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<div><span style="font-size: small"><span style="color: black">Resources for Proper 28</span></span><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small"><span style="color: black">Matthew 25:14-30 - <strong>"The Parable of the Talents"</strong></span></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small"><span style="color: black">Matthew 25:14-30 - <strong>"</strong></span><b>Be Prudent or Productive?<strong><span style="color: black">"</span></strong></b><span style="color: black"> by Leonard Sweet</span></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small"><span style="color: black">Matthew 25 -<font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"> </font></font>the sermon title "The Parable of the Talents" </span></span>
<div><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Jesus
once told a story of a wealthy landowner who was preparing for a long
journey. He called his three servants and divided his money between
them, each according to their ability. To one servant he gave five
talents, meaning a sum of money, to a second two, and to a third one.<br>
<br>
Why is life like that? I don't know. We are all equal in the eyes of
God. We are all guaranteed equal rights under the Constitution. In an
election our votes are all equal. But when it comes to our abilities, we
are as different as different can be. God simply did not make us all
the same. There are some people who can handle five talents; there are
some who can handle only one. There are some persons who have great
intellectual capabilities, and some who do not. There are some who have
the ability to project and articulate their thoughts, and there are some
who cannot. There are some who have physical prowess and attractive
looks, and there are some who do not.<br>
<br>
The important thing to remember is that each servant was given
something. No one was left idle. You may not be a five-talent person,
but you have some talent. We all do. And you know something. I think
that there are a whole lot more one and two talent people in this world
than there are five talent people. Oh, there are some people who seem to
have it all. I won't deny that. But most of us are just one or two
talent servants.<br>
<br>
The landowner now went on his journey. When he returned he called
together his three servants and asked them to give an account. It seems
that the five talent man had invested his talent and was able to return
an additional five talents, a 100% return. So, too the two talent man
doubles his money. Well, done good and faithful servant.”<br>
<br>
But what about the one talent man? He stepped forward and said: Sir, I
knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow. So he returned
that which he had originally been given him. The landowner, incensed,
uses words such as “slothful” and “wicked.” Angrily he took the talent
back and gave it to the servant who now had ten.<br>
<br>
It is interesting to note that in the 25th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel
there are three parables told in a row: The Parable of the Bridesmaid,
The Parable of the Sheep and Goats, and the Parable of the Talents.
Essentially the same phrase is used in each: after a long time. The
bridegroom comes after a long time. The landowner returns after a long
time. The judgment comes after a long time. Perhaps this is Matthews’s
way of saying to us: Our master may be delayed in his return, but, in
the meanwhile, what are you doing with the talent that has been
entrusted to you. Let us be clear on one issue. God expects a return. We
had better not simply bury that which has been given us and return it
when he comes.<br>
<br>
Well, it is obvious that the star, or we might say the villain, of the
story is the one talent man. The salient question is: why did he choose
to do nothing with the one talent that had been given to him? We are not
really given the answer. We are left to speculate. And that is
precisely what I would like to do this morning. Let us speculate about
his inaction…</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">1. Is his inaction due to the fear of failure?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">2. Is his inaction because of the ‘What if” game?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">3. Will one little talent make a difference?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small"><span style="color: black">The rest of this sermon following the outline above can be obtained by joining <a __removedlink__2143817564__href="http://www.sermons.com/signup" target="_blank">http://www.sermons.com/signup</a></span></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small"><span style="color: black"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small"><span style="color: black">_______________________</span></span>
</div>
<div><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small"><span style="color: black">Matthew 25:14-30 <font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">- </font></font>the sermon titled "Be Prudent or Productive?" by Leonard Sweet<font size="4"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"> </font></font> </span></span>
<div><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">In
the Pacific Northwest there are three common prickly plants that
populate the hedgerows and fence-lines — blackberries, salmon berries,
and brambles. All three flourish without care and create impressive
thickets for hiding all sorts of small critters. All three sport
impressive thorns. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">But
only one of them is valued and hunted down every fall. Brambles bear no
edible fruit at all — lots of snagging, snarly vines, but nothing to
eat. Salmon berries produce pretty salmon colored gems that are
beautiful to look at. Unfortunately salmon berries are almost completely
tasteless. It is possible to make jam out of them, but they have so
little real flavor it is basically like making congealed salmon-colored
sugar water. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Blackberries,
on the other hand, are loaded down with plump, dark purple-black fruit
by late summer. The most delicious pies, the most jammin’ jams, and the
biggest bowls of berries, are all offered to those who brave picking at
the blackberry vine. Landscapers feel no qualms ripping out brambles and
salmon berries. But everyone wants to save just enough black berries to
guarantee a fall harvest. We want blackberries to “be fruitful and
multiply . . . and have dominion.” It is their fruitfulness that
encourages us to let them multiply and master their domain. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Do you ever get so frustrated by inanimate objects that you yell at them and accuse them of plotting against you? </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Do you ever pound on your computer keyboard because you keep getting an inexplicable error message? </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Do you ever rip apart “re-sealable” packaging because it is impossible to open in the first place? </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Do you ever feel the urge chuck your phone off the nearest bridge because it drops every important call you have to make? </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">While
it is definitely NOT a good idea to crush your keyboard, shred your
food storage containers, or drop-kick your “Droid,” that frustration we
all feel connects us with one of Jesus’ biggest “pet peeves” — the
fruitlessness of that which should be fruitful. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Once
when Jesus was hungry he approached a fig tree and searched its large,
leafy branches for fruit. But the fig tree had no fruit. It was nothing
but leafy greenery. All “show” and no “go.” It has always been a little
difficult for commentators to explain Jesus’ immediate rage and reaction
at this fruitless tree. Instead of shrugging off his disappointment and
going to find a falafel, Jesus roundly curses the unsuspecting shrub,
condemning it to death (Matthew 21:18-22; Mark 11:12-14, 19-25).</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Is
this just Jesus indulging in the frustration of the moment? Or is this
“fig tree fiasco” really demonstrating the same principle that is
described in today’s parable? </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">____________________________</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt"> “The
major themes of the Christian faith - caring, giving, witnessing,
trusting, loving, hoping - cannot be understood or lived without risk." </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt">Fred Craddock<br>
<br>
</span></div>
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