Strictly Come Living

Strictly Come Dancing

I don’t know whether or not you’re watching Strictly Come Dancing. This year it seems to be an essential bit of escapism, sparkle and over-the-top-ness in the middle of some tough times. In case you’ve somehow managed not to know about it, every week a celebrity - most of whom I’ve never heard of before, to be fair - works with a professional dance partner on a new dance routine, before performing live in front of the cameras, an audience which during lockdown is made up of the show’s production team and, of course, the judges.

Everything is there for the dancers to perform at their best - the set designers, costume and makeup and live musicians are absolutely incredible. The best of the professional dancers choreograph routines to make the most of what they believe their novice partners can do - in the end, apart from a bit of chance on the night, it comes down to their ability and the sheer hard work they’ve put in over the course of the week.

And then the judges give them a verdict on how they’ve done. It’s not always comfortable.

Be ready

The idea of judgement isn’t comfortable. Paul’s words about being ready, staying awake for the return of Jesus, are meant to keep us from taking life and faith too easy. They take up images and ideas from Jesus’ own teaching. The parable of the talents is one of a whole string of parables and sayings in Matthew’s gospel, each picking out a different facet of what it means to live in the light of Jesus’ return. None of them is a literal ‘this is what it’s going to be like’ description of Judgement Day; they’re meant to inspire us to live every day as if we’re heading for a live show and a judging any day now, and the richness of the pictures they give us is perhaps more valuable than a single clear description of what that day will look like.

Be active

This particular story has a lot in it. It starts with a wealthy man leaving his servants in charge while he’s away for a long time - Jesus is getting people ready for the fact that he’s going to return to heaven, but one day will return. And before he goes, he entrusts his property to the three servants. It’s a huge amount - even one talent was more than fifteen years’ wages for a labourer.

And that landowner doesn’t split his money evenly between the three. He knows them, and he gives them all a part to play, but gives each what he knows they can handle. To one he gives five talents, to another two and to the third, one talent. We heard the story, how the first two put the money to work, and double it. After a long time, the master comes back, and as they hand over the bulging bags of gold, he praises them, ‘well done, good and faithful servant’ and brings them into his celebration - not as servants or slaves but as partners. And to each of them he says exactly the same thing - he’s just as pleased with the extra two talents as he is with the extra five.

Then comes the third, who gives back to his master exactly what he was entrusted with - safe, intact, but untouched, unused. To put it mildly, his master isn’t pleased. That money was meant to be used, not hidden away.

I said that on Strictly, the best professional partners shape their routines to what they believe the celebrities are capable of doing. Some are athletic before the show begins; others less so. Some have physical disabilities that would make certain moves impossible. During the week’s training, they’re stretched, but within their capabilities. When God gives us talents, abilities, opportunities and challenges, he does it knowing us and knowing what we’re capable of - knowing it far better than we know ourselves.

He puts life, with all its resources, into our hands to be used; and to be used knowing that all we have and all we are is his, on loan to us because he trusts us to get on with the job of living and building his kingdom. Of making a difference to the world for good; after all, unlike the rich man of the parable God isn’t building a bank balance. He’s building a kingdom of love, faith and hope. He’s building a world of peace, justice and kindness. And he’s trusting us to do what we can with all the resources and opportunities we have.

We know that judgement is coming. So we need to get on with the job.

Be hopeful

And we do that not in fear of judgement but in hope. The third servant buried the talent he was given because he was afraid. He was afraid that if he made a mistake, if he lost any of it, then his master would be harsh, angry. But that’s not the picture of God that Jesus has given us. We’re called to trust him, and take what he’s given us and work with it.

Yes, some of us have opportunities to make a bigger difference to the world than others. Though of course, we never know quite how big the impact of our actions will be. But we’re not to spend our time comparing ourselves and our talents to those of others. We’re called to put them to use, to make this world with God’s help a bit more like heaven. That means taking risks - the first two servants wouldn’t have doubled their investment without risk - and it means taking the right risks, trusting in God’s guidance to reach out to others in love; to challenge injustice; to care for our world; and to help others to meet and to follow the God who loves them.

We’ll get it wrong sometimes. But getting it wrong sometimes and right the rest of the time is far better than never doing anything. We’re called to live fully and abundantly, and to live, as Paul reminded us, in hope.

Strictly Come Living

Without the weekly deadlines of live performance, Strictly Come Dancing wouldn’t be much good. Without the judges, if it was just a popularity contest on public votes, the dancing wouldn’t mean much. With those things, there’s an urgency, a momentum. And people discover week by week that they can do things they never knew were possible.

We’re in Strictly Come Living. And God has entrusted to us the possibility of doing amazing things for him. One day we’ll find out what he thinks of what we’ve done with the talents he’s handed to us - whether it’s five, two or one. So let’s live today and every day in a way that brings closer not a glitterball trophy but those words,

‘Well done, good and faithful servant’

Amen.