christ, we are no longer moving from life to death, but rather from death, as in the death of the old creature in us, to life, as in the eternal life with our Lord that awaits us upon the resurrection when the new Heaven and the new earth arrive, and the new creation that our Lord is making in all of us has fully emerged. And so, to fear things of this world is simply to take our eyes off the new-life that awaits us, only to dwell upon death, which has been defeated for us through Christ.
And so knowing that we are new creations in Christ; children of the day, then all that is left is to put on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of the hope of our salvation, and go forth and proclaim Christ to your neighbor, and encourage each other, and build each other up, as you so often do; all the while knowing that no matter what the world throws at you, in the midst of this, you have been destined not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. And so, secure in this knowledge, you know then that there is nothing in this tired old world to fear; and so all that is left to fear is your Lord who, through the life, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, has saved you from His day of wrath, and given you the sweet joy of His forgiveness.
Amen
Brothers and sisters
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
There has been a lot of talk about fear in the news lately. Of course much of this talk has been in connection with the economy. But some of it has also been in connection with the presidential election. While some are rejoicing over the election of Barack Obama, others are somewhat apprehensive, and question whether he has enough experience to prepare him for the no-doubt incredible challenges that await him when he takes office. And still with others, there is perhaps simply a general fear of the uncertain times that we live in.
One can almost hear the echo of Franklin Delano Roosevelt saying that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. And in the context that FDR was speaking, things of the world, I believe that notion probably applied very effectively. But I believe in the Word that our Lord comes to us with this morning, the problem is not so much ‘fear itself’ but rather what we fear.
In the Gospel lesson, Jesus tells a parable of three servants who had each been entrusted with a certain amount of talents (money) by their master, a wealthy landowner, when he went on a journey. The landowner came back and each of the first two servants returned the money they were entrusted with, plus additional money that they had managed to make from the money that they had been entrusted with. It doesn’t really say how they made the money, whether it was from investing or what, but just that they had managed to take what they had been given, and from it, get more.
And then He went to collect from the third servant. And the third servant, whom He had given the least amount to, gave his Master only what he had been entrusted with. He explained that he knew that his master was a harsh man, reaping where He did not sow, gathering where He did not scatter seed. He confessed to being afraid, and for that reason, he just went and buried his talent in the field, rather than risk losing it. But his master replied in a most harsh manner, calling him a wicked and lazy slave, telling him he should have invested his money with bankers, so that upon the master’s return he would at least have made some interest. And He was thrown out into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The servant said that he was afraid, but it was not his master whom he was afraid of, but rather it was actually the perceived uncertainty of the world around him, in relation to the gift that he had been entrusted with. He was sure that the world around him would destroy the gift that he had been entrusted with, while the other two servants went confidently into the world, seeking to utilize the gifts in whatever way they saw possible, seeking whatever gains they could obtain from the gifts that they had been entrusted with.
And since we know that the master in this parable is God, then we know that the third servant in the parable was lacking the proper fear and reverence for God. We know that, like us he was guilty of fearing things of the world, and things of man more than God. For you see, we are guilty of this everyday.
Think about it. Throughout the day, throughout the last week, throughout the last month, throughout the last year, what have you feared? Have you feared the stability of your pension? Have you feared for your health or the health of loved ones? Have you feared whether or not you will be able to pay your mortgage? Have you feared whether or not you would reap a big enough harvest? Have you feared whether or not you would be able to pay your bills? Have you feared the prospect of having to call another pastor, and wondering just how many pastors there are that would be willing to come to Western North Dakota?
These are all valid things to be concerned about but they are ultimately things of the world. And since they are things of the world, we need not become so consumed with these concerns that they become a hindrance to our discipleship. We need not become so attached to the temporary things of the world that we lose sight of the eternal. When it comes right down to it, we are all just like the third servant, fearing the things of the world and things of man more than we fear the eternal things of our Lord.
But through the words of Zephaniah in the Old Testament lesson we are reminded that the day of the Lord is indeed something to be feared. Through the words of Zephaniah we are told that there will be great distress brought upon people because they have sinned against the Lord. He writes that their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. That does not sound pleasant, that sounds frightening and it is frightening. Indeed for some it will be a day of great darkness. It will be day of great despair.
Zephaniah writes that neither silver nor gold can save us from this day, and those sentiments are echoed in the explanation to the second article of the apostle’s creed from the small catechism where Luther reminds us that Christ Jesus saves us, lost and condemned sinners that we are, from this day of wrath not with silver and gold but with His holy and precious blood and His innocent suffering and death.
Every day we fear the things of this world more than our Lord and as such show ourselves to be deserving of the wrath that Zephaniah writes about, but our Lord Christ Jesus has taken upon Himself our fear and our doubts and our despair and our sin and He has saved us from the day of wrath. We have been freed from the darkness of that day of wrath and so hear the words of Paul from the second lesson through which our Lord tells us that we are not children of darkness but rather children of light and children of the day. Through the waters of baptism we have been claimed by our redeemer Christ Jesus, as children of the light, children or our Lord. We have been brought into the death and resurrection of Christ.
The old creation in us has been put to death, and the new creation in us is coming forth as the Holy Spirit comes to us in word and sacrament nurturing and sustaining us in our faith. And so to fear the temporary things of this world more than God is nothing but fearing and giving more reverence to the old creation that is being done away with; it is nothing but fearing this old sin-filled world that we have been saved from.
But such thinking is nothing but the type of backward thinking that we have been freed from, for the kingdom of our Lord is not a kingdom of this world, but the Kingdom of heaven. In 2nd Peter we read that we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth. As we live in the daily struggles of this old world, we should of course be concerned about the things of this world and the slings and arrows that sin and the devil hurl at us in the midst of this sin-filled world.
Concern over things of the world? Yes, but ultimately we need not fear things of this world for they are simply part of the old world that is being done away with. Having been brought through baptism into the death and resurrection of Christ, we are no longer moving from life to death, but rather from death, as in the death of the old creature in us, to life, as in the eternal life with our Lord that awaits us upon the resurrection when the new Heaven and the new earth arrive, and the new creation that our Lord is making in all of us has fully emerged. And so, to fear things of this world is simply to take our eyes off the new-life that awaits us, only to dwell upon death, which has been defeated for us through Christ.
And so knowing that we are new creations in Christ; children of the day, then all that is left is to put on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of the hope of our salvation, and go forth and proclaim Christ to your neighbor, and encourage each other, and build each other up, as you so often do; all the while knowing that no matter what the world throws at you, in the midst of this, you have been destined not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. And so, secure in this knowledge, you know then that there is nothing in this tired old world to fear; and so all that is left to fear is your Lord who, through the life, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, has saved you from His day of wrath, and given you the sweet joy of His forgiveness.
Amen
posted by Steve at 6:44 PM
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