Sermon: Matthew 25:14-30 Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, “Stewarding Our Gifts and Talents”
Sept 22, 2024
Rev. Veronica Alvarez
Throughout this series on stewardship, we have reflected deeply on our relationship with God, with others, and with creation. we explored how our relationship with God is the basis for all that we are and do. As we live in response to God's love and grace, we recognize that everything we have belongs to Him. Then, we focus on our relationship with others, called to live in unity, forgiveness and mercy, reflecting Christ's love in our interactions. Last week, we had the blessing of being in the beauty of nature that God created, we talked about our relationship with God's creation and how we are called to care for this world for future generations and ways we can be more intentional in our daily lives.
Just as we have been called to care for our relationship with God, with others, and with creation, today we focus on how to care for what God has placed within us: our gifts and talents. This theme is key because it reminds us that everything we are and have is a gift from God, and we are responsible to use those gifts for His glory and for the good of others.
What Jesus does for us is the greatest example of stewardship. He has given us eternal life through His sacrifice on the cross, and He shows us that the use of our gifts and talents is not simply a responsibility, but a response of love and gratitude. Jesus calls us to follow his example of self-giving, dedicating what we have and are to the service of others. Just as He multiplied the bread and fish to feed thousands, Jesus can take our small efforts and do great things. When we trust in Him, our talents are not only multiplied, but also allow us to be part of His redemptive work in the world.
The Scriptures show us that each of us has received unique talents from God, and we are responsible to use them well, not only for our own benefit, but for the Kingdom of God and the welfare of others. The parable of the talents we heard today, in Matthew 25:14-30, teaches us much about how we steward what God has given us. A man entrusts his servants with different amounts of money before leaving on a journey. Two of them invest what they have received and multiply it, but one buries the money for fear of losing it. The master rebukes the third servant for not having done anything with what he was given.
Here we see an example of how fear can paralyze us. The third servant did nothing, not because he had no talent, but because he was afraid. Fear of failure, fear of being judged, fear of losing what he had been entrusted with. How often do we too bury our talents out of fear? Perhaps we feel that we are not good enough or that we may fail. Fear is a powerful emotion that can hold us back, sometimes fear is the result of a lack of trust in God's goodness and His provision. But the lesson Jesus gives us is clear: we are not judged by the end result, but by our faithfulness; Jesus is not asking us to be perfect but He does want us to put Him first. God calls us to be courageous and to trust that He is with us in the process.
The parable also teaches us how fear is no excuse for inaction. When we allow fear to control us, we not only hold ourselves back, but we also lose the opportunity to bless others through our gifts. The fearful servant buried his talent for fear of losing it, but in reality, he wasted the opportunity to multiply it. Fear of failure or rejection is normal, we are imperfect humans but we must remember that our success is not measured in visible results, but in our willingness to trust God and use the talents He has given us.
What can we learn from this parable today? We can Remember who is the true owner of the gifts: Our talents come from God, and He is the one who gives us the ability to use them. When we remember that we are not the owners of our gifts, we can feel freer to act, knowing that we are working for His glory and not for our own recognition. We can Trust in God's power, NOT in our own strength: If we depend on ourselves, the fear of failure will always be present. But if we put our trust in God, we can move forward with courage, knowing that He is the one who sustains us. As Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” For it is Christ alone who sustains us, He is our strength, our rock, He is our refuge, nothing we do can compare to what Jesus does for us.
We can take small steps of faith: Sometimes, fear prevents us from taking big steps. But we can start with small acts of faith. If you feel a calling to teach, you might start by offering a Sunday school class or helping young people in their formation. If you have a musical talent, start by sharing your music with a few. Over time, these small acts will multiply and you will see how God uses your gifts for His Kingdom.
Above all, we can surround ourselves with a supportive community: We are not called to use our gifts in solitude. The body of Christ is full of people with different talents who can support and encourage us. Let us seek to surround ourselves with those who remind us that God is with us, and who help us overcome fear.
St. Paul reminds us that there is a great diversity of gifts within the body of Christ. All are given by the same Spirit for the good of all. Just as a body has many different parts, but all work together, so too the church is a body made up of different people with different abilities. No gift is insignificant, and all are essential to the proper functioning of the body. Just as the heart cannot function without the lungs, the church needs all of us, each with our gifts, to function fully.
This passage invites us to recognize that our gifts are not only for our benefit, but for the edification of the community of faith. Furthermore, Paul calls us to value the diversity within the body. We are all needed.
Let us think about our community of faith. Some of us have gifts for teaching, some for hospitality, some for music, and some for leadership or service, perhaps fear has stopped you from volunteering. Today is the day to say “yes” to God and start using those gifts.
Not all talents have to be used only within the church. God calls us to steward our talents in our work, in our families, and in our communities. If you have organizational skills, perhaps God is calling you to coordinate a community event. If you are a good listener, you could be a support to someone who needs advice. Let's not let fear keep us from being a channel of blessing. I have a classmate from seminary that told me Veronica I do more ministry at my machine shop than at Church. God calls us to use our gifts where, where the Holy Spirit puts us even if it is the grocery store!
Stewarding our gifts and talents is not just an act of obedience, but a response of gratitude to God's love. He has given each of us something special, and our calling is to use it for His glory. It is not about succeeding by the world's standards, comparing ourselves to others or belittling what we have received, but about being faithful with what has been entrusted to us.
Just as in the parable of the talents, when we are faithful with the little, God entrusts us with more. Not for our personal gain, but because we are part of something much greater-His Kingdom. Often, we feel we don't have time to use our gifts. When someone asks us to serve in church or help with a community project, we may think that between work, family and daily responsibilities, we have no room left. However, when we take that small step of faith and say “yes,” God acts in an incredible way. God did not give us talents to hide or neglect, but to grow and multiply. And when we trust Him, He gives us what we need, whether it's energy, peace or time we thought we didn't have. In the end, we not only bless others, but we also find a deeper fulfillment in our spiritual life. It is often in those overwhelming moments that God opens doors, reminding us that when we place our talents in His hands, He takes care of everything else.
In the coming days, we will share the results of our planning camp, where we have explored new ways to engage and participate in the life of our faith community. There will be many opportunities for each of us to use our gifts and talents in service to the Kingdom of God. The good news this morning is that God loves us with all our imperfections, with all our failures, with all our fears. He does not stop loving us because we fail, and He invites us to reconcile with Him and come to His table, to become one with Him. And when we share the Lord's table together, we become the true body of Christ.
Let us not let fear paralyze us. This week, I invite you to pray and discern how God is calling you to use your gifts, whether in the church, in your family, or in your community because when we take that small step of faith, God does great things.
May we be courageous servants, trusting that God is with us every step of the way, and that together we can multiply what we have been given for His glory. Amen.
