His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share in your master’s happiness!”

           We are continuing our look at the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. We are also calling this day Stewardship Sunday. Allow me to begin with making a point. I do not believe God calls us to be timid in using what he has given us. I believe God would rather we be a bit risky. Risky faithfulness. Let’s consider that.

           There are those people who kind of enjoy pulling for the underdog. You know, the person or team without much chance of winning. And when the underdog wins, it becomes a feel good story. The stuff of which movies are made. The sporting world is filled with such achievements.

           I am going to confess that I am not always among those who pull for the underdog. Unless the underdog is my favorite team or player. As a rule, I prefer to root for the favorite.

           Take Tiger Woods for example. Even people who do not follow the game of golf know who Tiger Woods is. He has transcended the game. I am not much of a golfer. I may get out once or twice in a year. I have said that if it is a good day for golf, you will usually find me fishing. But I do watch golf on television—especially when Tiger is on the prowl. But some think he wins too much.

           There are those who prefer to pull for a golfer like John Daly—who has certainly had his issues lately. He is likeable enough, I guess. But he has rather unusual training  

habits, and just does not work on his game all that much.

           You may disagree. I am a Tiger guy. And I’ll tell you why. At a very early age, he made a commitment to golf. Beyond that, he made a commitment to being the best he could be. And that commitment has influenced and defined much of what he has done. He has practiced and practiced. He has made a great many sacrifices in his pursuit of excellence. There is very little doubt he trains better than just about anyone else on the course. He is in tremendous shape and condition. He has put all he has into it.

           So when he tees it up…well, I am pulling for him. I am pulling for him because of his dedication to being where he is at. Sure, he wins a lot, but he deserves to win a lot. And if other players are tired of his winning all the time, perhaps they might try putting a whole lot more into it.

           Now, I know, there just may be a few who are itching to say that Tiger also has some God-given talent and ability. Yes, he has. And he has not wasted one bit of it. He has put it to work.

           So jump with me into this text. It has a kind of underdog in it—a person we might like to pull for. But we must consider the entire story. A man with a bit of wealth was going on a trip. He thought it would be best to entrust his property to his servants. He gave one of them five talents. Let’s use dollars. He gave one of them five thousand dollars. Another two thousand. And to a third he gave one thousand.

           After a lengthy time, the master returned. He called in his servants in order to settle accounts with them. The one who had received the five reported that he had doubled the investment. He now had ten. The one who had received the two had been equally successful. He, too, doubled the investment. Both of them were praised by their master. He extended to them the invitation to share in his happiness. Quite an invitation.

           Then the third—the man who had been given the one—came in. This was the underdog. It appeared he did not have the business acumen that his fellow servants had. The master probably knew that, because he gave to each according to the ability of each servant. So the third servant received just one thousand. This guy had little self-confidence. All he could think of was that his master was a hard man, a man who would insist on a good return from his investments. What if this third servant failed? What if he invested the one thousand and lost some or all of it?

           He was afraid. He knew his master could be harsh and demanding. He was timid. So he did the safe thing. He buried the money in the ground. And it almost seemed as if he was proud of himself. When giving his report, he said, “Here it is—all of it—I did not lose one cent.” Let me just say that I think one thing this story may teach us is we can eliminate from any discussion about our mission as the people of God this statement, “Well, maybe we should just play it safe.”

           But…. As I said, I do not always pull for the underdog. But I am not totally without compassion. My heart does kind of feel for this third servant. Doesn’t yours—just a bit? He was shy—timid—to be sure. But there is nothing in the text to suggest he was a bad person.

           And, yet, look at what the master said to him. “You wicked, lazy servant!” Wow! That seems harsh. “You wicked, lazy servant. So you knew that I harvest where I have now sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. Well, then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.”

           And the master took what had been buried and gave it to the one who had the ten thousand. And then came the command, “Throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” He was not invited to share in his master’s happiness. I picture this conversation. I picture the look of devastation on the face of the third servant. And my heart does go out to him a bit.

           Last week, we looked at the first part of this twenty-fifth chapter. The story of the ten maidens. Five were prepared and five were not prepared for the arrival of the bridegroom. We are awaiting Jesus. And one of the ways we stay ready and prepared is by using all that God has given us. Perhaps that is how we keep our lamps oiled and lit.

           But Jesus also in this story is simply telling us what life is like. Jesus was and is a very pragmatic teacher. He tells us how things are—not how we wish them to be. Jesus is saying what we don’t use, we lose. This is not a story about kindness or the lack of kindness. It is simply a story that illustrates how life works.

           That’s why the third man comes off as kind of a bad guy in the story. He did not use what he had been given. Simple as that. Allow me to add that God is gracious in the giving of gifts. We do not all have the same number or quality of talents or gifts. Does not matter. We will be judged only on how we use what we have. You have never seen me play golf. Not a pretty sight. A Tiger Woods I will never be. But God doesn’t want me to be him. God wants me to become what I am capable of becoming by faith in him—and to use all he has given me.

           You know what that third servant’s sin was? When we think of sin, we tend to think in terms of thought, word, and deed. And all those things people do that make them look like bad people. But the third servant simply failed to trust his master. How often am I guilty of that not so obvious sin? A failure to trust God. God has given all of us gifts—gifts of time and talent and treasure. What are we going to do with them? Bury them? Hoard them for ourselves? Or put them to use for the kingdom? Yes, even taking risks, refusing to always play it safe—trusting that God in his grace will take care of us. This is what we do as we await the arrival of the bridegroom.

           Now, take a bit of a turn with me. We are putting a bit of an emphasis on stewardship. Our financial resources and how we will use them for the kingdom. There are those who do not particularly enjoy talking about this topic in church. And I wonder, Why not? Our treasure is also a gift from God.

           My giving is divided among a variety of organizations. I suspect that is true for all of us. I give to the American Cancer Society. Why? Because my dad died way too young from that disease. So has one uncle and five aunts. It has touched my life. I want a cure found. And I am willing to give what I can. Asbury Theological Seminary. It was where I went to school after college. My son also graduated from there this past May. The three years I spent there had a profound impact on my life. It was also expensive. But there were people who made contributions to ease the cost burden on us students. I want to do the same so that others can be impacted the way I was.

           And I—we—give to the church. The church in general—various mission organizations. And this church specifically. Why? Well, for one, we have been touched by the ministry of this church. And because this is a great church with a tremendous future. This is a wonderful community of faith and fellowship. And I am sure there are many here who could give a testimony as to a time this church was there for them.

           Yes, this is a great place. All are welcome. And we will proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to a hurting world. We will extend the invitation. Come and be healed. Come and be made whole. Come and experience life in the kingdom of God. Come and experience the richness of God’s grace.

           This is a place I want to be a part of. I want to give—give of myself—give of my gifts to this fellowship.

           We have been blessed. Let’s not view God the way that third servant viewed his master. We do not want to play it safe because we think God is harsh. We don’t bury what God has gifted us with. We use it—maybe even risk it—because in the end the reward is so great. For there is the invitation, “Come and share your master’s happiness!”

           His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”