Proper 28, Yr A (2023) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
Proper 28, Year A (2023) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
Matthew 25:14-30
In the name of the one, holy, and living God:
Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifying Spirit. Amen.
“Concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters.…”
“…the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”
“…let us keep awake and be sober…”
Reading today’s letter to the Thessalonians –
along with the readings from the past couple of weeks,
I feel like we have skipped right over into Advent
with these themes of preparation and watchfulness!
And then there’s today’s Gospel reading.
Believe it or not, this gospel text has widely varying interpretations.
In one commentary I read,
two of the authors had wildly divergent opinions as to who exactly is this master
and how we are to understand the text.
However, the one thing everyone agreed upon
is that this text occurs in the midst of Jesus’ eschatological discourse,
that is to say… in the midst of Jesus’ conversations with his disciples
about living in the “in-between times” –
the time between when Jesus leaves this earth
and the time when Jesus returns.
So, Paul and Matthew were talking with their communities about the in-between times,
and 2,000 years later we are still waiting.
Jesus has come,
inaugurating the Kingdom,
and we still await his return.
So, once again the character of our waiting is what is at stake in these two texts.
Paul warns his hearers to not become complacent and “settle in”
but to remain watchful…
to be “on their toes” because they do not know when the Lord will return.
While they wait, they should gird themselves with faith and love,
and live in hope for healing, wholeness, and restoration.
Live in faith, love, and hope!
….sounds like living in the Kingdom.
Paul goes further by saying, “Encourage one another…”
and “build up each other.”
This is how we live in this “in-between” time.
This is how we relate to one another in community.
And then we have today’s Gospel reading.
What does today’s Gospel reading have to say about living in the in-between time?
Well, regardless of who the master and the servants are,
the story seems to be talking about how we are stewards of our lives.
Do we take what we have been given
and live with abundance?
or do we live in fear?
Do we earn our living honestly,
and show gratitude to every living thing?.....
As I was reflecting on these texts,
I remembered two poems written by Mary Oliver.
The first poem is entitled, “When Death Comes.”
“When it’s over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
When it is over, I don’t want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.
I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.”
Her second poem is entitled, “The Summer Day” and goes like this:
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
from New and Selected Poems, 1992
Beacon Press, Boston, MA
My friends, we have only the one life we have been given.
What we do with it
makes a difference.
How do we live in these in-between times?
These times between our own birth and death?
These times between Jesus’ inauguration of the Kingdom and his return?
What is it we plan to do with our one wild and precious life?
It is worth thinking about.
Some of us may be nearer the end of this one wild and precious life,
but Jesus’ point is that none of us really know!
How we live each day…
how we are stewards of God’s gifts and creation each day is important.
I am reminded of an optional Eucharistic prayer available for use that addresses God:
“You have filled us and all creation with your blessing
and fed us with your constant love;
you have redeemed us in Jesus Christ
and knit us into one body.
Through your Spirit you replenish us
and call us to fullness of life.”
Over and over our Scriptures tell us
that God blesses us and calls us to fullness of life.
Do we feel it?
Do we know it?
Do we live it?
Do we live our lives married to amazement -
or chained to fear?
Charlie Band asked me if I was going to preach a stewardship sermon this year.
I always resist such things
because I hope that every sermon I preach is a stewardship sermon!
All our Scriptures are about God’s faithfulness to us
and the ways that we are called to respond in faithfulness to God.
However, this is the time of year when we take stock of how God has gifted us
and how we intend to share our gifts with our community in the coming year.
And since we are such a small community,
every gift makes an enormous difference.
Who we are as a community of faithful disciples gathered at St. Andrew’s
is determined by what gifts we share with one another and with our wider community.
As I reflect on St. Andrew’s,
it strikes me that as a community we are good at feeding people:
both spiritually and physically.
We do that in worship, Bible study, Godly Play, Backpacks, Holy Smoke, Community Kitchen, and Pathways.
We do that as we take Communion to folks who cannot get here.
I am aware that we have quite a few members who can no longer get here:
Some of these folks need a ride to church.
If you are able to provide a ride for someone,
even if once a month, please let me know.
Some of the folks who cannot get here would appreciate someone visiting them!
Or receiving a note, or a phone call every now and then.
As we take stock of our stewardship of time, let us think about how to stay connected,
or re-connect,
with those who are alone.
Please consider how you can share your financial resources with our ministries
but also your time and your talents.
If we are to take Paul’s words to the Thessalonians to heart,
then our community life is about encouraging one another
and building up each other.
That means we are invited to listen to one another
to hear where God is working in each other’s lives,
and respecting our diverse callings.
That also means that we must risk ourselves,
sharing our passions and our questions with each other.
The life of discipleship is risky business.
We must step beyond our places of fear
and live out of faith, love, and the hope for healing.
In so doing, we will experience life abundant.
This week I invite you to reflect on this question:
“What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
And will you share it with us?
Amen.
