Gospel in Art: Cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness

Procrustes, designed by Fyodor Pavlov-Andreevich, exhibited in 2023 © Ruy Teixeira & Fyodor Pavlov-Andreevich, all rights reserved

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 30 August 2025
Matthew 25:14-30

At that time: Jesus told his disciples this parable, 'The kingdom of heaven will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.

'Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, "Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more." His master said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master." And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, "Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more." His master said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master." He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, "Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours." But his master answered him, "You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." '

Reflection on the Design Furniture

When Jesus tells a parable with multiple characters, our attention often gravitates towards the last one mentioned. The Samaritan in the story of the Good Samaritan, or the elder brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son are good examples of that. In today's Gospel, the spotlight again falls on this third figure: the servant entrusted with a single talent, who chose to bury it in the ground.

His decision was driven not by laziness, but by fear. He saw his master as harsh and unforgiving, and so he refused to take any risk. Rather than put the gift to use, he hid it, thinking that returning it untouched would be the safest option. This fear paralysed him: it robbed him of the freedom to act, to invest, to try. The other two servants clearly saw their master differently. They understood that he valued their effort as much as the outcome; he wanted them to use what had been entrusted to them, not simply hand it back.

God has placed gifts and graces into each of our lives, and He calls us to put them at the service of others. Yet fear (fear of God's judgement, fear of others' opinions, fear of failure) can still freeze us into inaction. The third servant shows us the tragedy of letting fear dictate our response to God's trust. As Mother Teresa once said, God does not ask us to be successful, only faithful. Such beautiful words. If we truly believe in the unconditional love of the One who gives us every good gift, we will find the courage to act, without being paralysed by the question of success or failure.

Today's reading reminds me of Fyodor Pavlov-Andreevich's ANTIFURNITURE exhibition at the Design Museum in London in 2023. There was one standout piece titled Procrustes. Named after the cruel figure from Greek mythology who forced travellers to fit his bed by stretching or amputating them, the work reinterprets this myth as a visceral experience of fear and anxiety. Visitors must bend forward in a rocking form, rather than reclining comfortably, forcing their bodies into discomfort and their minds inward. It reveals how fear turns us inward, leaving us rocking in place, unable to move forward.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-25-14-30-2025/