Earning our Way to Heaven?
Matthew 25:14-30[1]
Our
economy is based on the premise that we have to pretty much earn our way in
life. Some of us may have inherited significant resources, but the vast
majority of us in the “middle class” start from “scratch.” We are a culture
that very much believes in “pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps.” There
was a time when that system worked pretty much like clock-work. You did your
job, you worked hard, and you slowly but surely “climbed the ladder.” More recently,
that implicit guarantee of upward mobility has been called into question. Large
corporations started “right-sizing” by “reductions in force,” which meant
laying off many of those who had worked long and hard.
Unfortunately,
some of us take that assumption that you work for whatever you get and
translate it into our faith. Many people in our day still believe that they
have to build up spiritual “merit” in order to receive heavenly “rewards.”
That’s true even in the Presbyterian world. Some of us still think that
participating in worship, attending Bible Study, volunteering for VBS, or
singing in the choir are ways to make sure we get to “go to heaven when we
die.” Unfortunately, that perspective is reinforced by certain Christian
traditions that actually present these actions as “obligations.”
It seems to me that a lot of people look at
the parable of the talents in our Gospel lesson for today and think that the
“Kingdom of Heaven” operates like that. Now, I realize that among the parables
of the kingdom in Matthew’s Gospel, this one may be the hardest to see as
ironical—that it is in fact talking about the opposite of what the kingdom is
like. Most of us have heard the “sanitized” version of the parable: the
“talents” are abilities that you’ve been given to invest on behalf of the
kingdom. And most of us have used the language of this parable to commend the
faithful service of those whom we know and love. But if you look closer, you
find a very different story!
In the
first place, a “talent” in that day and time was a large fortune—the equivalent
of sixteen years’ wages (perhaps $500,000)! This story should actually be
called “The Parable of the Fortune Funds.” That puts it in a completely
different realm of life—that of profits and margins and commissions! But more
importantly, if you pay close attention to the details, this parable is about
earning rewards. You get five fortunes, you earn five more, and you get to keep
all ten as a reward. You get two fortunes, you earn two more, and you get to
keep all four. It’s very structured, very predictable. The rewards match the
deeds; the merits match the achievements. But the down side applies to any
“under-achievers.” If you’re like the servant who got one fortune and did
nothing with it for fear of losing a great deal of money, then you don’t even
get to keep that. And because you didn’t live up to the basic minimum requirements,
you get thrown out and punished.
If that’s
really what the “Kingdom of Heaven” is like, God looks more like a ruthless
Wall Street tycoon than a loving creator and redeemer. That’s the impression
you get from the third servant: “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” (Matt. 25:24-25). In that version of the kingdom, “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” (Matt. 25:29). If the
parable of the talents is not ironical, then we all have to earn our way into the "kingdom of heaven," and there’s not much room for grace or
forgiveness or mercy.
I don’t
know about you, but to me that doesn’t sound much like the God who blesses the
poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, and those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness (Matt. 5:3-6). It doesn’t sound much like the God who freely
gives the blessings of sun and rain to all alike (Matt. 5:45). It doesn’t sound
much like the God who feeds and clothes those who have little faith (Matt.
6:25-30), or the God who gives good things to those who ask like any parent
does with a child (Matt. 7:7-11). And it doesn’t sound like the God who seeks
us out like a shepherd seeking one lost sheep because it is not God’s will that
even “one of these little ones should be lost.” (Matt. 18:14).
The
Kingdom of God that Jesus came to bring to us all is very different from a
system of “pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps.” In God’s kingdom, there
is nothing to earn—no merits or rewards to rack up. And everybody gets the same
gift—God’s full and free acceptance. In God’s kingdom, the religious
“under-achievers” gain entry ahead of those who think they’ve racked up plenty
of “spiritual points” (cf. Matt. 21:32). In God’s kingdom, we’re all
“underachievers,” and rather than throwing us into “outer darkness,” God in his
mercy forgives us, God in his love embraces us, and God in his grace creates
the possibility of new life. God’s kingdom works completely contrary to the way
things work in our world. You may have to earn your way in this world, but
nobody has to earn their way into heaven!
[1] ©
2020 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by
Rev. Alan Brehm, Ph. D. on 11/15/20 for Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman,
NE.
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