This passage appears in the section of Matthew’s gospel that has been called the Little Apocalypse. (The Big Apocalypse is, of course, in the book of Revelation.) Apocalypses deal with judgment and the end of all things. In Matthew 24-25, Jesus talks in pretty stringent terms about what it will be like when the Son of Man sorts out the sheep from the goats and brings some into heaven while sending others into eternal fire. What kinds of acts bring people into judgment? Jesus spends chapter 23 decrying the hypocrisy and blindness of the Pharisees and putting them in peril of judgment. False prophets, betrayers of the innocent, those who are oblivious and unaware that judgment will come—all of these are in peril.
Then Jesus tells a little story about a servant, one who is put in charge of a household and its under-servants. This servant’s place in the household’s hierarchy is below the master but above others below him. His job is to care for the household when the master is away and make sure the underservants are fed. When the master returns, a good servant who has done these things will be rewarded. But what if that supervising servant has, instead, kicked up his heels in the master’s absence, gotten drunk, thrown parties in his master’s house, and abused and beaten the servants who depend on him? The unexpected return of the master will surely signal his judgment and doom. Jesus here is speaking of the Pharisees, who are the supervisors of the faith-life of their nation. That’s the “household” they are charged to care for and protect. And the returning Master? It is the Lord who can see those who have misused their power.
How do you use the power that is in your hands? All of us have power over someone, whether in our families, places of work, in volunteer positions, in our friend groups, or in our social media. How do we use our power? Stop and think. Do you use your power to build others up, to nourish them for work and life? Or do you use your power to please yourself or—worse—to abuse another’s dependence on you? Here’s the good news of the Gospel: If you have gone wrong, there is still time to change how you use the power that God has given to you.