phone-in for (audio only) Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Welcome and Theme:
Welcome, friends, as we gather as a community to pray and to grapple. This week we pray for wisdom as we grapple with parable: the smashing together of our spiritual lives and beliefs with what we observe in our day-to-day existence.
Opening Prayer:
Beloved, you offer us a vision of your Kin-dom as we do our best to co-create it here in the midst of life as it happens. We ask for the wisdom to see your truth, and the courage to live it. Amen.
Opening Song: Be Still And Know by Shaina Knoll
Liturgy of the Word
Please note: There is only one reading today.
Alleluia: Jan Phillips https://youtu.be/IC4nbwmQDVw
Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30
For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 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.” 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.” 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.” 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.” 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; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.” 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? 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. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 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. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
This is the Gospel from the writer we know as Matthew. We affirm his words with "Amen."
Homily Starter:
Another Sunday, another difficult parable. The words “difficult” and “parable” go hand-in-hand. Even seemingly “easy” parables are not as easy as they seem. And this one doesn’t even try to appear easy. John Dominic Crossan in “The Power of Parable” reminds us that seldom do parables mean what we think they mean. Rather, they were meant to inspire debate, theological discussion. So, let’s try some. Let’s toss this parable around our circle and see where it lands for us.
Frist I’ll offer a quick synopsis, and then a few ideas and possible interpretations. Then it would be great to hear what you make of the Parable of the Talents.
There are three slaves who labor for a harsh landowner. Each is entrusted with a huge treasure. One talent was worth 6,000 denarii, and just one denarius was equal to a day’s wages. Clearly, we are in the tall tale department of parable. In the master’s long absence two of the slaves have managed to double the talents they were given. The third, fearful of the master’s harshness, buried the money and returned only the original amount on the master’s return. The first two are rewarded with promotions. The third is banished to “the land of darkness,” possibly meaning that he was put to death.
This parable is full of thorns and prickers. It is part of a series of prickly parables in Matthew 25, the others being the Ten Virgins and the Sheep and the Goats. I found one promising interpretation of this particular parable in a very good sermon by Pastor Susan Strouse, from her website, “Pastor Susan: Preaching from a Progressive Perspective”. Pastor Susan compares the landowner to the Roman occupiers, comparing them to today’s 1%, as they basically owned the first-century world. In her interpretation, the first two slaves are the enablers in that system, willingly doubling their master’s already great wealth. In other words, they are propping up the Roman occupation by cooperating with it. The third slave is the only one brave enough to call out the evil of the system. And he is killed for speaking up. This version sounds to me like something Jesus might preach. The parable might have been the wrapping in which to hide a political statement on social justice.
I like this interpretation and want to accept it. But the problem I have with it is that it, along with the other parables from the same chapter I mentioned earlier, is supposed to be illustrating what the Kin-dom of God will be like. Jesus begins the chapter this way: “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like….” I can’t make sense of a story in which Jesus compares the Kin-dom of God with colonialism and authoritarian rule, or even the passive resistance to such a regime.
I’d like to offer one other way to interpret this parable, and it is not tame. It is about the vision of Jesus to build God’s Kin-dom on earth. Could the treasure given to each of the slaves represent the tools and materials needed to build the kin-dom? Is Jesus suggesting that God uses humanity to build the Kin-dom, gives us the materials we need, and leaves it to us to make use of those materials and tools, building the Kin-dom with our lives? And what might those materials be? Again and again, in parables and in direct answers to questions, Jesus suggests that what it takes to build God’s Kin-dom are compassion and love. It’s really all about love. And if we do not act with love then the Kin-dom will not grow. It’s that simple. If we do not act with love then the Kin-dom will not grow. And we will die. Maybe not physically. But spiritually and emotionally we will die. That’s not God being harsh. It’s reality, at least as Jesus sees it. Could that be what the parable of the talents is telling us? Is this great treasure of storybook proportions, worth untold millions, love? And have the first two slaves multiplied the love given to them? And with that love have they grown the Kin-dom? And what of the slave who buried his love? Did he keep the Kin-dom from growing? At least in his own heart? Is this the dark place he finds himself in at the end of the parable? Maybe. Maybe not. Not knowing for sure is part of the beauty and frustration of parables.
What do you think? Is this parable a political statement about the Evil Empire? Is it a challenge to grow the Kin-dom in love? Is it something else entirely? I challenge us to a discussion. I think that’s what Jesus really wanted when he told this confounding story. Let’s have at it!
Shared Homily
Statement of Faith
We believe in the Holy One, a divine mystery
beyond all definition and rational understanding,
the heart of all that has ever existed,
that exists now, or that ever will exist.
We believe in Jesus, messenger of the Divine Word,
bringer of healing, heart of Divine compassion,
bright star in the firmament of the Holy One's
prophets, mystics, and saints.
We believe that we are called to follow Jesus
as a vehicle of divine love,
a source of wisdom and truth,
and an instrument of peace in the world.
We believe in the Spirit of the Holy One,
the life that is our innermost life,
the breath moving in our being,
the depth living in each of us.
We believe that the Divine kin-dom is here and now,
stretched out all around us for those
with eyes to see it, hearts to receive it,
and hands to make it happen.
Prayers of the Community
As we prepare for this sacred meal we are aware of our call to serve, and just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. We bring to this table our prayers for the community.
We pray for these and all unspoken intentions. Amen.
Liturgy of the Eucharist
(Written by Jay Murnane)
Please join in praying the Eucharistic prayer together.
Blessed are you, Holy One, source of all creation. Through your goodness you made this world and called us to be Your co-creators. We give thanks for the diversity and beauty of life around us and within us.
We open our awareness to the goodness of all of creation and we remember our responsibility to serve. You invite us to build the earth into a community of love rooted in justice. You placed confidence in us, for you made us and you know that we are good.
In joy and in thanksgiving we join with all the faithful servants who have gone before us and we sing:
Holy Holy Holy: Karen Drucker
We thank you for Jesus, simple servant, lifting up the lowly, revealing you as God-With-Us, and revealing us as one with you and all of creation.
He lived among us to show us who we are and challenged us to know you. He taught us the strength of compassionate love.
Please extend your hands in blessing:
We are grateful for your Spirit at our Eucharistic Table and for this bread and wine which reminds us of our call to be the body of Christ in the world.
On the night before he died, Jesus gathered for supper with the people closest to him. Like the least of household servants, he washed their feet, so that they would re-member him.
When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted the bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread and offered it to them saying:
Take and eat, this is my very self.
Then he took the cup of the covenant, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying:
Take and drink.
Whenever you remember me like this,
I am among you.
What we have heard with our ears, we will live with our lives. As we share communion, we become Communion both love’s nourishment and love’s challenge.
You are called, consecrated and chosen to serve.
Please receive Communion with the words, “I am a speaker of truth.”
Communion Meditation/Song
Learning to Sit with Not knowing – Carrie Newcomer
Prayer after communion:
Holy One, we are willing to do everything Jesus did, to re-create the living presence of a love that does justice, of a compassion that heals and liberates, of a joy that generates hope, of a light that illumines people and confronts the darkness of every injustice and inequity.
We trust you to continue to share with us your own spirit, the spirit that animated Jesus, for it is through his life and teaching, all honor and glory is yours, O Holy One, forever and ever. Amen.
Amen.
Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
Holy One, you are within, around and among us.
We celebrate your many names.
Your wisdom come; your will be done,
unfolding from the depths within us.
Each day you give us all that we need.
You remind us of our limits and we let go.
You support us in our power, and we act with courage.
For you are the dwelling place within us,
the empowerment around us,
and the celebration among us,
now and forever, Amen.
Adapted by Miriam Therese Winter
Blessing
Please raise your hands in blessing:
May we be blessed with the wisdom of knowing and not knowing. May your Word be spoken by our actions. May we be a blessing in our time. Amen.
Closing Song: Sing! American Music Festival Choir with Children
Resources:
For further reading on this and other parables of Jesus:
pastorsusan: Preaching from a Progressive Perspective https://pastorsusan.church/tag/parables/
John Dominic Crossan, The Power of Parable
Amy Jill Leving, Short Stories by Jesus: The enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi
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