40 Days of Embracing Uncertainty - Day 27 (for Friday, March 27)

I can resonate with today’s devotion of not getting picked first because of ability, looks, or popularity.  It didn’t always happen, but I can recall a few times when it did.  You’d stand there with all the other kids, waiting to get picked because you just wanted to play – just wanted to be a part and blend in with everyone else.  But sometimes, others make the decision on who is in and who is not.

This story that Jesus tells to the disciples is really all about that dynamic with a little twist – it’s not only about who gets in, but that everyone gets in with the same reward.  Just because the workers who started earlier in the day received a full day’s pay as did those who started on the late afternoon shift and only worked a few hours.  At the end of this lesson, Jesus says something that is etched into the heart of everyone who has ever been chosen last:

“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

I don’t disagree with the devotion’s author that this story is about how “In God’s eyes, everyone is acceptable because everyone is accepted by God”.  I believe that with my whole heart.  So, you’re telling me there’s a chance… no matter who you are, what you’ve done, where you’ve been, God’s umbrella of grace is there.  All you need to do is step under it.  That sounds simple enough.

What we might miss in this is something that the devotion’s author doesn’t touch on and that is this: in order for God’s umbrella of grace to cover everyone who is included, no matter when they come, Jesus will need to undergo the ultimate sacrifice for everyone.  If you read on in the next verses from Matthew 20:17-19, the very next thing that Jesus speaks about is that the Son of Man is going to be killed in Jerusalem.  They are very near to the time when Jesus entered the gates of the city and walked the pathway of the passion, giving himself up for the sins of all.  His gift of grace is the ultimate umbrella for those who believe because all of our sins are washed away. 

We are two weeks away from Holy Week and now it seems as though things are getting real.  Jesus embraces our uncertainties in life by doing what he has said he was going to do all along.  He’s going to include the least, the last, the lost, the lonely, the left out and usher them to the front of the line.  And there is nothing the established religious authorities can do about it – except have him crucified.

God’s umbrella of grace – there for you and for me and for all people.  You no longer need to be last because you've been chosen to be first.