Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor
© 2023, Dr. Tamilio
When I was twelve years old, I played Little League. I only played for one season. The reason might have been (might have been) that the year I played, I was on the worst baseball team in the history of the Beverly Little League organizations. I played for the Reds. We should have been called the Red Sox, at least the way the Red Sox played this season. We were bad. Real bad. I think we won one game. Memory is unreliable, though, so this might be a wishful recollection. However, if you are going to lose, you might as well lose big. We were the best at losing.
Afer our very last game, our coach, Mr. O’Brien said, “Well, look on the bright side, boys: you don’t have to lose anymore.” That was it. Season over. Head home. Back then you didn’t even get a participation trophy. You just went home. I’m glad that we didn’t get participation trophies back then, not because I don’t believe in them, but because I would not want to explain it to my family and friends, who would surely ask, “You got a trophy for coming in last?” I thought of that great line by George Carlin, the ever-poetic cynic who, railing against participation trophies, basically said that they are our way of telling kids, “You were the last winner.” Ridiculous.
But then on Sunday, we would go to church and read passages like the one we have for today in which Jesus tells his followers that the last shall be first and the first shall be last. This is not unlike many of his other teachings in which he tells his disciples that if they want to be his follower, they must be a servant. In Mark 9, there is the story about Jesus’ disciples arguing about who among them is the greatest as they were walking the road from Galilee to Capernaum. Remember what Jesus says to them? Mark writes, “Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, ‘Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.’ He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me’” (Mark 9:35-37).
He did not use a child as an illustration because he thought that children are cute. He chose a child for a reason. Children were among the most vulnerable in Jesus’ society. To be like them — vulnerable and totally trusting — would put you at the front of the line. Why? Because the Gospel of Jesus Christ reverses the order of how we assign value and see the world. We see life as a competition, but it isn’t. God favors the loser, the one who comes in last, the one who is the most vulnerable. But the question remains: why?
Answer: God’s mercy. God’s mercy is such that it offers a reversal of fortune. Those who prided themselves for being at the top will soon find themselves at the bottom. Those puffed up by their own self-importance will soon be deflated. Remember the story of Lazarus? Not the person whom Jesus raised from the dead. Not the brother of Mary and Martha. This is the other Lazarus — the rich man who is the subject of one of Jesus’ parables. Lazarus was the beggar who continually sought alms from a rich man. This is the Lazarus who was willing to eat the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. This is the Lazarus whose sores were licked by the dogs. Both men die at the same time. Lazarus goes to Heaven and has a seat next to Abraham, while the rich man gets a one-way ticket to Hades. The rich man pleads for mercy, for Lazarus to be allowed to dip his finger in water and touch the rich man’s tongue. What answer is he given by Abraham? “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony” (Luke 16:25). In other words, there is a complete reversal. The rich man now suffers — whereas Lazarus, who used to beg for the rich man’s mercy — Lazarus basks in the glory of Heaven. How the tables have turned.
Do not interpret what I am saying as, “Since you have had a good life, you will be punished in the next one.” It’s hard not to think that way, especially in our tradition. We, the heirs of the Puritans and Pilgrims, believe that if something goes well for us, we’ll pay for it later. If we end up having a beautiful autumn, we can’t accept that. No. Not us. We have to say, “Well, we’ll pay for it this winter.” Why? Why do we have to pay for the good?
Our Puritan ethic aside, Scripture suggests that such a reversal of fortune in our lives reflects the will of God. That will is not for some people to suffer, but for those who suffered in this life to receive blessings — if not in this life, then certainly in the next one.
In a sermon preached several years ago by David Sorn, the preacher claims that this is about security. He says that just as little children have security blankets, others find their security in materialism, in money. Yes, money will bring you comfort, but it will not make you secure. Only God can do that. Only Jesus is the rock that will keep your feet planted firm in/on the truth. Sorn cautions us, saying, “And each one of us has different things that get in the way of us following Jesus…different security blankets. Different idols.”[1] The Gospel instructs us that if we trust in Jesus, and keep our lives rooted in their Scriptures, all will be well. Even if we do not experience good fortune in this life, we will have it through Jesus and that fortune will carry us into the next life.
We see life as a competition, though. This is the wrong perspective. Our life is supposed to be a servant life, one in which we serve God in the service of others. God ministers to us when we minister to others. We receive the good we give, we receive the blessings we impart to others, especially those whom society has rejected, those who are lost, those who are forlorn, those who go without. They will be first in the Kingdom of Heaven. Those who trusted in only that which glitters will find that such precious metals rust when it all comes down to what really matters.
There is room and a reward for us all, no matter when you accepted Jesus into your heart. Like the workers in the vineyard, whether you have been a follower all your life (meaning you followed Jesus and his teachings since Sunday school) or whether you have come to Christ in the recent past, the gift is the same. With Christ at your side, with Jesus as your advocate, you will always be first. Amen.
[1] David Sorn, “Reversal of Fortune,” from Renovation Church, May 15, 2011.