Throughout my entire elementary school life, I yearned to be last in line and in the class seating arrangement. Yet, every teacher placed me in front. My friends in the back seats seemed to have more fun. I, on the other hand, was constantly under the teacher’s attention—no fun! So, when Jesus tells us that the first will be last and vice versa, he is not referring to our size, physical prowess, or even academic achievement. No, Jesus is answering someone’s question about personal salvation.
In our present tumultuous time, let us focus on Luke’s message in today’s gospel. Perhaps, Jesus is inviting us to crawl out of our comfort zones and stretch out our hearts and hands to those in need of cultural understanding, physical and moral help. We cannot become complacent in our niche and blame decision making on other people.
I find today’s gospel reading apropos to our tense and volatile times. I suppose we all would like that “cheat sheet” to gain our eternal reward without really trying. But our God is a loving person, someone who knows each of us personally, and continues to love us unconditionally. We are the ones who decide either to respond to that invitation or to reject it.
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians tells us that we must understand the cultural references in terms of the times in which they were written. We were created individuals free to respond to God and to our neighbor. None of us is created to be a slave to another. All are created equally to share natural gifts, as well as the gifts of the Spirit, to provide a peaceful environment for each of us to grow.
Let’s renew our respect for all peoples from various nations and cultures, so that we return that divine love that has been graciously given to us.