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Sunday, November 15, 2020 || 24th Sunday After Pentecost Pastor Christy Wright We invite you to light a candle at 9:30 AM and join us in prayer ONLINE or over the PHONE Audio worship is also available at (978) 990-5000, access code 719365#. Just dial in, enter the access code on your keypad, and you will hear the service begin with music. Scripture Reading 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, 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. 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.” Psalm 145:8-16 The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and God’s compassion is over all creation. All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your faithful shall bless you. They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and tell of your power, to make known to all people your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all God’s words, and gracious in all God’s deeds. The Lord upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing. Sermon I have been a part of the United Methodist Church since I was a teenager. I’ve visited many churches, and I’ve loved being a part of a worldwide connection. As I entered seminary to earn my master’s degree, I encountered folks who were of diverse backgrounds from all over the globe. Some were conservative, some were liberal, and others were moderate. All the while, we learned to live together and found hope in our mutual love of God. But as we progressed through the ordination process, some of my close colleagues and friends began to face persecution for who they were; some were part of the Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Queer + community, and in the United Methodist Church, our bylaws still state that those who live an open homosexual life are prohibited from entering the ministry because they are “incompatible with Christian teaching.” And one by one, my friends and loved ones began to be dropped from the ordination process simply because of their identity. They were thrown out of the ordination process, and in some cases, their membership at their home churches was revoked. When I think about God’s great grace and love for us, I can’t help but feel as though we’ve been betrayed by the church. Such actions of denying folks church membership seems itself to be incompatible with Christian teaching; how is this okay? As we read this morning’s first scripture reading from Matthew, our typical interpretation is to understand the master as God, and the slaves as us, as disciples. In this reading, the slaves are given talents, without instructions, while the master is away. We are told that two of the slaves invest the talents and have doubled the return for the master. The other slave buried the talent, and when the slave had not made a profit on it, the master took what the slave had, gave it to the other slaves, and threw the “wicked” slave into the outer darkness where there was great weeping and gnashing of teeth. Sounds incredibly compassionate and loving, right? (sarcasm implied) In general, the moral of the story as we typically read it is that God provides us with great gifts and entrusts us to make a worthwhile return on all that God has invested in us. And if we fail, we will be cast out from the family of God and from God’s presence. Right? But, given everything we know about God, and everything we read in our second passage this morning from Psalms, this is a very difficult interpretation to swallow. There’s a sense of injustice in our hearts as we hear what happened to the one slave, and even more anger when we hear that those who have plenty will be given more, and for those who have nothing, even more will be taken from them. To be honest, this interpretation doesn’t match what I know of God. And though it may seem unorthodox, I’m wondering if we might be able to flip the story upside down, reinterpret it in a way that is more scripturally balanced, and find hope rather than fear. What if we understood the master in this story to be society, and the last slave to be Jesus? We know that Jesus is known as a slave, for he took on the likeness of humanity and in his divinity, he gave up his life so we might experience resurrection, even in the midst of death. So maybe Jesus is the slave who refused to make a profit for the wicked master of society; maybe Jesus refused to play the game of reaping a crop where no seed was planted. And as a result of Jesus’ countercultural way of living, he was thrown out, persecuted, and left for dead. What happens when we put people over money and profit margins? What happens when we stand against society’s materialism and instead lead a simple life, living into our identity as who we are and who we were created to be? For some of us, we may become social outcasts because we don’t define success or what it means to be Christian in the same terms as the wider culture. But there is good news. We know that Jesus is cast out, but we also know that he is resurrected. Jesus finds new life outside of the ruling powers of the world, and is united with us, with others who have been cast out because of their resistance to the powers that be. And we are finding ourselves adopted into the family of God. The more that we learn about the kingdom of God, the more that we might find that the kingdom might not be centered among the privileged and all those who have an overabundance, but rather the kingdom is found on the margins of society, among the folks who have been cast out. Rather than weeping and gnashing of teeth, we can be found in the abundance of God, for we know that God is merciful and slow to anger, and that through the Divine, we have everything we need. And there is even more good news: my friends and colleagues who were forced out of the church because of their identity have found their calling in new ministries that are inclusive of all people. Even within our own church denomination and region here in New England, we are working toward full inclusion and a more diverse church. There is hope, and there is resurrection on the other side. What a blessing it is to be a part of something new. So what is our role? Where are we called to act for the sake of others? Let us pray: O Lord, open my eyes that I may see the needs of others; open my ears that I may hear their cries; open my heart so that they need not be without succor; let me not be afraid to defend the weak because of the anger of the strong, nor afraid to defend the poor because of the anger of the rich. Show me where love and hope and faith are needed, and use me to bring them to those places. And so open my eyes and my ears that I may this coming day be able to do some work of peace for thee. Amen. - Alan Paton, South Africa, 20th cent. Hymn of Meditation - For the Healing of the Nations, UMH 428 1. For the healing of the nations, 3. All that kills abundant living, Lord, we pray with one accord; Let it from the earth be banned; For a just and equal sharing Pride of status, race, or schooling, Of the things that earth affords; Dogmas that obscure your plan. To a life of love in action In our common quest for justice, Help us rise and pledge our word, May we hallow life’s brief span, Help us rise and pledge our word May we hallow life’s brief span 2. Lead us forward to freedom; 4. You, Creator God, have written From despair your world release, Your great name on humankind; That, redeemed from war and hatred, For our growing in your likeness All may come and go in peace. Bring the life of Christ to mind, Show us how through care and goodness That by our response and service Fear will die and hope increase, Earth its destiny may find, Fear will die and hope increase Earth its destiny may find And now, may the peace of the Lord Christ go with you wherever God may send you; may God guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm; may God bring you home rejoicing at the wonders God has shown you; may God bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.
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