Message of Abbot Paul - Wednesday 25th October 2023

You will be pleased to hear that we are having the most wonderful retreat. The conferences are very special indeed. Our gardeners have now pruned most of the roses, so there are no beautiful flowers to see, whose exquisite perfume we can enjoy. However, the lawns are covered in fungi, which have their own beauty. If only we knew which were edible and which not. It’s also the season for admiring exotic slugs, especially after the heavy rains. A young slug attached itself to me. It was so attractive and affectionate, that I was wondering if it’s possible to adopt a slug. Would you have any advice on the subject?

 

​In today’s Gospel from Luke, (Lk 12: 39-48), Jesus continues to speak with his disciples about the need to be ready and prepared for his return. “You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what hour the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the wall of his house. You too must stand ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” He speaks of himself as a burglar coming to break into a householder’s home. They must be ready as the householder would have been, had he known the burglar was coming. The disciples are mystified: “Peter said, ‘Lord, do you mean this parable for us, or for everyone?’” So Jesus uses another image, that of a steward, to describe the role of an apostle.: “What sort of steward, then, is faithful and wise enough for the master to place him over his household to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Happy that servant if his master’s arrival finds him at this employment. I tell you truly, he will place him over everything he owns.” What Jesus is looking for in Peter and his companions is fidelity to the task given them and the wisdom to carry it out perfectly to the end. But Jesus is aware that not all of them and not all of their successors will come up to the mark, which is sadly true if we look over the history of the Church. “The servant who knows what his master wants, but has not even started to carry out those wishes, will receive very many strokes of the lash. The one who did not know, but deserves to be beaten for what he has done, will receive fewer strokes. When a man has had a great deal given him, a great deal will be demanded of him; when a man has had a great deal given him on trust, even more will be expected of him.” It would be good today to consider how much the Lord has given us on trust in this life and what we have done with it. Then again, how we have helped others to make the most of their gifts and opportunities. Lord, may we be ready when you call. Amen.