Crazy things Jesus Said and how they have changed us #5 The first shall be last and the last shall be first. RUMC 5-27-2018

Crazy things Jesus Said and how they have changed us #5

The first shall be last and the last shall be first.

RUMC 5-27-2018

Is there anyone else here who was the shortest kid in their class?  I had a teacher, probably 2nd grade who always lined us up by height to march us down the hall to gym.  I was always last in line.  Oh, how I wanted her just once to line us up shortest to tallest so I could be in front.

Those of you who follow racing might be able to tell us who won the Indy 500 a year ago…I had to look it up. Anyone remember?  Takuma Sato.  But no one remembers that Ed Jones came in 3rd, or that Jay Howard came in dead last. No one remembers that.

You baseball fans might be able to tell me who has the highest batting average this year… Mookie Betts of the Redsox.  But can anyone tell me who has the lowest batting average this year?  Kole Calhoun of the angels at 151.

 Our world is bent toward the winners, the biggest, the brightest, the most beautiful, the fastest, and the best. Even though for every winner there is a whole slew of folks who didn’t win.

No child grows up dreaming of coming in last in the Indy 500, batting last in the league, being second runner-up or even first runner-up in anything.  No one brags about being picked last for kickball or graduating last in their class.

 So when Jesus says, “The last will be first, and the first will be last” it is a shock to the system.  When he says, “Whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave.”  We have this gut reaction that screams “NO! That’s not fair!”

So what kind of crazy talk is this?  What does Jesus mean when he says “the first shall be last” or “the greatest must be your servant?”

 I think to understand Jesus’ teaching we need to back up a whole chapter. Chapter 19 of Matthew starting with verse 16, on page 21, tells of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus and said he has fulfilled all the laws.  Jesus tells him if he wants to be saved he must go sell all he has and give it to the poor.  He goes away sad because he is very rich.

In discussing this with the disciples, Jesus says it is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into the kingdom of heaven.

 Then there is an interesting line. In verse 27 of chapter 19, Peter said, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” You can hear it in his voice.  He is thinking whohoo! Score… we will be in for a bonus because we left everything we had, and on top of that, we are following Jesus around the countryside.  “So, Jesus, those of us who have left everything and sacrificed much and followed all your teachings… what will be our reward?”  Jesus’ answer concludes with the sentence “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”

You can almost hear the question marks in Peter’s silence.

 Then as we move into chapter 20 Jesus tells that parable that so many of you hate. I have had many discussions about this parable of the workers in the vineyard because people can’t get around the “unfairness” of it.

It is the parable in which the owner of the vineyard hires folks to work and promises a denarius, a standard days wage for a laborer. Then he goes out a few hours later and hires more, and a few hours later and hires more and then just before the end of the day hires one more crew.

At the end of the day, the vineyard owner lines them all up from the most recent hire to the ones who had been there all day. To everyone’s surprise, the short timers receive a denarius. So do the ½ dayers, and by this time those who had worked all day were sure that they would receive a bonus above and beyond the denarius.  But they were wrong. They received the denarius too.

When they grumbled, the owner replies, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?”

 And once again Jesus repeats, “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Do you think that might be an important teaching?

 Now hang in there with me. 4 verses later, Salome, the name we traditionally give to James and John’s mother, has a question. I have to wonder… was she asleep… was she just a bargainer… was she out at the well when Jesus said the part about first and last? What’s the deal?  Only 4 verses after Jesus teaches “So the last will be first, and the first will be last” Salome begs Jesus to let her sons be first in the kingdom of heaven; one sit on the right and the other on the left means that one would be vice president and the other the next person in the chain of command after the vice president.

 Jesus is indignant and says, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,  and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—  just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

I really don’t think she was asleep, I just think she couldn’t understand this crazy idea that the first would be last and the last first.  That’s not the way the world works.

But just think about it a minute… the first are first, but they will in some way be the last. And the last are last but they will in some way become first…there is only one way that can happen.  If everyone is to be first and everyone is to be last simultaneously, then it must be that everyone is in a tie. Everyone is exactly equal. Everyone is at the same time both First and last.

 Ah, now the parable makes sense too, doesn’t it?  Some worked 8 or 10 hours.  Others worked an hour and each was paid the same, one denarius. Everyone is exactly equal. Everyone is at the same time both First and last.

This is where it gets funny… usually, we completely miss Jesus point because we are looking through our particular set of glasses. We grumble that it is unfair because we ASSUME that we are among the long-term faithful who deserve more than those other people.  Jesus’ point is. God loves us all the same!

How long you have been a member, how faithful you are, how hard you work, the office you have held, and the amount you have donated don’t make you better than the 7th grader that just gave her life to Jesus at camp, or the homeless guy who has nothing, or the thief who stole an old lady’s life savings, or anyone else. We assume that we are among the faithful and hardest workers, the most deserving so when we see God loving others whom we believe to be undeserving, we scream “NO! That’s not fair!”

But that is missing Jesus point. He is teaching about the universal, unbelievable, incomprehensible, grace of God.  He is teaching that in God’s eyes there is no first or last, no rich or poor, no great for small, no first or last… only children in need of love. And just as the vineyard owner pays them all the same, God loves us all the same. No distinctions, no class ranks, no Mercedes for mother Theresa and pinto for pastor Terry thank goodness. No mansion for you and pup tent for your neighbor. No gold crown for church members and baseball cap for non-members.

Folks, God’s love is universal and equal. Nicodemus the Pharisee who followed Jesus, the disciples and the thief who up to his last breath mocked and spit upon Jesus and then asked Jesus to “remember him when he comes into his kingdom”… they all hear the same words.  Today you will be with me in paradise.  The lifelong Methodist, the missionary who died sharing the gospel, the preacher who just did his best but was always considered average, the drug addict who turns their life around, and the murderer who is converted just before he receives the lethal injection all hear exactly the same thing… “Well done good and faithful servant.”

Let me ask you something… who says we are among the first, the faithful, or the deserving anyway? When you place yourself in the parable, have you ever considered that in some way you might be among the last hired? Granted I would say you are among the finest people I have ever known and this is a great church doing great things, but if we can stop patting ourselves on the back long enough to hear what Jesus is saying, he is saying “God bless you for what you do, but don’t think that makes you better than anyone else.”  If we make the mistake of thinking we are God’s favorite (the first) … we can plan on being knocked down a couple of pegs because God loves us all just the same. The very fact that we can only imagine ourselves in the first group of those who deserve favor and extra reward is reason enough to question whether our self-inflating egos might actually make us among the least rather than the greatest.

If we can in any way see ourselves as the least or the last then our response to the parable would not be “NO! That’s not fair!” but rather “praise God for God’s wonderful grace.”

 How has this crazy idea changed us?  Over a lifetime of hearing it, I hope you are starting to believe it.  I am still working on it. Some days I believe God loves me the way I am, others it is harder to accept. 

 The other way it changes us is when we realize that God freely and completely loves us… we have to come face to face with the fact that God freely and completely loves our enemy too.  And not just our enemies, but those who have hurt us and never apologized, people who look different or think differently than we do. People who belong to every conceivable kind of church and those who belong to no church. Those who deserve it (or think they do) and those who do not (or we think they don’t). God loves each and every one of them…and each and every one of us just as we are.

I know, that’s not how we would to it. That’s not fair. That’s not the way the world would do it.  It is backward, upside down, inside out, and just plain nuts. But it was God’s crazy idea to die on the cross for the righteous and the unrighteous, for you, and me, and everyone we would consider unlovable.  That is the crazy love of God!

Please take out your index card. It says I (blank) but God loves me anyway.  Fill that in … it could be a habit you have, a personality trait, a deep dark secret of the past. Like I robbed a liquor store but God loves me anyway.  It is more likely something like I have anger issues, but God loves me anyway. Or I don’t treat my spouse well, or I am a racist, or I’m not sure I believe in God… but God loves me anyway. Those will be completely anonymous, but the ushers are collecting them in the noisy offering buckets and we will use them in a litany after this.

It is hard enough to say “God loves me anyway.”  But I want to make it just a little harder. On your know, grow, go sheet where it says, “God loves _______________. God help me to love them too.”  Fill in someone’s name that is really hard for you to love.  (You will not hand this in. this is for you.) If not a name maybe a group of people: immigrants, conservatives, liberals, homosexuals, blacks. Arabs, Muslims, you get the idea.  Fill that in for yourself.

When we get to the end of the litany we will have just a moment f a Korean style of prayer in which everyone prays an individual prayer out loud at the same time.  We will pray “God help me to accept that you love me anyway… and help me to love____(and we will all name our person or group)______ as you love them”  I promise you everyone will be praying their own, so no one will hear yours… even if they did… we are all together in the struggle to love.

L: Someone here ____________

P: But God loves you anyway.  (x 5-10)

L: God help me to accept that you love me anyway… and help me to love  _______ as you love them.