This afternoon, on impulse, we went to see a play in Llandudno which is going round the UK. It is by Rosamund Pilcher and is called "The Shell Seekers". The leading part was played by Susanna York. She played a great part in it. The story is about a family whose mother is remembering lovely holidays in Cornwall where her father was an artist, painting in oils.

She looks back to a time when the Second World War broke out and hit everybody's life. Her father was a wonderful man and she still has some of his paintings. He had to stop painting due to arthritis. So she has two unfinished works and a completed work entitled, The Shell Seekers. Her father left them with her and has become a celebrated artist with many people worldwide buying his work.

Because there is such value in the works, two of the three children are hoping to be left a load of acsh. The third child is a daughter who is unconcerned about money and remonstrates with the other two. In the end, even she lets her mother down over a last trip to Cornwall where the old man painted.

So, when it comes to her death there are a few surprise. The children do get a reasonable amount but are shocked to realise that the gardenerand his girlfriend get quite a tidy sum too. But, ultimately, the money is willed to people based on their attitude to it. Thus the family get less and the gardener gets more.

This is an object lesson in understanding the true value of money. So many of us talk about what we would do if we suddenly became rich. We start to list the things we would buy. But the fact is that, as I have noted in a previous blog, all the goods in the world would not give us ultimate satisfaction.

Everysingle acquisition that exists is limited in how far it will satisfy us ultimately. At some point, later on, we will say that it was fun but did not do us any real favours. Today's acquisitive society is built on consumerism. There is an entire retail industry depending on our custom. If this were to collapse at Christmas time the retail industry would totally collapse. Christmas is a special time for us Christians but it is an essential part of the plans of our retail industry.

All you have to worry about is, "Will everything fit in a letter box? Unless someone else benefits there is no joy in the giving. And the need to fit in a letter box ensures the gift is not too much over the top.

Jesus will now revisit the vineyard to see if the workers have done their bit. What will he find?