What Should You Do While You Wait for Jesus to Return?

25th Sunday after Pentecost, 11/19/23 Matthew 25:14-30 What Should You Do While You Wait for Jesus to Return? How good are you at waiting for something to happen? I’ve never been good at it. I was unbearable waiting for something as a child and things have only gotten slightly better for me, even at my age. I recall waiting for my parents to come home from an appointment or waiting for relatives to arrive for a holiday celebration and it just about drove me crazy. And I succeeded in driving others crazy as well. But, as I said, it does get better with age. Wouldn’t you agree? And some of that progress is due to the fact that we’ve learned that things don’t always happen as fast as we want or expect them to. We’ve learned that delays are possible. We realize we might have some time on our hands, so we bring with us something to do. And there’s always our cell phone to occupy us. Or maybe you bring a book to read or some music to listen to. And, if you’re into podcasts, you might even use the time to increase your knowledge on a certain subject. While you wait, you try to do something to occupy your time. We’re nearing the end of the church year, and it’s no accident that our scripture readings turn our attention to the end times when the Lord will return. Last Sunday’s readings urged us to be watchful for our Lord’s return. This Sunday’s readings urge us to be faithful as we wait for him. Faithful doing what? Jesus spoke this parable before us this morning to answer that question. He encourages us to use our time wisely. Well, what should you do while you wait for Jesus to return? Keep that question before you as we prayerfully come to a deeper understanding of what Jesus is asking us to do in the words of this parable. I’m sure I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know when I say that this is the week of our country’s annual Thanksgiving Day celebration. And the focus of most of those celebrations will be a Thanksgiving Day feast, often a meal with turkey and all the assorted side dishes, and pumpkin pie to boot. But we try not to simply make it a day to eat more than we usually do at one meal. We try to be thankful. In fact, you might even take a few minutes to quietly reflect on all the blessings the Lord has bestowed on you. And as Christians, we thank the Lord for his generosity to us. In this parable, the master represents the Lord. And it’s difficult to miss his generosity, especially in the translation we’re using of Matthew’s Gospel. Our text informs us that the master hands out bags of gold to his servants. He entrusts his vast wealth to them. Each bag of gold was worth about 20 years of wages—an extreme amount of money. And I’m guessing you know whom the servants represent—you and me, followers of Jesus Christ. At first you might raise the objection that the Lord hasn’t blessed you with an extreme amount of wealth. But the bags of gold don’t just represent your wealth; they represent everything that Lord has given you—your time, your abilities, and all your possessions. So, the first thing the Lord is urging us to do is to recall his grace and generosity towards us. And the time to do so is now while you’re waiting for Jesus to return. But you probably noticed something. The master didn’t give each of his servants the same amount of gold. He gave 10 bags to one, 5 to a second, and only 1 to a third. And, at first, that sounds cruel and inconsiderate. Imagine being the servant who only received one bag of gold and watching as the first servant tries to manage holding all 10 of his at the same time. You’d feel cheated, wouldn’t you? But actually, the master was being extremely wise and considerate. He gives each servant an amount that he feels they can handle. He knows his servants and what their strengths and weaknesses are. The second and third servants don’t have as many skills and abilities as the first servant does. Giving them more of his wealth than they can handle would not only be foolish, it would be cruel. He would be setting them up for frustration and failure. And it goes without saying that he expects them to use his wealth wisely while he is gone. They know he will return, they just don’t know when. During that time, he entrusted them with his wealth to use it wisely. Doing nothing with it is actually wasting it. It’s failing to put to good use something which is valuable. But that’s exactly what the third servant does. The parable states, “The man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.” And when the master returns, the third servant confesses, “Master, I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.” And the master’s response is no surprise. He tees off on the servant for his laziness. His words are sharp and full of anger. He even calls him “wicked.” But it makes us wonder. If the master represents the Lord, is there forgiveness? We understand the scolding, but the judgment and the condemnation seems a little harsh, doesn’t it? Shouldn’t the parable end with forgiveness? But the parable isn’t about forgiveness. It’s about faithfulness. The master gave him every opportunity to use what he had and he failed. In spiritual terms, our God has given us faith in Jesus. He tells us that faith in Jesus will bear fruit. It will be evident in our lives. So, the question isn’t, “Is there forgiveness?” The question is, “Is there faith?” And there wasn’t. That’s why he was condemned. What should you do while waiting for Jesus to return? Spend your time matching your abilities with your opportunities. There’s another detail in this parable that I want you to notice. It’s this: “After a long time, the master of those servants returned.” No kidding it’s been a long time. It’s been almost 2,000 years since Jesus ascended into heaven. It would be easy for us even as followers of Jesus to think that his return is still a long way off. It would be easy for us to take the viewpoint of our world which is this: everything keeps on going and happening. One day follows another. Surely that’s going to continue. And if that’s our view of things, why should we do anything right now with the gifts our Lord has given us? Tomorrow or the next day will be soon enough. Or even next year or the year after that. It would also be easy to think that if we don’t use what our Lord has given us, someone will cover for us. There’s always someone who will take care of things if I don’t. Someone who isn’t as busy as I am. Someone who has more time or more energy. Really? Is that being faithful? Or, even worse, silently telling the Lord that you have nothing to offer. That you have no time or abilities or possessions to use faithfully in service to him as you serve others. To do nothing and silently make the statement, “Jesus, you gave others a bag of gold, but you gave nothing to me.” And that’s so easy to do because it plays right into our sinful selfish nature. Act talentless and no one will expect me to do a thing. So, what should you do while you are waiting for Jesus to return? Resist the temptation to do nothing. Instead, use what you have to serve and enjoy. First, serve with joy. Even people who aren’t Christian know the joy of serving others. You’ll see it in action this week as people, even those who aren’t Christian, do what they can to help those who are needy. It gives great joy to serve. So imagine, then, the joy you have as a Christian, knowing that when you are serving others you’re also serving your Lord Jesus! The One who gave his all for you—his very life—empowers you to serve him as you serve others. That’s being faithful! Second, enjoy. Especially enjoy hearing this, “Come and share your master’s happiness.” The happiness in this parable represents the happiness, the joy, the bliss that Jesus won for us. It’s the eternal joy of life in heaven with our Savior. It’s a life without sin, stress, death, or pain. It’s paradise. Literally paradise. It’s beyond our comprehension, and it’s all yours by faith in Jesus. That’s what your Savior has in store for you when you grab opportunities to use your time, abilities, and possessions faithfully here on earth is ended. What should you do while you wait for Jesus to return? Serve and enjoy. Do it faithfully. That’s what this parable is all about. But that doesn’t leave us all warm and fuzzy, does it? In fact, this parable makes us more than a little uncomfortable. It shows us (dare we say, shoves in our faces?) what Jesus expects us to do while we wait for him to return. He expects us to be faithful using everything he has given us, including our faith in him. Of course that makes us uncomfortable! No one is faithful all the time! Our reality is that we even purposely decline or even refuse opportunities to use our gifts faithfully. We’re even good at creating excuses for it. I know mine. What are yours? Could Jesus call us wicked and lazy and worthless? He could. He should. He does. And that’s where this would end if we were to take Jesus out of the parable. Recall again what the parable is about. It’s about faithfully using the gifts Jesus has given us. It’s about producing the fruits of the faith that Jesus has placed in our hearts. That faith centers on this great truth: Jesus died for my sins and rose again. He has forgiven me for all the times I have not been faithful while I wait for his return. And when he does return, his last great service to me and you and all other Christians will show his eternal love for us by raising us from the dead, glorifying our bodies, and taking us with him into his eternal happiness. Jesus will return and do just that. As you wait for him, live in the faith he has graciously given you. Faithfully use your gifts to his glory. Amen.