Old Testament
Psalm 100:1-5
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all you lands!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness. Come before his presence with singing.
3 Know that the LORD, he is God. It is he who has made us, and we are his. We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, and bless his name.
5 For the LORD is good. His loving kindness endures forever, his faithfulness to all generations.
New Testament
Matthew 25:14-30
14 “For it is like a man going into another country, who called his own servants and entrusted his goods to them.
15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his own ability. Then he went on his journey.
16 Immediately he who received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.
17 In the same way, he also who got the two gained another two.
18 But he who received the one talent went away and dug in the earth and hid his lord’s money.
19 “Now after a long time the lord of those servants came, and settled accounts with them.
20 He who received the five talents came and brought another five talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents. Behold, I have gained another five talents in addition to them.’
21 “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
22 “He also who got the two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents. Behold, I have gained another two talents in addition to them.’
23 “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
24 “He also who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you that you are a hard man, reaping where you didn’t sow, and gathering where you didn’t scatter.
25 I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the earth. Behold, you have what is yours.’
26 “But his lord answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant. You knew that I reap where I didn’t sow, and gather where I didn’t scatter.
27 You ought therefore to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back my own with interest.
28 Take away therefore the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.
29 For to everyone who has will be given, and he will have abundance, but from him who doesn’t have, even that which he has will be taken away.
30 Throw out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Psalm 100 begins with noise: a joyful shout, glad service, singing. It is worship with breath in it. But it also contains a quiet grounding: “Know that the Lord, he is God.” Joy is not optimism; it is response. We belong to him. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Jesus’ parable of the talents gives that belonging an edge. A master entrusts resources, then returns and asks what has been done with what was given. The story is not about earning love; it is about faithfulness. Gifts are entrusted, not owned. Fear can bury them. Love can put them to work.
Sporting ability, like any ability, can become self-worship. It can also become service: discipline learned, courage shared, children encouraged, confidence rebuilt, bodies strengthened, communities gathered. It can make space for those who feel on the edge to belong again, simply by being welcomed, and by learning to cheer goodness, not only victory.
Lord, free us from anxious comparison and from lazy hiding. Teach us to receive gifts with gratitude and to use them with humility. Bless those who have influence in sport and public life: grant them integrity and a care for the vulnerable. And make our playing and training, our coaching and cheering, a kind of glad stewardship, offered to you with thankfulness.