Commitment Sunday is this Sunday!
A reminder that this Sunday is Commitment Sunday! Please remember to bring your commitment pledge card from last Sunday. If you did not receive one, no worries! You can click on the link below to print one or we will have some available this Sunday too!
The Buried Life Dug Up
Jesus’ parable stirs us to think deeply about our investments, not of our finances, but of ourselves. The businessman gives each of the three characters in the story talents. The word talent means a very large sum of money, something like twenty years of wages. It is no accident that we use the word to mean a particular ability, skill, or gift. Having a particular talent is worth a great deal, whether it is organizing, listening, creating, building, or healing. The way we use the priceless talents we have is how we invest ourselves in God’s world.
In the parable, two of those entrusted with talents use their gifts wisely and daringly. The third, however, is afraid. He is afraid of judgment, rejection, or failure. So he buries his talent. He buries himself and hides and has nothing to give or offer or live for. The story reveals the result of such a buried life: bitter sadness, isolation, and regret. How sad it is when we bury who we are and what we have to offer the world.
How wonderful it is when God’s grace helps us let go of fear and anxiety so that we can joyfully and freely give ourselves for the sake of God’s world. Jesus’ parable may disturb us when we realize that we too have been fearful and cautious in life when it comes to investing ourselves in God’s mission of helping and healing. But the good news of God’s grace in Christ digs us out of our fear, transforms any regret or sadness we have about our lives, and opens up a new possibility for living boldly and freely today.
Christ Jesus is God’s self-giving for us and the world, a valuable gift, a priceless investment, so we can invest our priceless selves in the mission of loving the world as God loves.