Have you ever been in a department store and observed a child having a temper tantrum because they want something their parent won’t let them have? I am sure that everyone has had this experience, either with your own child or observing someone else’s child. It’s an emotional scene which is embarrassing and chaotic. Some parents spank, others yell, and some just drag their child out of the store. When it is happening to someone else we usually think to ourselves, "what a spoiled brat."
One Saturday I was working on a project at home and needed two tiny screws to complete it. No problem; all I had to do was jump in the car and go to Walmart. That episode reminded me that we live in a "I want it NOW" world. If we want something, we simply find a way to get it. Everything has become an emergency or absolutely essential. We grown ups are not unlike a young child who throws a fit when he/she wants something. All we have to do is go get what we need or want. Since children don’t have buying power, they have to use what works.
Look at society. We eat fast food. We have drive-thru banking. We have a host of electronic devices which are devised to save us time and effort. Credit cards make it easy to get anything we want. We live in a culture that makes everything instantly available and easy to obtain. Look at the growth in instant-winner lottery tickets. You don’t have to wait until Wednesday evening or Saturday at 7:30pm. You can win NOW. We live in an "I want it NOW, world."
The people of Jesus’ day did not have the abundance of resources that we have today. They did, however want the kingdom of God to happen right away. They were impatient, wanting Jesus to give them a "quick fix" to all their problems. It wasn’t easy credit or electronic gadgets that would give them what they wanted. It was Jesus, their charismatic leader and advocate. Because they thought that "the kingdom would appear soon," Jesus had to teach them that what they wanted they couldn’t have NOW. It is through this parable that Jesus walks us through a reality check.
Jesus has always taught that the "kingdom is in our midst", that the kingdom is as much a present reality as it is in the future. The kingdom his listeners anticipated was one that would give them power and abundance, freedom and happiness. Even today, believers think that God will make them prosperous and put them in charge. But, this is not how it works. Jesus replaces our distorted understanding of the kingdom of God with something quite different. It is a kingdom that embodies peace, understanding, harmony, wholeness and community. There is nothing wrong with wanting the kingdom now as long as we understand what the kingdom is. This parable illustrates the road, "the way" which makes the kingdom of God a reality.
First, we are to be servants. As portrayed in the parable, we are people whose role it is to serve God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. We are in charge of nothing. We are boss over no one, unlike the bossy king in the story. Second, we are to invest ourselves, using our skills, talents and gifts for the common good. This means getting involved, practicing faith, being active participants in God’s world. And third, we do the best we can in a world which is unfair and filled with mean spirited people. This means being a people of faith in a complex and sometimes evil world.
But in the end, the faithful are rewarded, like the servants who invested what had been given to them. And the unfaithful will perish, as evidenced by the one who failed to do anything with his life. Reward may not come now, but it will come, to those who serve, invest their talents and remain faithful in spite of opposition.
The biggest tragedy in this story is the servant who hid his money under the mattress. He was afraid of the king (the boss), therefore he did nothing. His real fear, however had to do with the unfairness of it all. How could his boss reap the benefits from others? How could he reap from what he did not sow?
This past week I was teaching the confirmation class about the history of our church. In the early years the congregation had to move from place to place. First, they met in a house, next the basement of the courthouse, then another building before they could afford to build a church. Now, we are enjoying this building with out the worry of relocating. We are reaping the benefits from others who made a commitment in the early years to keep the congregation alive. We are reaping from what others have sown.
We are so influenced by a culture of "instant gratification" that it is impossible for us to appreciate the investment that others have made before us. The space shuttle that John Glenn just spent ten days on would not have been possible without the early commitment of those who preceded this mission. Someone had to be the first to spend a few hours in space, before others could spend weeks there. Glenn may be reaping benefits from what he sowed, but some 35 years later. And it wasn’t possible to do Now, what he did then. He had to wait.
Nevertheless, the kingdom of God is not some distant phenomenon that is currently out of reach. It can be experienced at this very moment. You can’t have it all now, but you can taste it, touch it, see it, or experience it. To experience God’s kingdom is like experiencing a UFO (unidentified flying object). You witness it but you can’t explain it. You know it happened but others will never believe you. Most just keep the experience to themselves because it makes no sense.
Unlike UFO’s which are normally frightening or shocking, experiences of the kingdom of God bring us peace and harmony. They are those moments when we fill surrounded with love and assurance. They are those times when we are positive that God is present.
Last Saturday night I had the opportunity to accompany my grandchildren on "trick or treat" night. My three year old granddaughter was proudly dressed as a princess and my five year old grandson a cowboy. We started our excursion in the neighborhood which lasted about twenty houses. Much to my surprise my grandchildren wanted to quit and go home. The reason? To be able to be on their own porch and hand out treats to others, those they referred to as "customers." They were not obsessed with getting all they could NOW, instead they had more fun giving it away. I thought to myself, there is a God, there is a heaven. Imagine what our world would be like if we grown ups adapted a similar practice.
Wanting the kingdom at this moment is not bad or wrong, especially when we want it for others as well. We can be assured that the kingdom of God will come as we make real our faith by investing ourselves in the world and being servants of God.
Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio