"Great Faithfulness"

 

"A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.' "

 

            The last parable to be taught in VBS this summer was this one, "the ten minas." The other parables were clear in their meaning: the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son. But this parable is difficult. I wondered how I might go about telling it to pre-schoolers. So I took a bag of coins, and as I talked about the master giving money to each of the servants, I threw some coins in the air in several places next to me. I thought that would generate some interest. Instead, it started a riot. The children all rushed forward and picked up the coins as if it was an Easter egg hunt. Even at that age, there is a significant power in money. It got their attention.

            So Jesus tells a story that at least seems to be about money, and it gets the attention of the people. The focus is on a piece of money called a mina. A mina was worth more than a denarius, but much less than a talent. A mina was about 100 denarii, whereas a talent was 6,000 denarii. So, this is not about a great deal of money. Each servant was given a mina and told to "put it to work" or literally, "do business with it." The money came with an obligation. They were to grow it and then give it back to the master.

            Chapter 19 of Luke begins with the story of the tax collector Zacchaeus. This man comes to salvation through his meeting with Jesus. He experiences the Jubilee that Jesus proclaimed. In Jubilee, debts were cancelled and land returned to the original owners. Jesus proclaimed Jubilee by forgiving sins, releasing people from the debt of sin; and by healing, freeing people from disease and restoring them to wholeness. Zacchaeus then experiences freedom from sin, and so he participates in the Jubilee, in the values of the Kingdom of God, by restoring to people what he unjustly took from them. He also returned money to the poor.

            At the end of the chapter, Jesus visits the temple in Jerusalem, and he sees that some people have turned what was designed to be a place of prayer into a place of business, selling animals for sacrifice and exchanging Roman money for temple money. He calls this place a den of robbers. The power of money took these people away from the purposes of God.

            When Jesus is about to enter Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the people are excited. They view him as king and so expect that the Kingdom of God will be given to them. Jesus tells them this parable so they will understand that there will be opposition to him. The cross awaits him that week. Klyne Snodgrass writes, "The Kingdom will not come immediately, but the King has."

            A person of noble birth sets out to be named king. But some of his subjects hated him and sent a delegation to speak against him. When Herod the Great died, after Jesus was born, his son Archelaus went to Rome to be named the new king in Judea. He was a brutal and violent person, and many Jews did not like him. So a delegation of 50 followed him to Rome, and was joined in Rome by another 8,000 Jews who appealed to Caesar to not allow Archelaus to become king. But he was made king, and he took vengeance on those who opposed him. Snodgrass writes, "The parable charges that some Jews were resisting the reign of the Messiah as if he were Archelaus. Jesus tells a story that was very familiar to the people, and Jesus put himself into that story, even though he is not at all like Archelaus. But he does it to make clear that his coming to reign will not be easy or without opposition. He is headed to the cross and not the throne."

            Why is it that some people oppose God? Why do people take offense at Jesus? Why do they resist him as Lord? Some people have different values than Jesus. Some belong to a different kingdom. Some profit from evil; others find the world's thinking and promises to be compelling. Not everyone wants Jubilee. Not everyone wants to see debts forgiven. Not everyone is concerned for the care of the poor. Justice comes at a cost. Zacchaeus is excited about his salvation, and he lost a lot of his money living with new values. Some would rather keep the money.

            In the parable, the king kills the subjects who do not want him to be king. That is how kings act. But Jesus the King dies for the sins of the world. Jesus prays on the cross that those who put him there would be forgiven. Jesus does not act like a king of this world. He acts as someone who lives for God's Kingdom.

            How are we to live in these days, as we wait for the King and for God's Kingdom?

            The ten servants were given one mina each, a modest amount to put to work. We are given gifts, talents and abilities that we are to use, develop and grow for the sake of the Kingdom of God, according to the commands of Jesus. What Jesus is talking about is not just developing a gift or ability for the sake of excellence, but for the sake of obedience. We are to take what we have been given, to use what we know for the Kingdom of God. The minas came with instructions. The recipients were not to use them to enrich themselves. Their reward for growing them was not money or pleasure, but more responsibility.

            This summer Brian took five high school students and has developed them as summer ministry interns. They have been involved in everything we do here, with the goal of developing some gifts and abilities for ministry. So they go with us on the Food Bank bread runs on Mondays, lifting boxes of donated bread and produce, and then they set up the food pantry.  They come back to the pantry on Tuesday to help in the food distribution to families. They helped all week in VBS. They are here every Wednesday evening, hauling the food up the hill, and then back down again, washing the dishes, running the activities, scooping the ice cream cones. I burn the chicken and hamburgers to a crisp on the grill and they take it from there. Next year I am going to teach them how to burn hot dogs. So goes the week, delivering cookies to camp, gleaning on local farms, praying with the pastor on Sunday mornings, ushering for the service. They are putting the minas they have been given to work. They are learning that minas come with instructions for use in the Kingdom. The recipient does not determine what to do with the minas he or she has been given. The Lord determines that. You take what you know and use it for the Kingdom.

            For instance, for many years as a Covenant denomination, we have excelled in the camping ministry. Covenant camps are wonderful places that produce strong disciples of Jesus. But lately we have taken what we know and we have begun to share it in places like Russia, Thailand and Colombia. Every week in our camps, offerings are taken to purchase land for camps around the world and to construct buildings. Church groups go to places like Russia and put on sports camps, bringing the Gospel to young people who are eager to learn. A Russian pastor recently spent time at Pilgrim Pines in New Hampshire, learning how to direct a camp program. The mina of camping ministry is being put to work.

            Hope Center Covenant Church in Pleasant Hill, California, realized they were in a community with many international students. So they started hosting a dinner every Friday night at Diablo Valley College. (We are great at potlucks.) So they shared what they were good at, for the Kingdom of God. After dinner, they would have a simple game and then a Christian message. Out of that ministry, this year ten international students have begun a discipleship course and three are signed up to go on a missions trip. The mina of hospitality is being put to work.

            At Advocate Condell Hospital in Libertyville, a new wing has just been completed. Part of this new space is a chapel with seating for about 50 people and enough space for a choir up front, and a grand piano. The chapel is equipped for TV broadcasting, so that every service can be seen in all the rooms in the hospital. Now this fall, every Sunday morning at 9 a.m., there will be a Christian service put on by local churches. Our first day is October 23^rd. What a great way to take something that we are good at, putting on worship with choir and music and preaching, and bringing it to our community, in a place where people need the Lord.

            The parable of the minas is about faithfulness. We take what we know how to do and grow it, share it, put it to work for the kingdom wherever there are people who need the Lord. Jesus calls us to be faithful and obedient while we wait for his return.

            Amen.