14 "For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; ¹⁵ to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. ¹⁶ The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. ¹⁷ In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. ¹⁸ But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. ¹⁹ After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ 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.’ ²¹ 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.’ ²² 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.’ ²³ 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.’ ²⁴ 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; ²⁵ so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ ²⁶ 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? ²⁷ 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. ²⁸ So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. ²⁹ 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. ³⁰ As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

When I read this passage, specifically the part about the third servant, I think of my son Jim. This may sound strange, so let me try and explain. Jim is, to say the least, active. While there are moments when he is able to concentrate out the wazoo, most of the time his attention can be drawn away by whatever butterfly happens to meander into the room. What this means is that when you want him to do something you have to give him very specific instructions that give a step-by-step breakdown of what he needs to do. In addition to this, you also have to walk that fine line between patience and discipline, because there are more than a few times when he forgets one of the steps. Most times, and I feel confident saying almost all times, he’s not doing it maliciously: he just heads off in some other direction because that other direction looks neat at the time.

So when I look at this third servant, I look at him, much like I look at Jim when he has had one of those butterfly moments, and I want to say, "well, he didn’t do anything wrong. I mean he wasn’t told that he had to do anything with the money and he certainly didn’t lose any. He didn’t mess anything up. He just played it safe."

But here’s the thing, the servant did know what was expected of him. All of the servants did. He may not have been given a step-by-step direction sheet of how to fulfill that expectation, but he knew the where he ultimately needed to get to. He knew what his master was looking for him to do with that money, and he was afraid to do it. His fear froze him so that he was unable to take even the smallest of steps toward completion of the goal.

What Jesus is trying to those who will listen is, "you have been blessed by God in so many ways. You have been blessed with intelligence and intellect, ideas and interests, talents and, for many of you, treasure. All of these things come from God. All of them. And if you are going to count yourself as a follower of the Almighty then you need to use the gifts that you have been given so that the kingdom of God is built up, so that the name of God is glorified. It is expected of you to use what you have been freely given and use it in such a way that the will of God is experienced in the here and now."

The savior of the world is saying through the use of this parable, "You no longer have the excuse that you did not know of this expectation, for what you have known to be true in your hearts and minds, that we are to use the blessings of God to ultimately serve God, has just been confirmed by my words. Go and live as God has created you to! Do not be afraid. Go and serve!"

The confirmation class is for those young men and women who are somewhere past ninth grade, and has become, for the most part, an extended membership class where we talk about the foundations of the faith, what it means to believe in God, and how that faith should be lived out in their daily lives. To date I have led four confirmation classes in this congregation.

One of the things that I just keep asking them is, "looking at the interests and talents that you have, how are you going to serve – both in the church and in the greater community? How are you going to serve?" (I’m pretty sure that many of them think that I ask that question way too much because the response of, "didn’t you ask us that last week?" comes back at me more than a few times.)

But if the kids get nothing else out of that class I hope that they will understand that they are called to use the gifts that God has bestowed upon them, because here’s the thing: God isn’t looking for someone who says they believe, and doesn’t follow through on it! There are expectations of you! There are expectations of each of us! And much like each of the servants in our passage this morning, we all now know what those expectations are.

So, much like I have said to the kids in each of the confirmation classes, "looking at the interests and talents that you have, how are you going to serve – both in the church and in the greater community? How are you going to serve?"

Now some of you may already have you dance card full in terms of how you are serving the Lord. If you are in that particular camp, keep doing what you are doing, because you are the examples that others are able to look to as wonderful illustrations of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. You don’t necessarily need to do more: just what you are called to do. You are like the first two servants.

However, if you look at your life and the examples of how you are putting your talents, your time, and your treasure to work for the glory of God, and what you see is a list that is rather paltry, then it’s time to step up to the plate. You can do it! The ways that God can be served through this congregation are immeasurable. But you have to set your priorities, and serving the Lord God has to be at the top of the list, otherwise, you will find ways to serve your own wants. We are sinful creatures. If left to our own devices we will always walk away from God. That is why we need to lean upon the Holy Spirit to grant us the courage to use the blessings that we have been bestowed with so that God’s name is glorified.

Now in regards to that whole topic of being afraid, afraid of failing, afraid of doing something wrong, let me ask you this question: why? Why are you afraid? God has said that He will be with us through all of our days, the good, the bad, and absolutely the ugly. The fact that Jesus was sent to live and die and be raised for us shows us just how great the love of the Almighty is for each one of us truly is. God is with us! With that as our foundation, should we not step out in faith trusting that God will give us the words that we need to say, the actions that we need to enact, and the courage that we need, to use the blessings that we have to that others might be lifted up and God’s name might be glorified? We know what we must do and we can do it! Don’t burry your talents under the ground of fear and worry. Instead, use the talents that our Lord has blessed you with, because when you do those blessings will grow and multiply.

My Aunt Jean is a very interesting woman. A widow for the past 10 years, she is now in her mid 70’s, living in a retirement community just outside of Hanover, Pennsylvania. The reason that I say that she is interesting is that she has dedicated herself to the service of others. Even as a young wife and mother, she always made sure to volunteer at her church, her local hospital, her kids school, you name it she was probably there. She isn’t someone whom you would look at and say, "there is a leader. There is someone we should follow", and yet, in her quiet and unassuming way, she has been elevated to positions where she is able to help direct all sorts of charitable efforts.

The wonderful thing, she never did it to bring recognition to herself. She has been recognized and honored, and deservedly so, but every time such an occasion takes place, she makes sure that everyone who is listening understands that she is giving back because that is what God would have her do and who God would have her be. She’ll say, "it’s all for God", and she means it. It isn’t a show. She has dedicated herself to serving as God would have her, and in doing so others have been cared for in there need and the Kingdom of God has been championed in some amazing ways, both large and small.

And it all happens when each of us are willing to take the talents that we have been given and put them to use for the glory of God. That is what God would have each and every one of us do. Do not fear. Instead, trust, trust that God will show you the ways that you are to go, trust that God will give you the courage you need, trust that what you have been blessed with will multiply when it is used for the glory of God. You can do it! Now here we go!

Holy God, the call to serve You with the blessings that You have bestowed upon us could not be clearer. And yet, for so many of us, in so many ways, we become burdened with such fear, self-doubt, and misdirected priorities that we end up doing anything and everything but. God, help us to have You has our number one priority, and allow Your Spirit to move in and through us so that Your courage fills us and allows us to step out and serve in Your name. God, let it be so. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.