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SERMON for NOVEMBER 15, 2020
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BUILDING UP
Text: I Thessalonians 5: 1-11; Matthew 25: 14-30
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If you are a Ravens fan, you know the name Lamar Jackson, our Baltimore team’s 23 year-old quarterback. If you are not a soccer fan, you may not be familiar with the name of a 23 year-old soccer player who is already considered one of the world’s best: Marcus Rashford, who plays as a forward for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team. He has been blessed with amazing athletic talent and a heart of compassion for the suffering. Marcus has used his fame and fortune to bless others and advocate for the British government to provide aid to hungry children and families.
Here is a brief overview of what this famous soccer star did thus far this year. In March (2020), the United Kingdom, like the United States, went into lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the UK, as in our country, schools provide free school meals for children from low income families. Without this government support, children are at serious risk of going hungry. In the Baltimore region, as in many parts of our country, even though schools were closed because of the pandemic, many schools still served as food distribution centers. Hours of operations are publicized so that parents with enrolled children can go to their schools and pick up ready-to-prepare meals and bags of groceries. Unlike the United States, in the UK, there was no provision made for schools to provide food to impoverished families in their communities during the lockdown. The British government did not consider it their responsibility. Consequently, Marcus Rashford teamed up with the poverty and food charity FareShare to deliver meals to children in the greater Manchester area who were no longer receiving their free school meals or meals from community centers.
With an initial target of supporting 400,000 children in the Manchester region, the initiative quickly raised millions to provide food for children nationwide. The amount raised was over 20 million pounds, which equates to over 26 million US dollars, helping the FareShare charity to reach more than the 400,000 children in Manchester. In June, Marcus Rashford reported that the charity had been able to reach three million children across the country, and the number rose to four million children the next month. Keep in mind that it was the generosity of people, locally and globally, that provided for the needs of the at-risk children – not the British government.
On June 15, 2020, Marcus Rashford wrote an open letter to Parliament calling on them to end child poverty. One would think that legislation in support of such humanitarian appeals for children would pass without great debate, yet that was not and still is not the case; however, changes in policy did pass Parliament despite strong, vocal opposition. Rashford said that he was “disappointed by the lack of empathy” being shown by Conservative members of Parliament. As an aside, Rashford identifies as Christian.
On September 1, 2020, Rashford announced that he had set up the Child Food Poverty Task Force in collaboration with several UK food shops, manufacturers, charities, and delivery companies. Rashford began using his Twitter account to promote cafes, local businesses, and individuals that provide assistance to FareShare in support of their outreach to impoverished people around the country. Nationwide support and pledges poured in from over 100 businesses, charities, and local councils. Over 1200 people volunteered to provide free meals during the academic school term. Rashford collected over one million signatures on a bill sent to Parliament calling on the government to provide funding to cover the cost of food and household bills for poor families. On November 8, last weekend, the British government announced that it would be providing funding of almost 400 million pounds, equating to approximately 528 million US dollars, to help poor families in the UK.
The point of this illustration is to demonstrate how one individual entrusted with great talent was about to multiply God’s blessings for the sake of building up and providing for people in need. It is hard to say what would have happened if Marcus Rashford had not used his talents by stepping in and taking the lead in this campaign. In all likelihood, others would have worked hard and persistently to provide food for the hungry children and families, yet it is doubtful that the government would have responded as quickly and generously were it not for the public focus generated by the celebrity athlete.
In the parable of the talents, and let us remember that a parable is not a real-life story, but a parable meant to teach important spiritual truth, Jesus illustrates how the master allocates a different sum of talents to each of the three servants: to one five talents, to another two talents, and to the other – one talent. Opinions vary widely about how much a talent was worth in biblical times, yet many scholars equate it to about 20 years of income for a day laborer. In today’s economy, let us estimate that it would be anywhere from $400,000 to $600,000. For convenience, let’s round it to half a million dollars. Thus, one servant is entrusted with five talents – or about 2.5 million dollars, the next with two talents – about one million dollars, and the third with one talent – or half a million dollars. What would you do if you were entrusted with such sums of money? I certainly hope that you would not dig a hole and bury the money in the ground.
Two of the three servants are wise stewards of the resources entrusted to them. They use and double what was lent to them. Pleased with and appreciative of their responsible stewardship, the master commends them and announces that he will put them in charge of many things. The third servant hid the one talent entrusted to him, fearing that he might lose it and be punished by the master. The master calls him “wicked and lazy” for not using the talent or investing it with bankers. Even in biblical times, there were banks that paid interest on deposits.
Let me jump to some conclusion that we can draw from this parable. The “wicked and lazy” way is not to risk anything: to hide our gifts, talents, and treasures out of fear of loss and judgment. Not using, not investing, not sharing what we have is contrary to God’s will for us. God blesses us so that we can be instruments of blessing. We bless others when we build them up, providing faithfully and financially for physical needs, like food and shelter, emotional needs such as care, kindness, and empathy, and spiritual needs such as faith, hope, and love. The gift of prayer itself is a great treasure that helps to build up, heal, and strengthen those in need.
In this parable, Jesus warns that the consequence of playing it safe, taking no risks, and doing nothing with God’s gifts is being cut off from God’s kingdom, being banished to outer darkness for eternity. “Fear not” God’s judgment for taking risks with gifts, talents, and treasures when they are offered for God’s kingdom purposes. On the other hand, we can expect God’s wrath, judgment, and punishment for being wicked and lazy stewards of blessings that could have been used to enrich the lives of others.
It has been eight months since we have been able to gather for worship in the church sanctuary. I never anticipated that I would make such a statement in my lifetime. As difficult, challenging, and depressing as these pandemic times have been for all of us, we are children of light – children of Christ’s light – and we have continued to shine brightly in the darkness of this world. Gifts, talents, and treasures of church members and friends of the congregation have been shared faithfully and joyfully this year, and they continue to be shared.
I am very, very thankful for you, you children of light who shine brightly in the darkness, my sisters and brothers in Christ who care deeply, share generously, and dare to experiment with new ways of worshiping virtually and being the church together while we are physically distant from one another.
My hope and prayer is that you and yours will use these challenging times to engage deeply with God in prayer – and in your praying, may the Holy Spirit inspire and encourage you to take discerning risks for the glory of God. When the Lord is the One who is leading us, versus the ego, the Lord will equip us with what we need. Jesus does not call us to follow Him in order to see us fail. Fear not! For the glory of God, God entrusts us with gifts and talents to build his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven above. Let us share them abundantly for the glory of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Text: I Thessalonians 5: 1-11; Matthew 25: 14-30
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If you are a Ravens fan, you know the name Lamar Jackson, our Baltimore team’s 23 year-old quarterback. If you are not a soccer fan, you may not be familiar with the name of a 23 year-old soccer player who is already considered one of the world’s best: Marcus Rashford, who plays as a forward for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team. He has been blessed with amazing athletic talent and a heart of compassion for the suffering. Marcus has used his fame and fortune to bless others and advocate for the British government to provide aid to hungry children and families.
Here is a brief overview of what this famous soccer star did thus far this year. In March (2020), the United Kingdom, like the United States, went into lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the UK, as in our country, schools provide free school meals for children from low income families. Without this government support, children are at serious risk of going hungry. In the Baltimore region, as in many parts of our country, even though schools were closed because of the pandemic, many schools still served as food distribution centers. Hours of operations are publicized so that parents with enrolled children can go to their schools and pick up ready-to-prepare meals and bags of groceries. Unlike the United States, in the UK, there was no provision made for schools to provide food to impoverished families in their communities during the lockdown. The British government did not consider it their responsibility. Consequently, Marcus Rashford teamed up with the poverty and food charity FareShare to deliver meals to children in the greater Manchester area who were no longer receiving their free school meals or meals from community centers.
With an initial target of supporting 400,000 children in the Manchester region, the initiative quickly raised millions to provide food for children nationwide. The amount raised was over 20 million pounds, which equates to over 26 million US dollars, helping the FareShare charity to reach more than the 400,000 children in Manchester. In June, Marcus Rashford reported that the charity had been able to reach three million children across the country, and the number rose to four million children the next month. Keep in mind that it was the generosity of people, locally and globally, that provided for the needs of the at-risk children – not the British government.
On June 15, 2020, Marcus Rashford wrote an open letter to Parliament calling on them to end child poverty. One would think that legislation in support of such humanitarian appeals for children would pass without great debate, yet that was not and still is not the case; however, changes in policy did pass Parliament despite strong, vocal opposition. Rashford said that he was “disappointed by the lack of empathy” being shown by Conservative members of Parliament. As an aside, Rashford identifies as Christian.
On September 1, 2020, Rashford announced that he had set up the Child Food Poverty Task Force in collaboration with several UK food shops, manufacturers, charities, and delivery companies. Rashford began using his Twitter account to promote cafes, local businesses, and individuals that provide assistance to FareShare in support of their outreach to impoverished people around the country. Nationwide support and pledges poured in from over 100 businesses, charities, and local councils. Over 1200 people volunteered to provide free meals during the academic school term. Rashford collected over one million signatures on a bill sent to Parliament calling on the government to provide funding to cover the cost of food and household bills for poor families. On November 8, last weekend, the British government announced that it would be providing funding of almost 400 million pounds, equating to approximately 528 million US dollars, to help poor families in the UK.
The point of this illustration is to demonstrate how one individual entrusted with great talent was about to multiply God’s blessings for the sake of building up and providing for people in need. It is hard to say what would have happened if Marcus Rashford had not used his talents by stepping in and taking the lead in this campaign. In all likelihood, others would have worked hard and persistently to provide food for the hungry children and families, yet it is doubtful that the government would have responded as quickly and generously were it not for the public focus generated by the celebrity athlete.
In the parable of the talents, and let us remember that a parable is not a real-life story, but a parable meant to teach important spiritual truth, Jesus illustrates how the master allocates a different sum of talents to each of the three servants: to one five talents, to another two talents, and to the other – one talent. Opinions vary widely about how much a talent was worth in biblical times, yet many scholars equate it to about 20 years of income for a day laborer. In today’s economy, let us estimate that it would be anywhere from $400,000 to $600,000. For convenience, let’s round it to half a million dollars. Thus, one servant is entrusted with five talents – or about 2.5 million dollars, the next with two talents – about one million dollars, and the third with one talent – or half a million dollars. What would you do if you were entrusted with such sums of money? I certainly hope that you would not dig a hole and bury the money in the ground.
Two of the three servants are wise stewards of the resources entrusted to them. They use and double what was lent to them. Pleased with and appreciative of their responsible stewardship, the master commends them and announces that he will put them in charge of many things. The third servant hid the one talent entrusted to him, fearing that he might lose it and be punished by the master. The master calls him “wicked and lazy” for not using the talent or investing it with bankers. Even in biblical times, there were banks that paid interest on deposits.
Let me jump to some conclusion that we can draw from this parable. The “wicked and lazy” way is not to risk anything: to hide our gifts, talents, and treasures out of fear of loss and judgment. Not using, not investing, not sharing what we have is contrary to God’s will for us. God blesses us so that we can be instruments of blessing. We bless others when we build them up, providing faithfully and financially for physical needs, like food and shelter, emotional needs such as care, kindness, and empathy, and spiritual needs such as faith, hope, and love. The gift of prayer itself is a great treasure that helps to build up, heal, and strengthen those in need.
In this parable, Jesus warns that the consequence of playing it safe, taking no risks, and doing nothing with God’s gifts is being cut off from God’s kingdom, being banished to outer darkness for eternity. “Fear not” God’s judgment for taking risks with gifts, talents, and treasures when they are offered for God’s kingdom purposes. On the other hand, we can expect God’s wrath, judgment, and punishment for being wicked and lazy stewards of blessings that could have been used to enrich the lives of others.
It has been eight months since we have been able to gather for worship in the church sanctuary. I never anticipated that I would make such a statement in my lifetime. As difficult, challenging, and depressing as these pandemic times have been for all of us, we are children of light – children of Christ’s light – and we have continued to shine brightly in the darkness of this world. Gifts, talents, and treasures of church members and friends of the congregation have been shared faithfully and joyfully this year, and they continue to be shared.
I am very, very thankful for you, you children of light who shine brightly in the darkness, my sisters and brothers in Christ who care deeply, share generously, and dare to experiment with new ways of worshiping virtually and being the church together while we are physically distant from one another.
My hope and prayer is that you and yours will use these challenging times to engage deeply with God in prayer – and in your praying, may the Holy Spirit inspire and encourage you to take discerning risks for the glory of God. When the Lord is the One who is leading us, versus the ego, the Lord will equip us with what we need. Jesus does not call us to follow Him in order to see us fail. Fear not! For the glory of God, God entrusts us with gifts and talents to build his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven above. Let us share them abundantly for the glory of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.