Two types of servants

Machine assisted translation of sermon in Icelandic

Collect prayer

Lord God, Heavenly Father, You who richly bless our work and give us our daily bread. We pray, protect us from all greed, and awaken our hearts, so that we willingly share your blessing with those who have less. Grant that we may prove to be faithful stewards of your gifts, and that we may enjoy your grace when you release us from our stewardship, and we come before your judgment, through your beloved son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one true God forever and ever.

Scripture readings

First reading is from Deuteronomy, chapter 8, verses 7-18:

Deuteronomy 8:7–18 ESV

7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, 9 a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11 “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, 12 lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15 who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. 17 Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18 You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

L: This is the Holy Word.

C: Thanks be to God

L: Second reading is from 1 Corinthians, 3:10-15

1 Corinthians 3:10–15 ESV

10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

L: This is the Holy Word.

C: Glory to you Lord, for you have the words of eternal life. To whom else whall we go?

The Gospel

‌P: The gospel is written by the evangelist Matthew

C: God be praised for his joyful message

Matthew 25:14–30 ESV

14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

P: This is the Holy Gospel

C: Christ be praised

Sermon

The New Testament contains many of Jesus' parables, and it is not at all uncommon that we are given the key to the story if we only pay attention to it. In this case, as so often, the parable is about the kingdom of heaven. As Jesus himself says: "So is the kingdom of heaven, as a man who came from the earth."

We should keep this in mind when we read or hear the parable.

We are told about four characters. First of all, it is a very wealthy man, the master—as he is called—who plans to leave the country. Secondly, there are his servants, and they are of two kinds: On the one hand, good and faithful servants, and on the other hand, an evil and lazy servant. Let's look at these characters that the parable tells us about.

I: What kind of man is this?

First there is this master, a very rich man who is going to leave the country. Of course, we could start by asking: Why is he leaving the country? But the parable does not answer that. It's simply not that important, but the consequence is important: Something needs to be done about his assets while he's abroad.

Therefore, before he leaves, he calls his servants to him and leaves them with his property. Perhaps it would have been even better to say that he entursted them with it, evidently with the view that they should manage it for him; use it well and fruitfully. And the trust he has in the servants is great, because the possessions are great.‌

Talenta, an ancient unit of weight, is the unit of measure that expresses its value to us. In the Old Testament it is first mentioned in connection with the tabernacle of the temple. There the seven-branched lampstand was to be made of one talent of pure gold (Exo 25:39). Often when great riches are mentioned in the Bible, they are precisely measured in talents. Usually it was gold or silver that was measured in this unit, but it could also be brass or even iron (Exo 38, 2 Sam 12:30, 1 Kings 10:10, 1 Chr 29:7). Ancient weighing stones found with the talent inscription indicate that it was around 30 kg in Israel, but there was also a heavier version of around 60 kg. There is therefore clear that this is a great fortune. It applies not only to the servant whom the master trusted with ten talents, but also to the servant whom he trusted with one talent.

The conclusion is this: First, all three servants are highly trusted, even the one who received the least. This cannot be taken to mean that one servant was trusted with great wealth, while the other was trusted with little. Everyone got a lot of wealth. This one talent would probably have been somewhere around 150 million in today's Icelandic currency.‌

Second, it was neither chance nor varying degrees of trust that governed who was entrusted with the most and who with the least. On the contrary, it was care for the servants, because he distributed his wealth according to the ability of each one. It shows not only that he knew what he was doing, but also that he knew his servants well. We should not understand the disparity as unjust discrimination, comradery or anything like that, but as his love for the servants. For he distributed his possessions according to their ability, and according to the fact that they were not all the same.‌

Of course, it is not easy for a modern Icelander to accept this. We are so determined that everyone should be the same, that we cannot even bear that God has created us so that we are born either male or female. Everyone should go through the same processes, and the same schooling, even if it is obviously not suitable for everyone. We prefer everyone to be exactly the same, even if we talk big about diversity. But the master was not like that. He took into account that the servants were not the same, and divided his belongings accordingly.

After that, he leaves the country and stays there for a long time. Now the story turns to the servants.

‌II: Two kinds of servants

There are three servants, but only of two kinds. Namely, the first two servants behave exactly the same. Both take their role, and the trust they enjoy, very seriously. Similarly, their behavior indicates that not only does their master trust them, but they also have a lot of trust in him. He has given them the wealth to use them and grow them, and they are not afraid to do just that. They are obviously shrewd, but equally fearless when doing commerce and investing. Both quickly double what they have been entrusted with.

When the master returns and gives the accounts, he praises both of these servants with the same words: "Good, good and faithful servant. Over a little you were faithful, over much I will put you. Enter your lord's joy."

No doubt both could have done better. They were probably lazy or discouraged at times and missed good opportunities. However, this is not discussed. Had they themselves mentioned it, he would have answered them something like this: "Yes, I know very well that you were sometimes discouraged and lazy. Good, you good and faithful servant...” But if so, why does the third servant fare so ill? Let's look at him too.

It's not like the third server doesn't do enough. He does nothing. He buries the riches in the ground and continues as if nothing happened. He acts as if he was not entrusted with anything. And what's more, he also explains to us the reason: Namely, he doesn't think much of the master. We read verses 24 and 25 again:

Matthew 25:24–25 ESV

24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’

The third servant buried the treasure and pretended that it simply did not exist: as if he had not been trusted with anything. And the reason for that was not that he thought the wealth was too small, but that he did not want to recognize the master. He thought the master was mean and unfair. He lays a certain blame on the master and says that it is because of this fault that he was afraid and hid the talent.

In other words, it can be said this way: The third servant felt that he had a very good reason to ignore the master and not bother with either the wealth or the role he had been given. It was all the master's own fault.

Let's take a closer look at the allegation.

III: Was the third servant right?

‌The accusation is actually one single thing, said two times, but in different words. The servant accuses the master of appropriating a harvest where he has contributed nothing. He reaps even though he did not sow. He gathers the grain, though he has not scattered the seed. This is a kind of Hebrew repetition: the same thing said twice with different words.

Perhaps the servant thought it unfair that the work of the servants makes the master even richer. Or maybe he's accusing him of outright criminality. Perhaps this master was then unpopular as a result.

It is proably not vital to the parable how this detail is understood, but at least the servant says that he was afraid because of this, and therefore hid the wealth. But the master sees through him. Maybe he was afraid, but he was also evil and lazy: because if you admit that he was right about the master, is that any excuse?

The master's words can then be read in this direction: "Well fine, so you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I did not scatter, did you? If that were the case (or if it is), you should have put the money in the bank so that it would at least earn interest. But you decided to bury the money in the ground and pretend it didn't exist."‌

It is therefore obvious that the third servant's accusations do not stand up to further scrutiny. The truth was that he despised his master, and cared little for him, and therefore he also cared nothing for what had been entrusted to him.

Finally: Good, you good and faithful servant

How are we to understand this parable and apply it in our own lives? It is obvious that the master represents Christ. And just like this master, he knows his servants well and distributes his talents to them accordingly.

It is we who are his people, who are also his servants. We should therefore have the same goals as him: To grow his kingdom, and for that use all that he has entrusted us with. It is not only true in the church service, but everywhere in our lives. In our relationships with family and friends, we are to bear fruit for His kingdom.

But how do we do that? Is it that we should wallpaper all the walls of our homes with crosses and Bible verses, and turn every conversation we have, to direct it towards the gospel? No, and it's not even enough to say it isn't, but the question itself is wrong. We learn from the third servant that it all begins with the master himself.

The first two servants had one thing in common: they wanted to get to know their master. Just as he trusted them, they trusted him. Their reaction shows that they loved their master. The riches were his, and he gave them the task of managing them. He was a good master: not a criminal as the third servant claimed.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is a good master. He has purchased for us eternal life by his death on the cross, and his resurrection from the dead. He has forgiven us all our sins and cleansed us from all unrighteousness. And all this is given to us in his word. If we believe the word and trust that he will take us to himself on the last day, to live forever with him, then it is obvious that he has entrusted us with a great treasure. If we want to grow this wealth, it is obviously our wish that as many people as possible acquire a share in it. This is a treasure that grows, the more people share it.

The treasure that Christ has entrusted to us is simply this: That he died on the cross to atone for our sins; and rose on the third day to give us eternal life. This treasure belongs to everyone who trusts in it, and everyone who trusts in it will eventually hear these words:

Matthew 25:21 ESV

21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

‌Glory be to God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and will be for ever. Amen.‌

Let's confess our faith together.