This Week’s Reflection: Faith Has Work to Do

Burying something is a fairly reliable way of keeping it safe. It is also a fairly reliable way of making sure nobody benefits from it.

In this week’s Gospel, a servant buries the money entrusted to him. When his master returns, his explanation begins with words we might recognise: “I was afraid.”

I have some sympathy for him. Fear can make doing nothing feel like the responsible choice. We might fail. Someone might criticise. We might offer our help and discover that we are out of our depth. Better to leave things as they are.

Yet the parable presses an uncomfortable question: what happens to what God entrusts to us when fear makes all our decisions?

The “talents” in Jesus’ story are substantial sums of money. But the question reaches into everything entrusted to our care: our time, resources, relationships, experience, and opportunities to serve. What are we doing with them? Who benefits because they have been placed in our hands?

Deborah’s story gives that question a human face. She listens, judges, and calls Barak to act. Her leadership reminds us that faith sometimes means helping someone else find the courage to take their next step.

Psalm 123 turns our eyes towards God, waiting for mercy. There is room here for those who feel weary, belittled, or unsure of themselves. Faithful action begins with knowing where to look for help.

And Paul gives us a wonderfully practical instruction: “encourage one another and build up each other.” We are children of light, he says. Our task is to stay awake to what is happening around us—and to the people who need us.

In a parish where people are always arriving and leaving, it is easy to think, I’ll get involved once life settles down. But someone needs a welcome now. 

Someone needs encouragement now. Something you have learned, endured, or discovered may be exactly what another person needs.

You do not need to know how everything will turn out before taking one faithful step.

This week, perhaps that is enough: look towards God, notice your neighbour, and put something entrusted to you to work.

Questions for the week

• What has God entrusted to me that could benefit someone else?
• Where is fear keeping me from taking a faithful step?
• Who might need my encouragement—and how could I offer it?
• What one practical thing will I do differently this week?

Lord, turn our eyes towards you. Give us courage to use what you have entrusted to us, and help us build one another up in love. Amen.