What Will you Return?

Sermon Series: Getting It Together, Part 7

October 23, 2011

Rev. Dr. Craig Strobel

The Basic Point

The final step of wisdom is to return to your community and offer the gifts of your experience for the betterment of the world.

Matthew 25:14-30

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.” And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, “Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two 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.” Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.” But his master replied, “You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

When I was in the sixth grade, my aunt and uncle gave me a book that was to introduce me to an entirely new world that exploded in my imagination. The book was The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. The book is the story of the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit, who travels to a far land, battles spiders, cavorts with elves and dwarves, and survives the riddles of a dragon. He returns home much the wiser for his adventure, and in possession of singular ring that enables him to disappear. Very quaint.

Of course, this is all preparation for the epic story that follows as a sequel, The Lord of the Rings, which I read several times in Jr. and Sr. High. That story is really the story of the various journeys and trials undertaken by several of the leading characters. The Lord of the Rings is really another of the many stories of the Hero’s Journey that I talked about at the start of this series on Wisdom. Take, for instance, Frodo Baggins, Aragorn and Sam Gamgee, who each return from the battles over the One Ring with specific gifts of wisdom, experience, perspective and courage. Aragorn takes his rightful place as king, and Sam becomes mayor of Hobbiton. Frodo compiles his memoirs, and leaves them as a record for others.

The final step of the hero’s journey is to return home with gift of self-knowledge and the boon of insight that they have acquired in order to offer it to their community. This is true of wisdom as well. We do not live unto ourselves alone. We are members one of another, as Paul says.

All of our individual journeys are like the many streams and trickles of water that fall down a mountainside following a rain, joining and merging into larger streams and rivers. The wisdom we each acquire is added to the great flow of life. Paul says to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God. What this means is to take all that we have experienced and learned in life and use it as a means to wisdom under the guidance and transforming power of God, and then allow God to use that wisdom wherever it is needed in our communities and world. That is the ultimate destination: back where we began, at home in our hearts, in service to our world.

Often when I am talking with families who have lost a loved one I will ask them what qualities they admired in a person. After they share a few things, I will say that the best way we can honor someone is to embody those characteristics that we valued in them: “One of the best ways to honor those we have lost in a tragedy is to dedicate our lives in service to others in memory of our loved ones and friends. Perhaps you can join groups dedicated to assist with other survivors of tragedy. Perhaps you can assist with relief work overseas or at home. As you do things that make the world better, you begin to transform what has been painful and destructive into something filled with life and hope.”

Jesus tells a story that illustrates the importance of offering our gift of wisdom to the world. A master of three slaves divides up some of his property among the slaves. Two of the slaves shrewdly invest and trade the property, and increase the value of their master’s estate. But one slave hides his share, and complains to the master, whereupon he is punished and cast outside of the community. Our lives are given to us as precious gifts, and even the traumas and tragedies we experience can be transformed by the power of God into jewels of wisdom that can enhance and help the lives of others around us. What we experience and go through can give us a unique insight into the experiences other people go through. For instance, my own experience with being divorced twice has been very difficult, even traumatic for me. But the experience of my first divorce taught me that how I went through my second divorce would set the stage for what was to follow. I urged my congregation not to take sides, but to continue to love and support each of us. I urged them to hold me accountable to behave in a manner befitting someone who bears the name of Jesus Christ, and as a minister of the Gospel. I engaged in a time of deep introspection as to what my part in the dissolution or our marriage was, and what was not. Out of that experience I emerged with a greater understanding of the things in my own life that needed to be resolved, and even discarded. That showed me that it is possible to survive, and even thrive, after divorce. And that process also taught me much about the path towards wisdom, much of which I have been sharing with you these past several weeks.

Each of us is on a hero’s journey of some sort. Our lives will be buffeted and bruised by life. We will indeed face dragons and spiders and monster of various sorts that we will have to engage and perhaps battle. The Way of Jesus illuminates that journey for us, and shines light on gifts and gems of wisdom that can arise from the journey. What will you return to your community? What commitments will you make with your lives that will strengthen others, or make our world just a little better?

One final story from The Lord of the Rings. There is a song that Bilbo Baggins , sings as he leaves the Shire on his way to Rivendell. The song expresses an invitation to a journey, the journey, really:

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

Whither then? None of us can say. But with a good map, and good companions, the journey is worth it.