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Lectionary for Nov. 15, 2026
25th Sunday after Pentecost
Zephania 1:7, 12-18; Psalm 90:1-8, 12;
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11; Matthew 25:14-30
There’s a passage from the Talmud (BT Sanhedrin 97a) in which Rabbi Zeira finds his colleagues attempting to decipher signs and predict the hour when the Messiah will arrive. He said, “I beseech you to stop delaying his arrival by calculating the end of days. There are three things that only arrive when you stop looking for them: the Messiah, a lost item, and a scorpion.” I know that Rabbi Zeira is at least correct about the lost item—I only find missing socks once I stop looking for them.
As we read last week, Jesus said there is no use trying to calculate the hour of his return and that he will only come back when he is unexpected (Matthew 24:44), to Rabbi Zeira’s point. If we aren’t supposed to try to figure out the exact hour, what should we be doing in the meantime? This week’s lectionary readings point out the importance of staying busy building up the kingdom.
In 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul instructed his readers and hearers on how to ready themselves for the Day of the Lord. That day will arrive like a thief in the night or like the sudden arrival of labor pains. Now, Paul cautions that the day will not overtake those who follow Jesus. They have been destined for obtaining salvation, not wrath.
Nevertheless, Paul says Jesus’ followers are to act like children of the daytime. At night, people fall asleep or get drunk (I live next to a college campus, and there’s plenty of day drinking too …). Paul says Jesus’ followers are to live their lives as perpetually ready for his return by being sober-minded and awake. This is a metaphor, of course. Jesus partied hard and was frequently called a glutton and a drunkard (Matthew 11:19). Neither does Paul wish us to torment ourselves with sleep deprivation. Instead, he is saying we should not become spiritually complacent so that we stop trying to prepare for the Day of Jesus’ returning.
Are we stewarding the resources that God has given us to build up the kingdom in preparation for Jesus’ return? Or are we working hard to dig a hole so that God won’t benefit from our lives?
In the Gospel reading, Jesus tells one of his more famous parables. A master is going away, so he entrusts massive amounts of his resources equitably, according to the abilities of three servants (Matthew 25:15). A kikkar, or talent, was somewhere between 15 and 20 years of wages for a hired worker. The master gives 5 kikkarim to one servant, 2 kikkarim to another and 1 kikkar to the last. Again, it bears repeating that although these amounts aren’t equal, they are proportionate to the servants’ abilities.
The master then goes away for a long time (19). When he returns, the first two results aren’t surprising. The servant entrusted with 5 kikkarim was able to earn five more, according to his ability. The servant entrusted with 2 kikkarim was able to earn two more, according to his ability.
The servant who was entrusted with 1 kikkar simply didn’t want to be bothered with the task. He didn’t even want to carry the kikkar to the bankers so it would earn interest. Instead, the servant buried it so there was no chance that the master’s holdings could possibly increase. Even a little profit from interest would have been worthwhile. The master is furious at that last servant inhibited the growth of his kingdom. Are we stewarding the resources that God has given us to build up the kingdom in preparation for Jesus’ return? Or are we working hard to dig a hole so that God won’t benefit from our lives?
Zephaniah tries to give us caution if we are considering the hole option. God will punish the people who are stagnant and listless. There are some who say that God will not offer punishments or rewards based on behavior (1:12). But as we will read next week, Jesus explicitly proclaims the opposite. Here Zephaniah calls out those who use their resources to import fashionable clothing from abroad (8) and who stockpile gold and silver for themselves, trusting in their resources to save them. Storing wealth is like burying a kikkar. You have it, but you haven’t used it for the kingdom.
We don’t waste time predicting when Jesus will return. Instead, we are called to spend our days using our resources to accomplish God’s mission for the world: loving neighbors, thereby loving the God who made us all.
