At 10:00 this morning, we celebrated a funeral Mass in the chapel for John Keen. Those of you who have attended this 8:00 Mass will remember seeing him, although perhaps you may not have known his name. He was tall and lanky with dark hair. He often stood in the back of chapel when we had Mass there, but more recently, he sat up front here with Julie and other friends. John was oftentimes homeless and struggled with many personal issues. Because of these, he was often ignored by people. He had a hard life on this earth, and although he never lost faith in God, he didn’t think much of himself. But deep down he had a good heart, and every time we would talk, I was always inspired by how grateful he was for the little he had. Often, he sincerely asked forgiveness for anything he had done to hurt others. Our church became his spiritual home, and he was so grateful for those who accepted and helped him in his last days.
I thought of John when I read Jesus’ words: “the first will be last, and the last will be first”. In the eyes of this world, John had almost nothing, was ignored and judged by many, struggled with his own troubles, but had enough faith to believe in a forgiving God. He thought of himself as ‘last’, but we pray God in his mercy will welcome him home in a first-class way.
This thought,” the first will be last, and the last will be first”, is an example of a theme known in scripture as the ‘great reversal’, meaning Up is Down, and Down is Up in the kingdom of God. This great reversal refers to statements from Jesus, and in other parts of the Bible, that sound like the reverse of what we might expect, that in the end, God is going to turn things upside-down…or really, right side-up from the way they are now in the world. The Great Reversal is Jesus’ vision of what God’s kingdom will be like.
Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, says: Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh.
Mary, in her Magnificat, says of God: “He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted the humble.”
The challenge with these statements, for me and perhaps for others, is asking which category am I in: “The first or the last”? I know I am rich in abundant blessings of family, community, country. So how do I/we deal with this challenge?
Simply, Jesus tells us over and over, as difficult as it is, that our gifts should be placed at the service of others. Our first reading reminds us: “Give to the Most High as he has given to you.” We gain our treasure in heaven by generously dispensing our gifts here and now to others, especially the poor. When we humbly share our time, our talent, and our treasure generously, we hope and trust we are following the ways of the Lord.
“The first will be last, and the last will be first.”
