St. Paul’s Church in
Bergen, Jersey City NJ
November 16, 2014
Year A, Proper 28:
The Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost
Judges 4:1-7
Psalm 123
1 Thessalonians
5:1-11
Matthew 25: 14-30
Bishop Thomas Goes to India
Those
of you who were here last week may remember that I said it’s beginning to look
a lot like…Advent.
Advent
is the time when we prepare both for the birth of Christ and for the last day. Advent is still two weeks away, but our
lessons from the First Letter to the Thessalonians and from the Gospel of
Matthew have a distinctly Advent ring to them.
Once
again Jesus offers a parable that is meant to get us thinking seriously about
how God will judge us.
In
the parable, a man who is about to leave on a journey entrusts his property to
his slaves.
We’re
told “to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, each
according to his ability.”
Our
word “talent” meaning something we’re good at comes from this parable. In
Jesus’ time a talent was a kind of money. We don’t know exactly what a talent
was worth – but it was worth a lot – maybe the equivalent to 15 years worth of
wages for a typical worker.
So
the master gives a lot of wealth – a lot of responsibility - to each of the
slaves, even the one who receives only one talent.
And,
as you heard, two of the slaves do quite well, doubling their talents.
But
the slave who received only one talent buried that one talent in the ground for
safekeeping.
I
know I sympathize with that poor slave who obviously thought he was doing the
right thing. If he had invested the one talent he might have made a profit like the other two slaves but he might also
have lost that one talent – that one oh so valuable talent – and have to face
the master empty-handed.
And,
apparently the slave is convinced that the master is a harsh man, so, you know,
it’s definitely better to play it safe.
Except,
as we heard, the master is displeased by the slave’s “conservative investment
strategy.” He calls the slave “lazy and wicked” and casts him into the “outer
darkness” “where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The
slave who was given the one talent seriously misread the situation. And the
consequences are terrible
Maintenance
was not enough.
The
status quo – keeping things the same - was not enough.
Instead,
the slave was expected to be bold, to take chances, to, as our bishop likes to
say, “risk something big for something good.”
It’s
one of my favorite lines. And I’ve used it in other sermons.
“Risk
something big for something good.”
Today’s
parable about taking risks for something good – about taking risks for God -
got me thinking about a friend of mine.
He’s
actually a new friend – someone I’ve gotten to know since I arrived back here
in Jersey City as your rector.
I’ve
mentioned before that I belong to the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance
of Jersey City. It’s a group made up of local clergy, mostly from traditionally
black churches. We meet once a month for fellowship and to talk about some of
the issues facing our churches here in the city.
Anyway,
at the IMA I’ve met some good colleagues and made some fine friends.
One
of those friends is a man named Earlin Thomas, who is the pastor of Shield of
Faith Ministries, a little church he operates out of the first floor of his
home down near the bottom of Duncan Avenue, across from Lincoln Park.
The
church is on the first floor and he and his wife live upstairs.
Bishop
Thomas used to work on Wall Street, making I assume good money, insuring a
comfortable life for him and his wife.
But,
then after a powerful conversion experience, he left all that behind and
entered the ministry – a much less comfortable life, I’m sure.
He
started his church and he also began an Internet radio station that broadcasts
24 hours a day from a tiny studio carved out of some of his church space.
Bishop
Thomas works nights for the county and then comes home and hosts a live show
with music and inspiration for several hours. One time he interviewed me over
the phone to talk about our Good Friday Stations of the Cross service.
I’m
pretty sure he only gets a couple of hours of sleep each day.
All
very impressive, right?
But,
it gets better.
The
Shield of Faith Broadcasting Network has listeners all around the world,
including in India. Some Christian pastors in India who heard the station
contacted Bishop Thomas, inviting him to come to their country to preach, to
teach, to baptize, to bring Bibles in the local language.
I
remember when Bishop Thomas first told me about this invitation and how he was planning
to go.
I’ll
be honest, I was sure this trip would never happen. Flying to India is a
major, expensive undertaking. Plus, I found it hard to believe that my friend
would go to the other side of the world to work alongside people – total
strangers - he had met through his Internet radio station.
Well,
about a month ago it became clear that he was going. All by himself. The IMA
gave him some money and I gave a donation from my discretionary fund to help
with incidental expenses.
And,
right at this moment, Bishop Thomas is in India preaching, teaching, and
baptizing. On Facebook he’s posted beautiful pictures of himself – he’s a big
African-American guy – standing in the middle of an Indian river, surrounded by
joyful people - making new Christians.
He
checks in with me pretty much every morning on Facebook, letting me know that
he’s OK and asking for my continued prayers.
I’m
amazed and so impressed that he’s been able – been bold and courageous enough -
to really do this.
I
imagine the master in today’s parable would say to Bishop Thomas, “Well done.
You have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many
things; enter into the joy of your master.”
My
friend Earlin is in India, sharing the Good News, risking something big for
something good.
So,
what about me?
And,
what about us here at St. Paul’s?
About
two years ago I met with our bishop and suggested that the diocese might find
some money to support one quarter of my salary, allowing me to serve full-time
as rector of St. Paul’s.
And,
yes, I admit I used the bishop’s line about “risking something big for
something good.”
Well,
as many of you know, he went along with it and until May of 2016 the diocese
will pay 1/4th of my salary.
Over
the time we’ve been together we may not have gone to India but we’re not
playing it safe by burying our talents, either.
We have begun to move out of our safe,
cozy little church. We’ve begun connecting to the community in new and exciting
ways.
We’ve
begun taking risks, risking more and more for something really good.
We
risked spending Good Friday praying at sites of terrible violence and
worshiping out on the street.
We’ve
risked giving sacrificially, providing money, food, toothpaste, infant formula
and more, supporting those who work with the most vulnerable in our community.
We’ve
risked increasing our financial support of St. Paul’s – it’s not yet where it
needs to be but we are getting there, slow but sure.
We’ve
risked opening our doors to all sorts of community events – for meetings, for
monthly suppers, for arts and cultural events - providing a safe and welcoming
place for lots of people, neighbors and total strangers, most of whom will
probably never become members of our church.
It’s
all good.
But,
you know, we have been given so much – just look around at this beautiful old
church and this amazing, diverse, gorgeous gathering of people.
We’re
the ones who have been entrusted with at least five talents.
God
has given us so much – and expects us to not just protect and preserve it but
to use it to produce even more for God.
My
friend, Bishop Thomas, is in India risking something big for something good.
And,
today I challenge myself – and I challenge all of us at St. Paul’s – to move
beyond maintenance and the status quo – beyond just keeping things the same - to
truly risk something big for something good, to risk something big for God.
Amen.
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