Parables and Post-it notes

“To all those who have, more will be given

                                  and they will have an abundance...

                                                                         -- Matthew 25:29

 Are you a “glass half full” or “glass half empty” kind of thinker?  Are you filled with gratitude for the abundance of things you have, or are you always complaining about what you wish you had?  Most of us go both ways — some days we’re the optimistic type who feel blessed beyond our needs; some days we think we could be happy “if only” we had this or that.

                 Truth be told, whatever your perspective on life, God has given you resources and assets which you could use to improve the quality of your life and others’.   These are things you already have which God has entrusted to you: not just your possessions but also the people you know, your friendships and other relationships, your knowledge and abilities, your reputation and the trust people place in you.  As a symbol for all of this, consider the money (called “talents”) entrusted to the slaves by their master in Jesus’ famous “parable of the talents.”

In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the parable of the talents in between two other parables — it comes after the ten bridesmaids waiting for the bridegroom and before the sheep and the goats.  All three of these are stories are about the return of Jesus.  All three are also about living in anticipation of the last days and of our final judgment.  And they are all about stewardship—what we’re doing now with what God has given us.  The story of the bridesmaids warn us that if we wait too long to turn on our lamps (or let our lights shine), we are likely to miss the party.  In the last parable, with its imagery of sheep and goats, Jesus warns us that if we neglect using our gifts to help others, we might find ourselves playing on the wrong team.  And through the parable of the talents, Jesus is telling us that now is the time to use those gifts — because time is short and now is the time we can expect the biggest returns on our investments in the kingdom of God.

We invest in God’s kingdom in many ways.  We invest with our hearts by trusting God’s promises, believing his commandments, attributing all that is good in our lives to his grace, by doing our best to love what God loves and make time for the opportunities he presents us with.  We invest our hopes and dreams in the future that God is creating in, through, and around us.  We invest our time in prayer and worship, and by working for the good of God’s people in and through the church.  We invest our talents by sharing them with others, helping those in need, encouraging those who feel like they have no place by showing them that God makes room for us.

      So much is happening this year at Atonement, now is the perfect time for you to make a new investment.
The opportunities are ripe for getting involved, sharing your hopes and dreams, and finding a way you can bring about something new in God’s kingdom by sharing your gifts.  September 7 is God’s Work, Our Hands Sunday — a day ELCA churches around the country will be celebrating the work and ministries of their local congregations.  Wear the gold t-shirt, if you have one.  The praise band will be leading worship—come ready to sing, pray, hear God’s word and reflect on how God is moving in you and your life and in the life of Atonement Lutheran Church.  And come ready to join us after the service for a delicious luncheon and, well… a Post-It Note party.

Actually, what we will be doing after the service is a fun, creative activity called asset mapping.  The process for asset mapping came about as neighborhoods and towns were looking to improve and develop, but kept finding they always got stuck.  The list of things they wanted but didn’t have grew into unmanageable “to-do” lists, with no clear path from point A to point B.  Asset mapping turned it all around.  The idea is not to focus on the half-empty part of the half-full cup, but to look at what’s already there (the assets), and to brainstorm new ways of applying already available resources.

And that means Post-It notes — lots of them.  At the asset-mapping luncheon, you will be getting your own pad of Post-It notes to help come up with a list of assets we have here at Atonement.  These assets are the gifts God has given us.  They can be:

 

Å Physical (things you can touch and see): they can be concrete (such as a building or a couch) or abstract (such as the beauty of the building or the capacity of the couch)

Å Individual (talents, skills, experiences that people have)

Å Associational (relationships and partnerships, networks and groups)

Å Institutions (companies, corporations, organizations, agencies, businesses, etc.

Å Economic (spending power, investments, capacities to raise funds or produce goods or services to sell)
 

 As we brainstorm and share the assets we come up with, we will also work together at “connecting the dots” between them to see what new possibilities God has placed in our midst. 
 

The whole process comes down to recognizing our blessings.  Jesus recognized every person as an asset — he thought the sick were worth healing, that women and children had a place in God’s kingdom, that foreigners were worth telling the Good News.  He looked at a ragtag group of fisherman and saw leaders of God’s future church.  He looks at us and sees, not what we lack but who we are and what we have been created for by our loving God.  “I am the vine, you are the branches, and my Father is the vinedresser,” Jesus said in John 15.  “Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes that it may bear more fruit.”  By recognizing and appreciating the people and resources in our lives as assets, our eyes become opened more and more to the limitless opportunities God has put all around us. 

 

 

 Peace,

Pastor Scott