COP28 starts in 10 days’ time in Dubai. The lectionary reading yesterday was the parable of the talents, where a slave owner gives each of his slaves 10 talents, before going away for some time.
10 talents was a considerable sum of money, even one talent was more than any employee or slave could expect to earn. (Slavery was common practice in biblical times).
On his return the slave owner asked each of the slaves what they had managed to do with their gift of money. The first had increased his money tenfold, the second was not so successful but had still got a decent return on his investment. The third however had merely buried his money out of fear and anxiety, and so only had the original loan of 10 talents to return.
You might wonder what this has to do with COP28?
God has given us a beautiful and wonderful world, much more than we could ever expect or deserve. Slaves were owned by their master, who in biblical times treated their slaves as part of the household, part of their extended family. God owns us, he made the world in which we live, and he entrusts us to care for it.
He has given us this world to look after. How do we repay that investment in us?
Do we do all we can to preserve the earth’s resources?
Do we do what we can, as small as it may seem, to reverse the damage that has been done?
Or do we hide away in fear, “bury our heads in the sand”, hoping the problem will go away?
In the parable, the first slave is eager to do his best; the second may not have been so opportunistic but still made a good return. It is the inactivity that came about because of anxiety and caution of the third slave that is condemned in the parable.
May we not be paralysed by anxiety, rather may we play our part big or small in bringing about the changes that are needed, alongside the world leaders and politicians who meet soon in Dubai at COP28.