What We Believe: The First Will Be Last

1 September 2019

Psalm 82; Exodus 20:2-17; Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16; Luke 14:1, 7-14

It was told that after President Reagan was shot in 1981, he was no less his humorous self.  And I think what was most endearing about him was his willingness to poke fun at himself.  Aside from his telling the surgical team, “I hope you’re all Republicans”, and telling his wife he “forgot to duck”, after some days in the hospital and round-the-clock care, he told a nurse, “If I had gotten this much attention in Hollywood, I would have stayed there”.

St. Augustine believed humility to be the foundation of all other virtues because from that sense of being real with oneself, that we ain’t “all that and a bag of chips”, that there is always someone or something more important that any one of us at any given time, there is room for other virtues to develop and grow - including faith itself.  If we lack humility, however, if we are always more concerned with ourselves than with the well-being of others, there can be no room for virtue at all.

Though virtue is generally defined as behavior showing high moral standards, it may be said the Church and the Scriptures define virtue as “holy habits”, which acknowledges virtue as mindful choice.  Since moral standards are subjective to any given generation, and especially in the post-Christian world in which the Church’s influence has sharply diminished, it serves us best to consider virtue as the product of a submissive heart.

St. Jude wrote about those who “turn the grace of our God into unrestrained immorality” (vs 4) – and let us remember “immorality” is not exclusively about issues of physical intimacy.  He also wrote that these “are destroyed by what they know instinctively, as though they were irrational animals” (vs 10).

We’ve talked about this before.  Though a well-developed conscience can be a trustworthy guide, our base instincts - those impulses innate to our being which are focused on self-preservation - can and do often betray us just like unchecked emotions.  We cannot be faithful both to our God and to our impulses.  One will be pushed out because we trust the other more.  It’s like trying to serve two masters which our Shepherd and Teacher says is impossible (Matthew 6:24).

Humility is mentioned often in the Bible and Jesus Himself showed us what humility looks like, and yet it is perhaps one of the most neglected of the biblical virtues.  Unfortunately, like the “meek who will inherit the earth”, we often see such attributes as a sign of weakness, believing our true strength is measured by how “on top” of things we are, how aggressive we are willing to be in going after the things we want. 

Yet by the biblical virtues which are fruits of the Spirit of our God and our willingness to participate, we are reminded there are some things – persons, actually – much more deserving of our time and attention than only getting what we want. 

Humility, however, is not about completely neglecting our own needs, but it does require us not only to thoughtfully discern the difference between a genuine need and what we only desire but to be equally mindful of the genuine needs of others.  The idea of “suffering”, as biblically expressed, is not about deliberately bringing misery onto ourselves.  Rather, “suffering” is the strength to take a back seat to something with more meaning for others than it would mean for ourselves.  It is the difference between our desire for a turkey sandwich and our neighbor’s need to eat.

This does not mean others are always more deserving, but it does mean we should not take it upon ourselves to decide whose need is greater.  A humble heart refuses to be concerned with the pettiness about who is more deserving.  Humility submits to the reality of the needs of others and trusts that our own needs will be met in due time.  That is, a humble heart is focused on a Promise that “the first will be last”.

Even though the Letter to the Hebrews emphasizes “mutual love” (13:1), we are also reminded that The Lord can and will show up in the most unlikely places and perhaps even with the most unlikely faces. “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it”. 

This may well be a reference to Abraham in the wilderness as “three men” showed up unexpectedly (Genesis 18:1-8).  Though the chapter opens by telling us “The Lord appeared to Abraham”, the text says, “Abraham looked up and suddenly saw three men standing near him” (vs 2).  Presumably not knowing who these men were at first, Abraham offered them food, drink, and a chance to rest. 

In a modern setting, Abraham could easily have said, “What?”  Think about how we would respond if we were sitting on our front porch and strangers approached … or even were “suddenly standing near”!  We might be inclined to say perhaps, “May I help you?”, but what we are really digging for is “What do you want?”  Though there is the opportunity to express The Lord’s hospitality, they are “instinctively” perceived as a potential threat.

Humility, as expressed by Abraham, the very father of our faith, does not presume anything.  Before the Law was revealed to Moses which, among other things, commands kindness to strangers because “you were once strangers in a strange land”, Abraham personified it.

Fully trusting that The Lord will meet our needs, as our Shepherd and Teacher assures us, we see first to the needs of others.  Whether they will return the favor is beside the point of genuine humility.  In fact, it should be said there is perhaps nothing more un-Christ-like than the idea of “looking out for number 1”.  As the Letter to the Hebrews states, “Remember those who are in prison as though you are in prison with them; remember those who are being tortured as though you yourselves are being tortured”.  That is, we “bear one another’s burdens” as though they are, in fact, our burdens to bear.

If we hope and pray for a kinder, more decent and gentle nation, it must begin with us.  Fighting fire with fire, “returning evil for evil” has not worked yet, and so I wonder how we think it will suddenly start working now.  In fact, the idea of responding in kind is precisely what St. Jude was referring to as the “instincts which will destroy irrational animals”.

In the end, putting ourselves in the lesser positions of personal privilege and even places of honor is what Jesus refers to in teaching us “the first will be last, and the last will be first”.  That is, we can try and seek our reward in the here-and-now, a reward which will, at best, be here today and gone tomorrow … or we can trust that genuine humility will win out in the end in our Father’s good time and according to His good will.

Humility does not come easily to many, perhaps most.  It is, like the other virtues, developed over time with consistency, more than a little patience, and a whole lot of faith – because in the end, humility is entirely about loving The Lord our God with all we have and with all we are, holding nothing back, AND loving our neighbors as purposefully and as willfully as we love ourselves. 

We are, in this life and in this world, being prepared for something Greater in the world to come.  Let us resolve to live as though this were True – because it is.  Amen.