Homily
by The Rev. Marcia McRae
St.
Francis Episcopal Church, Goldsboro, NC; 19 Nov. 2017, Proper 28
Year
A RCL: Judges
4:1-7, Psalm 123, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, Matthew 25:14-30
What
time is it?
[Wait
for answer.]
Notice
the element of time in our scriptures today.
Jesus
says after a long time the master of the slaves comes & settles
accounts.
Paul
tells us & the Thessalonians: we don't need anything written
about times & seasons because Jesus will come unexpectedly.
Our
lesson from Judges says the people have been oppressed 20 years.
Deborah
serves as a bright spot in their lives together; a decisive leader,
“a fiery woman” who commissions Barak to lead1
an attack. This
prophetess is strong in faith & serves as a judge, a warrior, a
top political leader, as
we read in Bible
Women: All Their Words & Why They Matter.2
Our
Psalm gives us a sense of time, of people who have had “more than
enough” of negative living, people waiting for God to bring better
times.
More
important than the amount of time is how
we use our time. Paul encourages us
beloved children of light to keep awake, be sober &
use our special “equipment”
– faith, love, & hope of salvation.
We
have this “equipment” through Jesus dying for us on the cross,
rising from the dead, ascending to heaven, & the Holy Spirit
coming to be our guide so we can live as God wants us to & build
up each other.
Notice
Paul speaks of night & day, of being awake or asleep.
Notice
the contrast we hear in Jesus' parable of the talents: 2 of the
slaves invest the money. This requires interacting with people.
The
fearful slave tries to go it alone. He doesn't talk to anybody about
what to do. As the angry master says: you should have invested it
with bankers!
This
would have required interaction with people.
My
friend & colleague in the Diocese of Georgia. The Rev. Canon
Frank Logue, points out: “[ONE]
talent was a measure of gold worth roughly 15
years’ wages
for a day laborer...”3
So we
can understand why the master reacts as he does & entrusts the 2
good guys with more responsibility!
They've
earned job security.
These
men have courage.
Their
courage reminds me of 21st
century problem solvers I
Scientists at a California children's
hospital have tried the “first-ever gene editing [inside] the body”
of a 44-year-old patient “with a rare genetic disorder”.5
[Yes,
the 44-year-old is being treated at a children's hospital.]
The
possibilities from this internal gene correction opens “a whole new
field of medicine...” with potential for treating many diseases.6
What
if the doctors' had buried this idea in a
file cabinet instead of
investing time, energy & money in it?
Research
from UNC-Chapel Hill & Duke University published last week is a
“Study [that] supports genetic factor for obesity,” another
article says.7 These
new findings point to genetic mutations, or defects, as a possible
factor in human obesity, & notes more study is needed.8
What
if biochemists & researchers bury their notes in a computer file
& discontinue investing
time, energy & money in this
research, which requires a team?
Teamwork
is essential in many fields. Think of football. . . .
Neither
of the 2 North Carolina private high schools 30 miles apart had
enough players for football teams this year – even for 8-man
football they played in the past.9
Hobgood
Academy & Northeast Academy coaches, players & administrators
worked together, invested time, literal talents & money to become
one team that worked well from the start,10
so well they are state champs this year, as you can read in the
article titled, “Neither
school had enough players this year for a team – together, they're
state champs.”11
Notice:
in these 3 examples
people
interact & work together.
Think
of teamwork we see in our Altar Guild & Flower Guild: We have
bread bakers, arrangers of flowers & special displays, teams that
set the Altar & clean up, wash & iron linens.
Our
teams work well together for us to have beautiful worship.
Support
like what we have here as the Body of Christ can keep us going when
we fear we don't know what to do with our resources, when we lack
resources, when we want to give up like the scared slave.
When
we are tempted to hold back what God has entrusted to us/you, think
about people in the Bible. Whatever
may have you in a holding pattern of fear like the slave with one
talent, think:
What
if Deborah in our 1st
lesson hadn't used her talents?
“Living
the Gospel always
involves risk. . .
God
has shown you [us] great love
&
asks only that you [we] share [this]
love with others.
When
you [we] take the risk to love,
it is the grace of God
working
through you
[through
us]
that
does the heavy lifting. . .”
God does the heavy lifting.
Cha,
Ariana Eunjung. News
& Observer.
“Scientists at Calif. Hospital try first-ever gene editing in the
body.” From the Washington Post.
Freeman,
Lindsay Hardin. Bible
Women: All Their Words and Why They Matter.
Forward Movement. USA: 2016.
Harper’s Bible
Commentary. General Ed.: James. L. Mays. San
Francisco: Harper & Row Publishers, 1988.
Holy Bible with the
Apocrypha. New Revised Standard Version. New
York: Oxford University Press. 1989.
Jewish Study Bible:
Jewish Publication Society Tanakh Translation.
New York: Oxford University Press. 2004.
Logue,
The Rev. Canon Frank. “Love
Is Risky Business, Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost – Nov. 19,
2017.” Accessed: 18 Nov. 2017.
http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/stw/2017/11/12/love-is-risky-business-twenty-fourth-sunday-after-pentecost-november-19-2017/
Murawski,
John. News
& Observer.
“Study supports genetic factor for obesity”.
Pope,
Jonas IV. “Neither school had enough players for a team –
together, they're state champs. News
& Observer.
3
Logue, The
Rev. Canon Frank. “Love
Is Risky Business, Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost – Nov. 19,
2017.” Accessed: 18 Nov. 2017.
http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/stw/2017/11/12/love-is-risky-business-twenty-fourth-sunday-after-pentecost-november-19-2017/
5
Ibid. Cha,
Ariana Eunjung. News
& Observer.
“Scientists at Calif. Hospital try first-ever gene editing in the
body.” P. 6A
6
Ibid.
7
Ibid. Murawski, John. “Study supports genetic factor for obesity”.
Pp. 1A, 7A.
8
Ibid. P. 1A.
9
Ibid. Pope, Jonas IV. “Neither school had enough players for a
team – together, they're
state champs. Pp. 1B, 4B.
10
Ibid. P. 4B.
11
Ibid. Pope, Jonas IV. “Neither school had enough players for a
team – together, they're state champs. Pp. 1B, 4B.
12
Ibid. Logue.
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