Dearest friends,
There is something painfully recognisable about the servant who buries his master’s money in the ground. He is afraid. He knows that something valuable has been entrusted to him, and he cannot bear the thought of getting it wrong. So he digs a hole, hides the money, and waits. When his master returns, he can give back exactly what he received. Nothing has been lost. Surely that will be enough.
Yet this is the servant who finds himself in trouble in today’s Gospel. His fear has brought everything to a standstill. While the other servants have put what they received to work, he has spent his time protecting himself from the possibility of failure.
The talents in the story are large sums of money. Even the servant given one talent has been entrusted with something of enormous value. That helps us to hear the generosity at the beginning of the parable – the master places his wealth into the hands of his servants and gives them responsibility for it. Each receives something precious. Each has something to do.
We should spend a little time this week asking what God has entrusted to us. Our answers will be different. There are people who depend upon our kindness, relationships that need our attention, experience we can share, and time we can give. There is the faith we have received, perhaps through the patient love of someone who first taught us to pray. There is this parish, with its worship, its friendships, and its calling to proclaim Christ in our community.
Fear can make us bury these things. We worry that we will say the wrong thing, that an offer of help will be unwelcome, or that we have too little to contribute. We imagine that someone else would do it better. Gradually, an opportunity to love becomes something we keep putting off.
The Gospel asks us to take that seriously. What we do with what we have received matters. There are acts of kindness that only happen when someone finds the courage to begin.
The two faithful servants receive the same welcome, although they have been entrusted with different amounts. We can take heart from that. God knows our circumstances, our strength, and our limitations. A telephone call, a prayer, a small gift, or a willingness to listen may carry more love than we realise.
As we draw towards Advent, perhaps we could each choose one thing we have been holding back and offer it to God. We can ask for the courage to put it to use, trusting him with what follows. The invitation at the heart of the parable is wonderfully generous – to enter into the joy of our Lord.
In love,
Fr. Matthew
Sunday 15th November
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
9am – Sung Parish Mass [SJ]
11:15am – Sung Parish Mass [SL]
6pm – Evensong [SJ]
Year A(II), Psalm week 1, 2nd Sunday before Advent
Upcoming Dates
Nov
20th – ‘Western’ Class 52 Diesel-Hydraulic Locomotives in
Camera, 1975–1977 (7pm) [SL]
21st – Table Top Sale (10am) [WH]
Rosary Group, 10:30am [SL]
25th – Last Night of the Proms Concert (7pm) [SL]
26th – Advent Course on Mary – Week 1 – 7pm at St Paul’s Hall
29th – CTNA Advent Service (4pm) [SL]
Advent Carols by Candlelight (6.30pm) [SJ]
Dec
2nd – St. Luke’s Ladies Group [SL]
3rd – Advent Course on Mary – Week 2 – 7pm at St Paul’s Hall 6th – Rowcroft Carol Service (3pm) [SL]
9th – Darby and Joan Club Carol Service (2pm) [SJ]
10th – Advent Course on Mary – Week 3 – 7pm at St Paul’s Hall
11th – Bingo, 7pm [SL]
12th – Christmas Fair [WH]
13th – Parish Lunch [SL]
17th – Advent Course on Mary – Week 4 – 7pm at St Paul’s Hall
20th – Nine Lessons and Carols (6pm) [SJ & SL]
24th – Small Blessings Crib Service (morning, time TBC) [SL]
Live Nativity (4pm) [SJ]
Candlelit Midnight Mass (11.30pm) [SL]
25th – Christmas Day Mass (10am) [SJ & SL]
[SJ] St. John’s | [SL] St. Luke’s | [WH] Wickham Hall
[SC] St. Catherine’s School