Reaping Archives - Renewed Heart Ministries

Reaping What Is Sown

Posted on November 17, 2023 by Herb Montgomery

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New Episode of JustTalking!

Season 1, Episode 39: Matthew 25.14-30. Lectionary A, Proper 28

Each week, we’ll be talking about the gospel lectionary reading for the upcoming weekend. We’ll be talking about each reading in the context of love, inclusion, and societal justice. Our hope is that our talking will be just talking (as in justice) and that during our brief conversations each week you’ll be inspired to also do more than just talking.

You can find the latest show on YouTube at

Season 1, Episode 39: Matthew 25.14-30. Lectionary A, Proper 28

or (@herbandtoddjusttalking)

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Reaping What Is Sown

Herb Montgomery | November 17, 2023

To listen to this week’s eSight as a podcast episode click here.

“If we sow the wind, we will reap the whirlwind. But we can instead sow love, and justice, and compassion, and safety. We get to choose what we set in motion. We get to choose what we sow. What kind of world do we want? However we answer that question, we have the agency in our daily choices, big and small, to set in motion the kind of world we desire. And we aren’t the only ones who get to choose.”

Our reading this week is from the gospel of Matthew:

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

“‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

(Matthew 25:14-30, Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™)

Not every truth is for every audience. That’s why it makes a difference whom we perceive this parable was directed to. Most Jesus scholars trace this parable back to the historical Jesus. If Jesus was using this parable to speak to the poor indentured farmer/slaves in his society, then it paints the God of the Torah with the same character and attributes as those farmers’ harsh absentee landlords. This would contrast starkly with how the Jesus of the gospels typically presents God in the stories.

But if we back up and understand this parable as directed to the those harsh absentee landlords whose motives were grounded in profit for a few on the backs of the many, not in economic justice, then this parable takes on a different, justice-flavored meaning.

Let’s unpack this a bit. Earlier in Matthew’s gospel, we read:

“For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1, emphasis added)

Being treated the way one has treated others has a rich history in Jewish wisdom. Injustice is unsustainable for the long term, and Jewish wisdom often reminds its listeners that we intrinsically, eventually reap what we sow. Consider the following sayings:

“A wicked person earns deceptive wages, but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.” (Proverbs 11:18)

“Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity, and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.” (Proverbs 22:8)

“They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.” (Hosea 8:7)

This wisdom is repeated by the Paul in his letter to the Galatians, although with a slightly different application.

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” (Galatians 6.7-8)

The book of James also repeats this wisdom:

“Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.” (James 6:7)

So do the gospels:

“With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.” (Mark 4:24)

If the intended audience for this week’s reading was the unjust, harsh absentee landlords of Jesus’ society, then Jesus is pronouncing judgment on the elite and wealthy classes who were unjustly exploiting workers through indentured slavery.

It is helpful to remember that Matthew was written after 70 C.E. Much of this section of Matthew is constructed to make sense of Rome’s tragic destruction of the Jewish people. Economic injustice is unsustainable: the poor who had finally had enough revolted and violently took over Jerusalem and the temple, burned the debt records held in the temple, and drove the wealthy elites from the city. In the wake of these events, these revolutionaries then launched the Jewish-Roman war of 66-69. The Jewish poor didn’t stop at their own liberation from the elites in their community. Instead, feeling their efforts had been blessed, they set their sights on an even bigger goal: liberating the Jewish people as a whole from their Roman oppressors too. This ultimately resulted in Rome visiting destruction on Jerusalem in 70 C.E.

The poor indentured farmers of Jesus society were once the owners of the farms they were now working, but had lost their land by defaulting on debt. Jesus called for Jubilee, for all debts to be cancelled, all slaves set free, and all land returned to its original owner. (Luke 4:19) This is where we encounter the multiple layers of this week’s reading. If the poor farmers were the slaves of the elite absentee land owners, the absentee land owners were in a similar relationship to their absentee rulers in Rome. It was Rome that eventually “returned” to Judea, storming in and demanding an account. It was Rome that threw the elites who had failed to govern Judea peacefully into “outer darkness” along with everyone else. If we’ve correctly identified the parable’s intended audience, then God is not the absentee landlord who shows up demanding an account of his servants. Rome was. These actions correctly resemble what Rome did to Jerusalem in response to the poor people’s revolt and war with Rome that wealthy elite’s economic exploitation had intrinsically caused. In the gospels Jesus calls for a voluntary year of Jubilee, and, for Matthew’s author, that Jubilee could have circumvented this revolt.

So what can we derive from this parable in our context today?

The Jewish wisdom this week’s parable is rooted in teaches us that with what measure we use, it will be measured back to us. If we sow the wind, we will reap the whirlwind. But we can instead sow love, and justice, and compassion, and safety.

We get to choose what we set in motion. We get to choose what we sow. What kind of world do we want? However we answer that question, we have the agency in our daily choices, big and small, to set in motion the kind of world we desire. We aren’t the only ones who get to choose. Others are setting in motion the kind of world they want, and those of us who desire a world with no injustice, no oppression, no violence must be vigilant. Sowing love doesn’t guarantee we’ll get all we want, but we most definitely won’t get it if we sit back and sow nothing. I’m reminded of the wise words of Dorothy Day:

“People say, what is the sense of our small effort? They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time. A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spread in all directions. Each one of our thoughts, words and deeds is like that. No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There is too much work to do.” (Dorothy Day, The Long Loneliness)

HeartGroup Application

1. Share something that spoke to you from this week’s eSight/Podcast episode with your HeartGroup.

2. What we sow in our communities matter, what would you like to be sowing both in your local community and larger society? Share and discuss with your group.

3. What can you do this week, big or small, to continue setting in motion the work of shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone?

Thanks for checking in with us, today.

I want to say a special thank you to all of our supporters out there. And if you would like to join them in supporting Renewed Heart Ministries’ work you can do so by going to renewedheartministries.com and clicking donate.

You can find Renewed Heart Ministries on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Threads. If you haven’t done so already, please follow us on your chosen social media platforms for our daily posts. Also, if you enjoy listening to the Jesus for Everyone podcast, please like and subscribe to the JFE podcast through the podcast platform you use and consider taking some time to give us a review. This helps others find our podcast as well.

You can watch our new YouTube show called “Just Talking” each week. Todd Leonard and I take a moment to talk about the gospel lectionary reading for the upcoming weekend. We’ll be talking about each reading in the context of love, inclusion, and societal justice. Our hope is that our talking will be just talking (as in justice) and that during our brief conversations each week you’ll be inspired to also do more than just talking.

If you teach from the lectionary each week, or if you’re just looking for some thoughts on the Jesus story from a more progressive perspective within the context of social justice, check it out, you might like it. You can find JustTalking each week on YouTube at youtube.com/@herbandtoddjusttalking. Please Like, Subscribe, hit the Notification button, and leave us a comment.

And if you’d like to reach us here at Renewed Heart Ministries through email, you can reach us at info@renewedheartministries.com.

My new book, Finding Jesus: A story of a fundamentalist preacher who unexpectedly discovered the social, political, and economic teachings of the Gospels is now also available at renewedheartministries.com

Right where you are, keep living in love, choosing compassion, taking action, and working toward justice.

I love each of you dearly,

I’ll see you next week.

Matching Donations for the Rest of 2023!

As 2023 is coming to a close, we are deeply thankful for each of our supporters.

To express that gratitude we have a lot to share.

First, all donations during these last two months of the year will be matched, dollar for dollar, making your support of Renewed Heart Ministries go twice as far.

“Donate.”

Also, to everyone how makes a special one-time donation in any amount to support our work this holiday season we will be giving away a free copy of The Bible & LGBTQ Adventists.

When making your donation all you have to do indicate you would like to take advantage of this offer by writing “Free Book” either in the comments section of your online donation or in the memo of your check if you are mailing your donation.

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Lastly, its time for our annual Shared Table event once again. For all those who choose to become one of our monthly sustaining partners for 2024 by clicking the “Check this box to make it a monthly recurring donation” online, we will be sending out one our a handmade Renewed Heart Ministries Shared-Table Pottery Bowl made by Crystal and Herb as a thank you gift for your support. Becoming a monthly sustaining parter enables RHM to set our ministry project goals and budget for the coming year.

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We will be starting out the new year by sending out these lovely bowls as our gift to you to thank you for your sustaining support. Look for them to arrive during the months of January and February.

Our prayer is that whether displayed or used these bowls will be reminder of Jesus’ gospel of love, caring and shared table fellowship. They also make a great gift or conversation starter, as well.

If you are already one of our sustaining partners for 2024, we want to honor your existing continued support of Renewed Heart Ministries, too. You’ll also receive one of our Shared Table Pottery Bowls as a thank you.

No matter how you choose to donate to support Renewed Heart Ministries’ work this holiday season, thank you for partnering with us to further Jesus’ vision of a world filled with compassion, love, and people committed to taking care of one another. Together we are working toward a safer, more compassionate, and just world both for today and for eternity.

From each of us here at RHM, thank you!

We wish you so much joy, peace, and blessings as 2023 comes to a close. Your support sustains our ongoing work in the coming year.

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In this coming year, together, we will continue to be a light in our world sharing Jesus’ gospel of love, justice and compassion.

Now Available at Renewed Heart Ministries!

Herb’s new book Finding Jesus: A story of a fundamentalist preacher who unexpectedly discovered the social, political, and economic teachings of the Gospels, is available at renewedheartministries.com.

Get your copy today at renewedheartministries.com