The First Shall Be Last

"People will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south, and will recline at table in the Kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some who are first will be last." --[Luke 13: 22-30].


When I was growing up, I was definitely the "Last".  I was the baby and the only daughter; I am told that I should have been cherished. But over and over, by the behavior of my parents and sibling, I was taught that I did not matter. That it was best to not be noticed. To go invisible. I was blamed for everything, even for things I did not do wrong.

Amazing how God works in one's life.  Being firmly rooted at the bottom of the pecking order has given me a huge heart for those in the same position in life. The widowed. The children with no mother. The poor. The immigrant. The person of color. The marginalized woman. The homeless. The laborer. The uneducated.

In America, status is just about everything. We judge status by the neighborhood in which we live, the car we drive, the clothes we wear, the schools we attend, the places where we vacation.

I ignore ALL of these things. A job with physical labor tells me nothing about your morals or ethics. Your status as an immigrant or a person of color tells me nothing of the quality of your soul.

In fact, if anything, I find that a person who has been marginalized, ignored, downtrodden, or maltreated has been through rough times and, often possesses more compassion and tolerance than the typical successful person.

But my relationship towards those who are considered "Last" goes far beyond attitude.

Sometimes, I remark to my husband that my days are so busy, that I rarely sit down. When I account for how I spend the hours in my days, I realize that, other than feeding my family, cleaning my house, sleeping and taking care of the garden, my hours are spent helping others.

You can tell a lot about someone if you look at how they spend their time; if you realize what their priorities are. Someone who has a lot and who spends most of his free time time aggrandizing himself, or aggregating even more resources for himself, is putting himself first. He is not putting the Last first.

In a spare moment, I may call a friend who lives alone. I may send home-baked goods to a neighborhood family -- perhaps because the wife/mother has died; or because the lady is too elderly to bake any longer. I may pick out someone from my contact list and send that person a note or photo.

Many years ago now, my husband and I found a wooden trestle table at a yard sale. We stripped it of its many layers of paint and repainted it a soft green.

The little wooden trestle table sits on my front porch. People drop off donations. I never know what I will find. Yarn goes to the Senior Center knitting club. Personal CD players go to the local hospice. Hand-knitted hats and scarves go to the local shelter. Empty plastic flower pots go to a school with a community garden. Toys and games go to the Family Center at the local shelter. Children's books go to the city magnet school. Non-perishables go to the town food pantry.

Friends tell me, "You are a great person!" They tell me I am amazing. They say, ' Most people cannot take care of themselves, let alone others.'

But I say, No. This is the kind of thing we are supposed to be doing. . .

In today's culture, we say, "I am taking care of Number One." We promote ourselves by posting endless "Selfies."  Most of our sentences begin with the pronoun, "I". . . We spend our days making our own happiness the priority. We say, " I can work each day to set goals for MYSELF. I can succeed at my OWN happiness. I deserve everything I can achieve for myself." -- I am not exaggerating, I hear this kind of thing every day!

BUT how much time do we spend on the welfare or happiness of others? What is YOUR priority as to how you spend your time, after your basic needs have been met?

In this Scripture, Jesus talks of people coming from East, West, North and South to recline at the table in the Kingdom of God. In Biblical times, in the early church, meetings were held in the biggest homes of the community. Those mansions of the wealthy had an inner room big enough for only a chosen few to recline at the banquet table. All others were relegated to the courtyard, crowded in an outside area, where the rain could fall, straining to hear the Word and to receive the Bread of Life.

In the Kingdom of God, ALL will come from every direction, to recline at the banquet table. There will be no marginalized. No poor, no sad, no forgotten children of God.

And, IF we do behave in way of believing that some of God's children are Last, and should remain that way, we will find that Jesus has turned the tables on those who believe that they are First!

For the Last shall be first. And the meek shall inherit the Earth!

[Related Postings: "Putting the Last First", 8/25/13; "And the Lowly Shall be Exalted", 9/1/13.]

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