The last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen

 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.  And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.'  So they went.  Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.  And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'  They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.'  He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'  So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'  And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.  And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'  But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong.  Did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take what is yours and go your way.  I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.  Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?'  So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."

- Matthew 20:1-16

On Tuesday, we read about the rich young ruler who came to Jesus and asked, "What good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"   Jesus' answer to him was, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow Me."  The young man went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  Yesterday, we read that  then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You.  therefore what shall we have?"  So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.  And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.'  So they went.  Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.  And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'  They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.'  He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'  So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'  And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.  And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'  but he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong.  Did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take what is yours and go your way.  I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.  Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?'  So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."  My study bible tells us about this parable:  "Jesus describes a startling reversal of positions.  In this parable:  (1) the vineyard is the life God gives us in the world; (2) the day is the time of laboring, the here and now; (3) the laborers are those He calls to fulfill His commandments; (4) early in the morning and the third, sixth, ninth, and eleventh hours refer to the different ages of those who draw near to God:  those who from earliest youth, from mature age, or from very old age hold to virtue.  God's generosity provides equal access to and enjoyment of rewards in the life of the Kingdom for both early and late comers.  Jesus teaches the former they should neither be proud of their long service, nor question those called at the eleventh hour -- lest they themselves lose all.  To the latter, He teaches it is possible even in a short time to recover everything.  In Jesus' ministry this parable applies to the Pharisees and sinners, while in the early Church it applies to Jews and Gentiles.  St. John Chrysostom's famous Easter sermon is based on this parable; for him the reward is the Lord's rich banquet of the Easter Eucharist." 

I think it's important that we note early in the morning, and the third, sixth, ninth and eleventh hours also as suggestive of prayer cycles, or hours prayers.  We can also link this teaching with the reading on the rich young ruler, who went away sorrowful because he had great possessions, as suggestive of the possibilities that are still open to this young man, whom Jesus loved.  We don't know that he didn't come later to do as Jesus taught.  My study bible points out the Easter sermon attributed to St. John Chrysostom, in which he suggests the reward for all is the Easter Eucharist.  There are many parallels we can draw if we think about them.  But the promise here is clear:  the last will be first, and the first last.  We will all come in our time, and our time is His.  It doesn't matter when we are called; it is He who does the calling, and He who decides the reward.  It's another example of the paradox of the life of faith:  God's thoughts are not our thoughts, and God's ways are not our ways.  Time belongs to Christ; our lives are not necessarily our own in the complete ways that we like to think of them.  When the vineyard owner tells the early laborers, "Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?"  it's a clear statement of authority, of God's ownership and power.  We just don't know how God works with each person in their life; we can't say nor judge the process of faith in others.  We can't say when they're called, and we don't necessarily know when someone has refused a call.  But I think it becomes very clear here from this parable what the purpose of time is:  it is to give us time to hear this call and to respond to it.  Those who refuse the call of grace surely do pay consequences for it, but that doesn't mean they will not come to respond at a later time.  The Apostles need to understand that as the leaders in the future Church, they will have in their care those who will come later, who will be called later, and that their leadership consists in caring for those who will come later who are every bit as precious to God as the first called.  And there we get the picture of the great community of the Kingdom, even the communion of saints, and a proper understanding of time in Christ's sight.  We don't know where and how each of us are called, what roads we need to travel to get there, and how God calls to each.  But, the harvest is always ready:  in Luke's Gospel, Jesus tells the Seventy Apostles, as they are sent out, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."  How do you labor in His vineyard?  First or last, do you know others who may be called?  Perhaps they are inspired by your labors.  But the time of our lives is for this purpose.  For our good work, and a good harvest, let us be truly thankful!

Strive to enter through the narrow gate

 Then He said, "What is the kingdom of God like?  And to what shall I compare it?  It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches."

And again He said, "To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?  It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."

And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.  Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?"  And He said to them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.  When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from,' then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.'  But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from.  Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.'  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.  They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.  And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last."

- Luke 13:18-30

Yesterday, we read that Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.  There was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.  But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity."  And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.  But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, "There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day."  The Lord then answered him and said, "Hypocrite!  Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?  So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound -- think of it -- for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?"  And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.

 Then He said, "What is the kingdom of God like?  And to what shall I compare it?  It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches."    Luke gives us the powerful parable of the mustard seed.  My study bible tells us, "The mustard seed is tiny, but the plant grows to a height of about 10 feet in Palestine."   I think that in the gospels, the juxtaposition or placement of verses near one another tells us something, shines light on another facet of meaning.  Here, this teaching comes right after the healing of the woman bent over for eighteen years!  In this sense, we can call it a reference to the good work of the Sabbath.  One act of the heart to lift another's burden may truly be a seed that grows extraordinarily.  When we act to bring the Kingdom into this world, we should never scoff at how small we think our contribution is; the mustard seed holds the power of an act in His name.

And again He said, "To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?  It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."  My study bible tells us, "A small amount of leaven inevitably penetrates the entire dough.  Such is the power of the Kingdom."  Leaven is quite often a negative reference in Scripture, such as Jesus' earlier warning (in the last chapter) to His disciples to "beware of the leaven of the Pharisees."  But in posing these two sayings together, about the mustard seed and the leaven, we get a tremendous sense of the Kingdom; that is, its growth can't be limited, and exists in many dimensions.  The mustard seed grows into a tall and broad tree, while the leaven penetrates and permeates from within.  It transforms the entire composition of the whole.  That Jesus says the woman "hid" the leaven in the mixture tells us something; the word is the same word for that which is "secret" -- as "your Father who is in the secret place" and "who sees in secret."

And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.  Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?"  And He said to them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able."  My study bible notes that "the narrow gate is a path to salvation marked by Jesus' teaching on discipleship and its cost."  I think it goes deeply into the teaching on the mustard seed and the leaven:  that without the involvement of both inner and outer self, acts that come from the heart, we miss that "narrow gate" of communion with Him.

"When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from,' then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.'  But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from.  Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.'"  A note tells us here:  "Jesus says I do not know you because they are workers of iniquity.  If a person is not abiding in Christ, neither verbal confessions ("Lord, Lord") nor previous experiences with Christ will be of any avail at the Judgment."  What is it to abide in Christ?  The mustard seed and the leaven don't just tell us about outward acts or previous good works, but the leaven speaks to the inner nature of this "abiding" and its power of transformation in us and among us. He has earlier taught that "he who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters."

"There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.  They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.  And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last."  My study bible says here, "People of humble faith from all parts of the earth will join together in God's consummated Kingdom.  Those who vainly think themselves secure because of honored status will be last."  What we take from these verses is another sense of the breadth and height and depth and completeness of this Kingdom:  people come from the east and the west, from the  north and the south -- and there are the last who will be first, and there are the first who will be last.

We often think of ways in which community is created in our modern world.  Is it on Facebook and other forms of social media?  (I use this blog and its software and also reprint on Facebook and through Twitter and email.)  How do we come together?  Jesus speaks of the great assembly of the Day of "God's consummated Kingdom."  How do we get through the narrow door to be a part of this Kingdom?  What does He mean there will be those to whom He says that He never knew them?  Gathering is important, community is essential, but to my mind Jesus' words also tell us about the inner person and how and why we come together -- even how acts of community take shape within this dialogue of faith, of the heart.  God knows the number of hairs on our head, and remembers every little sparrow.  So each of us comes, as members of the flock, in assembly, as individuals who are deeply known and loved.  We can think of great humanitarian efforts, great contributions of money and might and power, to help community.  But in the economy of this Kingdom, it's not those of stupendous privilege who are allotted the place of greatest contribution.  In the field of the heart, in the place where we abide, and from which an act of compassion can come -- no matter what that might be -- we are all equals, we start on a level playing field.  Therefore the great sacrifice of the heart becomes the one thing necessary, the true thing God really wants from us.  And every other good thing flows from there.  How do we enter into this Kingdom?  From what comes our citizenship?  How will God "know" us?  Think about the mustard seed and the leaven, and it will give us great hints about how we participate, and how we abide.  That there are the last who shall be first and the first who shall be last tells us something about the true place where we all come together.