2 Maccabees 7:1, 20-31. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full – Psalm 16(17):1, 5-6, 8, 15. Luke 19:11-28.

Jesus’ parables often teach us about seizing opportunity, accepting responsibility and remaining faithful and steadfast. In today’s parable, the servant, afraid of failing the powerful nobleman with his reputation for severity, does nothing with the money entrusted to him. It is his inaction rather than trying and failing that constitutes failure. The servant wastes the opportunity given to him and shows contempt for the trust bestowed on him.Jesus, giving his message of peace and salvation to his disciples, is asking them to do something with it. Not to store it up and keep it for themselves as they wait impatiently for God’s kingdom on earth, but to risk venturing out and sharing the Good News with others. That is how God’s word – shared imperfectly among people from community to community over so many years – finds us today.