"Motivation" - Matthew 25:14 - 30
A Sermon By Alex W. Evans, Pastor
Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA
Matthew 25:14-30
“Motivation”
Ginger and I used to have a dog – a beautiful golden retriever – who was such a part of our family when our kids were growing up. His name was “Shadow” – because he followed around one of our daughters so closely – like a shadow.
Here is the thing about Shadow, our dog. If you ever spoke the word “Walk,” his ears perked up, he got up and went and waited by the front door. This one, simple word, motivated him. He loved going on walks. Saying “walk,” brought him to life, to attention, to the door, ready to go.
What is it that motivates us, . . . . gets our attention, gets us focused on responsible faithfulness, on the tasks at hand? We are all ministers!
Before I went to seminary, some of you know that I was a teacher and a lacrosse coach. Our team had some good players, but we were mostly average compared to the other teams. So, as a coach I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to motivate – to get the best out of the players. Sometimes it led to yelling and screaming. Sometimes it meant devising new schemes. Sometimes it meant praising, pampering, and rewarding them. Various approaches worked.
This is what we learn too as parents. Sometimes what motivates is a hug. Sometimes it is a reward. Sometimes it might be a threat or warning or grounding. Different tactics and words, different messages and approaches work to motivate us in the callings and challenges and phases of life.
Jesus seemed to know this. His parables and teachings show different styles and approaches to motivating disciples. Today’s passage is especially challenging. Listen to Matthew 25, beginning at verse 14:
14“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.16The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20Then 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.’ 21His 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.’ 22And 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.’ 23His 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.’24Then 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; 25so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26But 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? 27Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest.28So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents.29For 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. 30As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Theologian and writer Phyllis Tickle calls this parable “one of the most difficult and contrary passages in the whole canon.” She says it is “fraught with unattractive paradox.” (Day1.org, 11/17/02)
The unattractive paradoxes have to do with Jesus seemingly encouraging people to use the ways of the world to increase their wealth and status, as the first two slaves did. The unattractive paradox is surely about the harsh condemnation of the third slave. We depend on and celebrate a God of grace and mercy, and instead of grace and mercy, this third slave is called “wicked and lazy,“ then “thrown into the outer darkness.” And another unattractive paradox – what about “the last shall be first,” and “blessed are the poor?”
But then, remember – there are lots of ways to be motivated – and sometimes, even Jesus brings out harshness. Jesus wants to make a very strong point – it matters what we do with what we have been given! This is a parable – not about wealth and money. This is a parable about responsibility! What do we do with what we have been given? God is serious about that question. Jesus pushes hard on that question and wants to MOTIVATE: we are to use what we have been given for the goodness of the world and the glory of God.
One of my favorite passages of Scripture says this: “None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” (Rom 14:7-9) Those words want to motivate us for faithfulness!
The great theologian of grace and courage, Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that the real sin, the dangerous sin for respectable people like us, is running from responsibility. Bonhoeffer, you recall, was the extreme pacifist who took his responsibility so seriously in Hitler’s Germany that he joined the Resistance Movement to overthrow Hitler. This pacifist even helped to plan the assassination of Hitler. His sense of responsibility cost Bonhoeffer his very life. Unlike the third servant, he was motivated – not by caution and fear – but by conviction and service. God always wants to motivate us for faithful work in God’s world.
What do you do with what you have been given? How might God be motivating us in these days?
This parable, and others like it, remind us that Jesus has high expectations for us. Jesus expects us to be responsible with what we have been given. And there are NO exceptions. As we see with the third servant who buries his talent, fear is not an excuse. We might be tired, or even unemployed, we might be struggling; we might be mourning the loss of a loved one, sitting in a chemo chair, or facing the prospect of a long, hard winter living through a global pandemic; but we still have the duty of making something of the gifts God has given us.
Jesus wants to motivate us for responsible faithfulness!
Some of you have heard the amazing story about Le Chambon, France during the Second World War. The story involves Rev. Andre Trocme and his wife Magda, French Protestants who lived in that tiny mountain village. Along with their townsfolk, they provided refuge and, when possible, escape from the Nazis for Jews and others fleeing Nazi persecution. Although the Trocmes and other villagers were under surveillance, they quietly continued their rescue efforts throughout the war. Ultimately, their investment of personal risk and gospel love yielded an enormous reward. Between 1940 and 1944, the villagers of Le Chambon saved the lives of more than 5000 Jews and others fleeing persecution.
Years later, Magda Trocme was interviewed by those who found it hard to fathom such courage, such risk. She said this about her choices: "Remember that in your life there will be lots of circumstances where you will need a kind of courage, a kind of decision on your own, not about other people but about yourself. . . . I would not say more."
What a fascinating review of a life-changing, life-saving undertaking. Magda Trocme insists the rescue efforts in Le Chambon were not about the people they were trying to save, only. It was also about the rescuers themselves. They each had a decision to make. Who would they be? Would they be passive, cautious, self-protective, fearful? Or would they be enactors of Christ's message of compassion and love - no matter the risk? The villagers of Le Chambon chose the risk. As Christ's people, that was their responsibility. As Magda Trocme concludes, what more is there to say? (C. Baggot, Day1.org, November 2017)
Across the recent months, many of us have learned lots, realized lots, about white privilege, and systemic racial injustices in our land. We have learned lots about our history, certainly our church, maybe our families and our complicity in racial injustice. We have learned afresh about the deep fissures in our society – revealed in the Black Lives movement, and the devastating pandemic, affecting people of color so disproportionately. I think we have fresh decisions to make – about ourselves, our faith and lives as Christians. Will we be enactors of Christ’s message of love and hope – or will we be cautious, self-protective, and fearful, like the third servant in this parable? What will we do with what we have been given? Jesus seeks to motivate us to do justice, to love kindness, to walk humbly.
I have been reading Jonathan Sacks’ latest book, entitled, Morality, Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times. Many of you know how much I love Jonathan Sacks, who served for so long as the Chief Rabbi in the United Kingdom. Sadly, Jonathan Sacks died this past week – a great loss for the world. Sacks’ latest book calls for us to move from the politics of “ME” to the politics of “US.” When we do that, we re-discover these life-transforming, counter-intuitive truths: that a nation is strong when it cares for the weak, that it becomes rich when it cares for the poor, that it become invulnerable when it cares about the vulnerable. He says, if we care for the future of democracy, we must recover the sense of shared morality that binds us to one another in a bond of mutual compassion and care. There is no liberty without morality. There is no freedom without responsibility, no visible “I” without the sustaining “We.” (Sacks, Morality, p. 20)
Today, in our church, is a day of great celebration. I hope you will come downtown to 5th St at 2:00pm. We will rejoice in 175 years as a dynamic church in this location. We will celebrate a $5 million Capital Campaign – “Shining the Light of God’s Grace” – that strengthens us for God’s worship and work for many years. We are part of a great legacy. We are seeking to keep on with faith, hope, and love. THANK YOU for your part. We also mark Dedication Sunday – we re-dedicate our lives and our gifts to God’s important work going forward. Jesus is absolutely interested in our MOTIVATION as disciples who serve. Jesus demands on our responsible faithfulness.
I want to conclude with a poem from Mary Oliver, entitled “Moments.”
There are moments that cry out to be fulfilled.
Like, telling someone you love them,
Or giving your money away, all of it.
Your heart is beating, isn’t it?
You’re not in chains, are you?
There is nothing more pathetic that caution
when headlong might save a life,
even, possibly your own. (Oliver, Felicity, p. 9)
May we all be motivated for bold, responsible faithfulness following Jesus! AMEN
Prayer of Commitment: O Lord, to turn from you is to fall; to turn to you is to rise: to stand with you, to serve you in responsible faithfulness, well, that is to abide forever. We seek that way following Jesus. Amen.
Alex Evans, Pastor, Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA preached this sermon during Sunday morning worship on November 15, 2020. This is a rough manuscript.