Reepham Benefice

In one of our Bible readings last Sunday we heard the well known tale of the man who entrusted his servants with his money , only to find on his return that one of them had simply buried the sack of cash, digging it back up and handing it to his master, not a penny less, not a penny more. The other servants, to the delight of their master, had dabbled in the stock market, investment portfolios or by some other means had increased their masters wealth. Understandably he was very impressed with these servants, but totally unimpressed with the one who hid the money in a hole in the ground.

If Jesus was relaying this story now, in the current financial climate, the tale might well have been different with the man who hid the money being praised for not losing it through investments. We live in difficult financial times when we are all having to be even more careful with our possessions. Whilst many people are able to keep their heads above water, the need to work together and share our resources is more important than ever.

It’s very easy to see Jesus words in terms of how we use our possessions, as some have done, but in actual fact to do so is to miss the point of the parable in which he uses the theme of possessions to talk about something less physical....the gifts he has given us. What he is saying is that each of us , being made in God’s image has been given something of God to share in our lives with others, and that it is through investing the gift that he has given us in the service of our neighbour that we do so wisely and see what is meant by living in God’s kingdom.