Exaudi Tuesday - Devotion in Exile

Lection for Tuesday of Exaudi 
Numbers 16:1-22      Luke 19:11-28 

Today, Jesus tells a parable because the people thought that God’s kingdom was going to appear at once. Today we would like it to appear at once, putting and end to COVID-19. Well, it may appear today or tomorrow or 100 years from now. So, Jesus tells this parable in which the servants did not know when the nobleman, who is none other than Jesus, would return. The Nobleman gives them minas to do business with until he gets back. Some do so, some do not.

Jesus goes to receive the Kingdom. He does this by His death, resurrection and ascension. Even his enemies are his subjects, although they do not want him to be their king. He was made their king against their objections. He then returns home to see what His servants have done with what He had entrusted to them.

Our parable ends with Jesus rewarding those who are faithful – way beyond what their works have earned. The unfaithful, the slothful, the lazy servant, he rewards by taking even what little he has away – he is left with nothing.

Dear friends in Christ, this text is for you, it is about you and me. It is a warning and a promise. You and I do not be among Christ’s enemies. By His grace, He has made you, and me His servants – all who trust Him are His servants. To His servants, He gives gifts – “Do business with this until I come back.”

In our text, it is called minas, money, but it is not just dollars and cents, although that too is God’s gift. What do you have that is yours? Anything? Your house? Your car? Your boat? Your children? Your spouse? Your life? Your health? Your talents and abilities? Your time? All these things are God’s gift to you. Not one of you has anything that is yours alone. All you have, is God’s gracious gift to you. Even your faith is a gift of God. What do you do with it? Everything is yours, given to you by your Master, to be put to work in the building up of His Kingdom until He comes back. 

So, of what God has given to you as a gracious gift to put to work in His kingdom, what have you done? In our text, the king sent for the servants to whom He had given the minas in order to find out what they had gained with it?

How will you stand on that Last Day when Christ returns? He has given you everything that you need to do His business, for He has given you faith, faith is the strength you need to overcome all the troubles of this life. His word builds up His kingdom. What have you done with it? He gives you all you have, most especially, your faith, and by it, the ability to serve Him in all of your life.  Have you used what He has given you to build up His kingdom?

One servant took the one mina and earned ten more? He took the faith he’d been given used it to serve others. He took all that he’d been given and put it to work for the kingdom of God. He was not stingy with it. He did not consider it his to use for his own selfish gratification. He took what was given him and used it to build up the kingdom.

The Master, seeing what he had done, said, “Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.”

Can you imagine one mina earning ten more? That’s crazy! Yes indeed it is! God’s gift of faith, the gift of His Word, once proclaimed to others, does miraculous things. God’s Word goes out and does the seemingly impossible. Yes, with man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.

In the same way, can you see the responsibility of ten cities given to a servant? The reward is not given because it was earned by merit of ability, it is a gift given for faithfulness.

Unfortunately, there was the one servant who took the one mina and “kept (it)put away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man.” When the king returned, he said, “By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?” Then he said to the bystanders, “Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.”

Have you taken your faith and made it a private matter? You know, do you keep it laid away in a piece of cloth till Christ returns? Have you taken all that Christ has given you and made it yours, your possessions, your wealth, your home, your everything – laid away in a piece of cloth till Christ returns?

We each need to ask ourselves, what kind of servant am I?

The key to understanding this parable is not thinking about what the individuals did with what they were given. Instead, the key is understanding the power of the mina, the power of God’s gift. The one servant whose mina failed to do anything, had covered up the mina he had been given, he had hidden his faith under a bushel, so to speak. Why did he hide it? Because he failed to see the value and potential of His Master’s gift.

The world certainly thinks little of God’s gifts, but occasionally, you and I also fail to recognize their value. When we look at our present needs and our earthly condition, the Church, God’s means of grace, and even the incarnate Christ seem of little importance. These things seem such insignificant gift. Some people even claim that faith is their own work.

God’s gifts are to be received in the gracious spirit in which they are given. Of course, the King thinks differently than His subjects – it is His incomparable nobility and gracious nature that make Him so different. He lacks our sense of a “tit for tat” idea of justice. He is after all, very God of very God, in every way, your superior and mine.

This King humbles Himself to be among us, to serve us in His suffering and elevate us in His death. In true justice, we ought to be put to death for our unrighteous selfishness use of His gifts to us. It is in this, while we are still in our sins, that Christ gives Himself to be punished in our behalf, for the forgiveness of OUR sins.

What do you do with what’s given to you, God’s gifts, the mina?

The faithful servants are successful because they let their gift do the work. They credit their success to the incredible wealth of the seemingly insignificant mina they were given. In faith, they received their master’s gift. This was a reflection of their trust in His gracious intentions for them.

Your King, Jesus Christ, gave Himself for you on the cross. Your Savior, Jesus Christ, gives Himself to you in Word and Sacrament. In this mina, this small seeming gift, His grace brings to you salvation because you receive in the gift, the very person and work of Christ.

What do you do with what is given to you?

What is given to you? An incredible mina, faith, the benefits purchased with Christ life, suffering, and death are given to you in Word and sacrament, and you cling to them by God’s gift of faith. By faith, you receive the gifts of God with gratitude, joy, thanksgiving, and faith in the One who sent them, they produce incredible returns – forgiveness of sins, eternal life, fellowship in God and the strength to live a new life in Him. That’s the great gift that is given to you, receive it!

Let us pray:     By Your grace beloved Father, You give to Your servants many and varied gifts to be used in service to You, and to the benefit of our neighbor. Grant that we would be faithful in Your service, bringing glory to Your holy name in all our life, building up Your kingdom as You use us as Your instruments. Amen.