Rector’s Reflections Wednesday 22nd November 2023
Preparing for Advent
In yesterday’s reflections, I introduced the idea that the purpose of Advent is to provide us with a time for spiritual preparation. It is a time to prepare ourselves for the two comings of Christ: his birth as a baby at Bethlehem, and his return to earth at some time in the future, “to judge the living and the dead”.
How might we begin this time of spiritual preparation? There are many possibilities, but I think a good starting point is to remind ourselves of the goodness of God. God loves and cares for each one of us, although it can be easy for us to forget this fundamental truth when we are feeling tired, unwell or overwhelmed. There are always things to be thankful for. And at times when we’re finding things particularly hard, it can be good to look back on our lives and note how God has brought us safely through the storms of life.
And God has given us so much. Each one of us has been given gifts and skills, together with opportunities to use them. As I write these words, I am bringing to mind the Parable of the Talents in Chapter 25 of Matthew’s Gospel. In this parable, you will remember that one slave is given 5 Talents, another slave 2 Talents, and the third slave 1 Talent. Note that there is no slave who is given no Talent at all: everyone is given something, although some are given more than others. And note also the significance of the word “Talent”. The word “Talent” has come to mean a particular skill or aptitude, as in a “Talent Show”. But in Jesus’s time, the word meant something different : a “Talent” was a weight of precious metal which was worth an almost unimaginably large sum of money. The word “Talent” was used in much the same way as we might use the phrase “a million pounds” or a “a million dollars”. So, in modern terms, even the slave who was given only 1 Talent was given the equivalent of “a million pounds”!
The Parable of the Talents is a story which tries to picture the amazing generosity of God. God is not some reluctant or miserly donor, who gives to some but not to others. Quite the opposite: God is incredibly generous in his giving, and he gives something to every one.
We can so easily take God’s gifts for granted. Advent provides a time to pause and think about all that God has given us in our lives. And as we remember God’s blessings in years past, we can look to the future with confidence, knowing that whatever might lie ahead, God’s love and care for us are a constant. We can therefore face the future with hope.