Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Today's text

Matthew 25:14-21

“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then 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.’ His 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.

Enter the joy

Joy is not found by holding back, playing it safe. It is known only by those who throw themselves and their gifts into the unpredictability of living and caring, knowing, too, that there are no guarantees.

None of us are made for holding back, being careful, protecting what you have at the risk of losing something. Truth is … life always involves losing. We can never hold onto everything we want or need, friends, jobs, good times enjoyed, what we once were … .

Everything changes. Time passes on, an ever-rolling stream. Simple realism here.

Faced with this, how shall we live? Defensively? Grasping as tightly as we can to what we have, to who we are, to what we know?

Or do we throw ourselves into living, loving, giving ourselves fully to our time and place, our loves and duties, knowing we may be surprised by things we could have never imagined? Everything may not turn out the way we want. It may be better … or worse.

But that is not what really matters. What matters is being who and what we are, knowing we are fashioned in the image of the God, the Love, from whom our lives and this earth flow.

This One, this Love does not grasp but opens the divine hand to let life flow like a river, generously pouring out the divine creativity, giving Life, risking it on creatures who may never acknowledge the eternally generous Source of their breath … and all that is.

Such pouring out of self, not knowing what will come; this is the way of Jesus through which we enter the joy of the master, not only at heaven’s door, but now.

The crazy truth is opposite of what many think. The door of joy is not grasping who you are, but giving yourself away.

Pr. David L. Miller