Dear Friends
We are fast moving through this month of remembrance and approaching the end of the Church’s year .
Our readings today reflect these themes
As you are aware our dear Parishioner Margaret Nagle died last Saturday.
In these times when we cannot meet can I extend our deepest sympathies to Margaret’s husband William and her three daughters Margaret-Jane, Jacqueline and Elizabeth and her son William .
With every Blessing
Tony
Readings and Collect for the Second Sunday before Advent
Collect:
Heavenly Father, whose blessed Son was revealed to destroy the works of the devil and to make us the children of God and heirs of eternal life:
Grant that we, having this hope, may purify ourselves even as he is pure; that when he shall appear in power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Judges 4: 1-7
The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, after Ehud died. 2So the LORD sold them into the hand of King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-ha-goiim. 3Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD for help; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and had oppressed the Israelites cruelly for twenty years.
4 At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. 5She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites came up to her for judgement. 6She sent and summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, ‘The LORD, the God of Israel, commands you, “Go, take position at Mount Tabor, bringing ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali and the tribe of Zebulun. 7I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give him into your hand.
Psalm 123
1 To you I lift up my eyes, 
to you that are enthroned in the heavens.
to you that are enthroned in the heavens.2 As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, or the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
or the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,3 So our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until he have mercy upon us.
until he have mercy upon us.4 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt.
for we have had more than enough of contempt.5 Our soul has had more than enough of the scorn of the arrogant, and of the contempt of the proud.
and of the contempt of the proud.1 Thessalonians 5: 1-11
Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. 2For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3When they say, ‘There is peace and security’, then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labour pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape!
4But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; 5for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. 6So then, let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; 7for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night.
8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. 11Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.
Matthew 25: 14-30
14 ‘For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
16The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, “Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.” 21His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”
22And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, “Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.” 23His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”
24Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.” 26But his master replied, “You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest.
28So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 30As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 25: 14-30
I always think that we are lucky in the Northern Hemisphere that the cycle of the natural world marking the ending of the year –with falling leaves , shortening days and animals hibernating– closely match the Church’s year which comes to an end on 29th November, the First Sunday of Advent. Our readings during this month are therefore focused on end times and surely it is easier to focus on in November than in Summer Conditions as happens to our friends in Australia and other countries in the Southern Hemisphere.
Last week we had the story of the 5 wise virgins and the 5 foolish virgins. ( If you ever go into St Fin Barres Cathedral in Cork you will meet them on either side of the Great Western door). Today a similar theme continues with the 3 Slaves and their absent Master.
I’m sure there was a time when this sermon was meat and drink to a Preacher, banging his (always his) pulpit on a black/white theme. That simplistic approach is hardly sufficient today ,yet we have to be faithful to the reading as we unfold the passage in discerning what message it contains for us . Let me offer one possible insight.
Stories in the Gospel about a Master going away, leaving his Slaves in charge and returning after a long time , would always be understood in Jewish circles in Jesus time as referring to the relationship between God and Israel.
In today’s story the Master leaves significant resources with the slaves (which indeed should help us to appreciate that the word “slave” is totally different to the unfortunate existence of 19th Century Slaves in the Southern States of America). A talent was valued at what a labourer would make in 15 years–In our currency that would be €300,000.
What gifts had the Jewish people been given that could be compared to these massive amounts . The answer is not with money but with the Gifts of God.
The Scribes and the Pharisees had been given the Law of Moses.
They had been given the Temple the sign of Gods presence among them.
The Prophets had told them that they would be given as a light to the nations.
How had they handled these gifts when the Master returned?
Because it comes at the end of the passage our eyes seem to invariably focus on the third slave. How often do we hear the welcoming expression from the Master to the first two slaves “enter into the joy of your master”.
Their just reward for cherishing the talents they were given and putting them to good sue.
So how do we summarise this passage ?
The key point I would suggest is that our God (The Master) is offering his gifts to all his people and wishes us to use these gifts. Effectively he wishes us to embrace his message, to adjust our lives to become closer to him and to put into practice the Command to Love God and Love our Neighbour. The first two slaves have lived a life in accordance with the wishes of the Master , they had used their talents to advance the Kingdom of God and now they are invited to enter into the joy of the master.
How do we understand the Third Slave. I would argue that our understanding of the Third slave has to be seen in the context of the full Gospel story given to us. Jesus had spent his entire mission looking for the lost sheep of Israel. He had indeed encountered opposition and absolute misunderstanding with the Scribes and Pharisees with the type of Company he kept (In their eyes sinners and tax collectors).
Unlike the Scribes and Pharisees he never operated on a good/bad binary system . In the next Chapter of Matthews Gospel Jesus himself offers his life as a ransom for many. To the end -with the thief on the cross and with those executing him– Jesus was praying for them, excusing their behaviour and telling the thief on the cross that that day he would be with him in Paradise.
If at any point the third slave decided to turn around he would eb welcomed by the Master.The man who wrote the lines in our Epistle reading
“For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ “
started his life actively persecuting Jesus followers, yet he became one of the greatest of the Apostles.
In my mind the third slave if he turned , like the Prodigal son, would find himself in the embrace of the Loving Father.
TM
15/11/12020