A sermon for Proper 16: Year C (1979)
Smoking is bad for your health. Pretty much, everyone knows this and agrees.
Thus, I’m guessing it’ll be tough to find someone who will counter with a competitive _ “Yeah but it’s not as bad as [fill in the blank with anything you can think of].” … (“Yeah, but it’s not as bad as having a tornado hit your house.” “Yeah, but it’s not as bad as hitting yourself in the face with a hammer.”) Smoking is one of those few topics that is rarely debated nor ranked as something worse than others. People might still rationalize why they smoke (and there are some very good rationalizations to make, such as physical addiction to nicotine).
It’s almost a universal truth or a scientific law.
I say it’s rare because people disagree and debate constantly about everything _ Businesses and their products _ from aftershave to movies, from necklaces to zippers _ about TV shows _ other people > their children and their family’s values _ and with the risk of getting somebody too excited, our political beliefs and affiliations.
People also make rankings. People say, “I like this more than this. This one is my favorite.” We make Top 10 lists of things we like the most and things we like the least.
How were all these decisions made though? Through experience mainly. But still many choices are unbeknownst to ourselves. Some of its clever marketing. A cute mascot or the right color choice can go a long way in getting attention or boosting sales. Or the right word uttered at the right time that goes in the right ear.
But when we really think about every one of our preferences, our choices to like and dislike, and to decide how much we like, the origins can be truly difficult to trace. Especially as one gets older, and the collection of experiences becomes too numerous to count.
But that’s how the brain works. Experiences help your brain to create a pattern, so you don’t have to focus on or remember every detail of the world. The brain does this to make you happy and healthy. Forget how you got there; have faith in your brain that it’s right. A quick example _ experience tells you when you’re thirsty to drink a cold soda instead of a bottle of tabasco sauce. Unless you’ve actually done the latter, how would you know to agree with that statement?
When we think about today’s scripture and Jesus’ words to the unnamed person who approached him “some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last”, this sounds a bit unfair and maybe a bit shocking.
This totally goes against our system of winning. If you cross the finish line first or get the most votes, you’re the winner. First is first. So, what can Jesus possibly mean by such a paradox?
First of all, He’s not talking about your system of winning, or the systems of certainty and clarity that you or our society has built for us.
One example of our society’s system would be when corporations during the post-WW II United States mapped out a white-collar worker’s future. This model was called the Company Man. Company Man knew when the next training was, the next promotion, the next raise, and when they could retire. People liked knowing what the future steps were, and how they could be first.
That model of certainty is practically non-existent these days, and most companies use performance metrics and then decide when the moment is appropriate to train, promote and raise a salary. And it’s that uncertainty that is one of the causes of lower worker engagement and happiness. It’s the cause of a lot of distrust, lack of faith, and the belief in equity.
So when it comes to God and this statement, you may say that is not God’s system does not build certainty.
And you’re right. But again He’s not talking about your system. God is talking about a system far different from earth’s system.
Unfortunately, this makes life very messy since you can’t expect that God will be fully aligned with all the preferences and rankings that you have. It can also seem a little hopeless.
But I’m not feeling hopeless. I’m not really a fan of all the earthly competitions and the rankings that I believe won’t account for much after I pass away. I’m glad God is not operating within our system, and that the life beyond this one is rid of such notions.
So instead of asking ourselves whether we’re “first” in this statement, perhaps we should be asking, will I trust God’s system?
In Hebrews today, the message to trust God’s system is a difficult one to hear for Hebrew Christians in the first century who to avoid persecution began drifting back into the outward observance of Judaism just so they wouldn’t be noticed. Think of it this way, they were doing their darndest to not be ranked last in the eyes of society.
Granted some systems are hard to trust. It’s hard because our earthly beings are pulled in many directions, and when talking to our neighbors or watching the news, we can unwittingly be moved to disagree on everything, even on the path to heaven. And once again, it seems that we can’t agree on anything, until you remember two things.
One, this earthly system is meaningless in the eyes of God and hoping that we can all agree on who and what is first is not for us to decide. But that doesn’t mean that we’re incapable of making universal decisions; we’re all in agreement that smoking is bad for you.
So, turn to have trust and faith in God’s system. Know that it is there and if you look for it everywhere you go, you will see it. You’ll see it when looking at the ocean or someone you love, or sometimes in a puff of smoke.
Referenced scriptures:
Wired For Faith 
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