Interceding for the First and the Last

The beginning of the first full week of school since returning to teaching from summer vacation is a hectic and fast-paced time. The amount of energy to get everything ready and going is unbelievable. Add to it that many of us have school-aged children with homework and evening meetings to attend.  I seriously considered taking a blog day off, but my spirit is energetic despite my body and brain being tired.  A colleague remarked to me today that the sheer stress of it is enough to cause physical pain. Of course, I agreed without having to go into my own personal experience of the same thing she was expressing.

Through every season in life what I see clearly is the help that comes from heaven—from having a great advocate ascended on high. A favorite scripture passage that I often turn to is Romans 8: 34. It tells us that Jesus Christ intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father. Something we as Catholics may not be accustomed to thinking of in terms specific to Christ is his intercessory role for us. The first Epistle of John 2:1 tells us that Jesus is our advocate. When we are in relation to the Lord as our help and strength wherever we are in life, beginning, middle, or end, we may come to him and find eternal hope.

I have long been aware of the role that Jesus has of bridging the gap of alienation between God and humanity that resulted from the fall from original grace. However, the first time that I really read the Romans passage—I mean to say that I had read it many times, but had somehow never really comprehended it—it was like a light coming on for me: Jesus himself intercedes for us.

As I looked at the readings for today I thought that I wouldn’t try to tie in to them. After all, it’s not always necessary and I never really intended to have a lectionary blog though in some respects that’s what I have done.

Still my memories were awakened again by today’s gospel words, “…the last will be first, and the first will be last.” They reminded me of an early time in my Christian experience just after when I was baptized at age 12 in a Protestant congregation. The church had purchased a used school bus to to serve as its church bus. It was quite an ugly thing, nothing to be proud of in the eyes of most people, but the pastor, whose community did not have an abundance of material wealth, claimed that getting the bus was the result of “intercessory prayer.” I think that is probably the first time in my life that I ever heard of interceding for something. It was all new to me.

A group of the men from the church decided to paint the bus. They chose barn red—perhaps they should have sought intercession on paint color, but the choice was made. Being a new member of the church I volunteered to help with the painting. It was a job that went late on a Friday night. I did a lot of masking and being a gopher that night. It was a hard evening’s work. I was by far the youngest and smallest person there—the only child in a group of grown men. The pastor invited everyone that had helped to a fish fry at his house the next Friday.

When it came time to thank all involved, the pastor said, “and we can’t forget to thank young brother Danny Wright, who reminds me of the scripture saying the first shall be last and the last shall be first.” He then allowed me to be first in line to be served, saying, as he filled my plate, “Never forget… the last will be first.” That Sunday I rode the entire bus route while the driver sang "Shall we gather at the river."

I don’t know that I can tie it in well to the Lord’s intercession for us, but because of it everyone, from the smallest to the greatest; from the first to the last, has more than a chance to go to heaven, though they may have to ride a barn red bus to get there.

Comments

[forget me not]

Now this post put a smile on my face...lovely!

[Honora]

Well, barn red is one color of love, and it sure would be nice to be singing with folks on the way. (Y'all can ride shotgun, I'm sittin' in the back.)