A note from Pastor regarding his sermon:

In our Gospel reading for last week, Jesus warned us to always be prepared; we do not know when the Bridegroom will come and summon us to the wedding feast. We cannot neglect our faith and assume we will have time to discover or strengthen it when Christ returns to bring this world to an end and gather all of His faithful people together to enter the new creation.

In our Gospel reading for this week, Jesus immediately presents us with another parable: the Parable of the Talents. Here, the most obvious lesson for us is that while we wait for the Bridegroom to return, we are not to simply live an idle life. God has entrusted each of us with blessings, skills, and vocations with which we can continue to do God’s work, strengthen and support His kingdom on earth.

But at first glance, this parable might appear as if it is suggesting that we must do enough good work to earn our place in God’s kingdom. And this would seem to conflict with our confession that we are saved by faith alone in Christ alone. How are we to understand the message of the Parable of the Talents? And how are we to live our lives as we await the end of the age?