This was the second of the parables of Matthew 25 about what we should do before the second coming. The lectionary describes how we should live in abundance to work for God’s kingdom with our abilities given to us and realize they were gracious gifts Appropriately, we remember those bridesmaids from last week and those slaves this week that came out ahead. But what about the others – less than perfect, those who did not do well in that period ?
The sermon explains: "Jesus told these thought provoking parables to the disciples before the end of his own story—before Jesus was betrayed, before he found himself hanging on a cross, before he cried out — “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”– unsure of what the end of his own story would be.
"Looking back through time, we have the gift of knowing the end of the story–Jesus, who felt forsaken and abandoned on the cross, was raised into eternal life by God. And the end of the story for Jesus determines the hope we can have at the end of our stories as well.
"Paul puts it this way in the first letter to the Thessalonians. ‘For God has destined us not for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, living or dead, we may live with him.’
"Through Jesus we get another chance, and in the hope of obtaining salvation, we are freed to live without fear, to serve God in perfect freedom…Through Jesus, we are free to use our talents to spread God’s love in the world. Through Jesus, we are free to care for the least of these, to feed the hungry, to take responsibility for ourselves, and to do our best, knowing that our best will be less than perfect. Through Jesus and his love for us, we can be sure that God really does love us, even though we are regular people. And that we can hope for another chance, even on the Day of Judgment when we bring home our less than perfect report cards."
The sermon is here along with the readings as well as the bulletin