We are all familiar with the saying, when the cat’s away, the mice will play. We have thought about this in relation to ourselves. Perhaps when working and the boss is on vacation we might take it easy a little bit. Maybe when we think about how our children behave when we are not around, how the rules seem to get bent a little bit when mom and dad are not there. We have sayings like this because we all tend to ease up a bit when we do not have someone holding us accountable.
Jesus begins Matthew 25 with a parable that talks about being ready for the bridegroom to come. Some are prepared and some are not. Some have taken responsibility to gather the items that they need, while others did not. When he transitions into the next two parables, Jesus is still talking about being prepared, but now he’s going into details about what it looks like to have some oil in your lamp as well as extra. It means that you do not bury your talent while the master is away. It means that you care for the least of these until the Son of Man returns in glory.
Jesus is addressing his followers in this way because he is preparing to go away. He is the bridegroom, the master, the Son of Man, who is going and who will be coming. While the cats away, the mice have work to do. If I am to be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven when Jesus returns, I am not to wait until Jesus returns, rather I live as a participant in the Kingdom of Heaven now. I make preparations. I use what I have been given, I care for the least of these.
When I am tempted to think that it does not matter what I am doing, Jesus reminds me that when he returns, what I have done will be significant not only for me, but for others as well.