Warm-up Question
- Tell a story about when you were genuinely surprised. Maybe you learned something shocking or experienced a surprise party.
- How did being surprised impact you?
Left Behind in Paradise
Another hurricane is coming. Even as parts of the country from Florida’s panhandle to the Appalachian mountains try to clean up from Hurricane Helene, younger sibling Hurricane Milton is already threatening life with similar ferocity. Those of us who live further away might think of these vacation destinations as wealth centers. Massive beach houses on the coast to log mansions on the Blue Ridge Parkway are annually rented by many, giving the impression that money is everywhere.
Yet, that’s almost never the case. This article details the lives of those who live and work in Martha’s Vineyard, another holiday havens where many visit without knowing the realities of local life. What some view as a paradise is also a place where some people experience poverty, live without secure housing, and can hardly afford the food or accommodations enjoyed by the seasonal visitors. Too often, locals who are first to serve others vacation needs are also the last to enjoy a respite of their own. Those who make our rejuvenation possible are left behind in the wake of the vacation industry. No one deserves they. The people who help provide relief to others deserve the same helping hand. 
Now, as another hurricane threatens many of these destinations once again, those people who have so often been last in normal circumstances are now at an even more urgent risk. While we’ll find out the worst results soon, we can prepare now as people of faith to support communities who deserve to be first in our minds not only when disasters strike, but all the time.
Discussion Questions
- Does it surprise you that vacation destinations experience poverty? Why or why not?
- Have you ever felt left behind?
- What was that like for you?
Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost
(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year A at Lectionary Readings.)
For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.
Gospel Reflection
Each short scene in this Gospel lesson includes a reflection on who is left out. After all, only those with power and value can enter a king’s court. A rich man, used to the ease of life made possible by money, wants to access heaven. Jesus’ metaphor about a camel passing through a needle’s eye expresses the difficulty of entering heaven. Peter, argues that the disciples, who left their families and resources behind, have earned what the rich man had not.
The whole passage hinges not on what humans can do, but on what God does. After all, Peter pipes up only after hearing Jesus say “for mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” In other words, Peter tries to justify himself and his friends, even after hearing that justification wasn’t even possible.
What Peter doesn’t understand, along with the rest of the disciples, is that they’re no better off than the rich man. Upon his arrest, Peter will eventually deny knowing Jesus and the rest will scatter. Neither the rich man nor Jesus’ friends could ultimately thread the needle of following him on their own power.
But that’s not the end of the story. The story ends with new beginnings. With Jesus making possible what seemed impossible. Through his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus breaks open the needle’s eye so that elephants and blue whales could pass through. We don’t need to assume, demand, or otherwise perform authority or worth to enter God’s reign. We just need what Jesus has already given us: his very self.
Even more, those who are left behind by the world’s standards no longer need to fear being forgotten on the margins of eternity. The last among us becomes first because, in Christ, there is no ledger of earning our worth. Those of us like the disciples and the rich man will eventually follow once we realize we can’t earn our way into God’s love.
Discussion Questions
- What does it mean to you that “the last will be first and the first will be last”?
- What would be the hardest thing for you to give up in order to follow Jesus? Why is that?
Activity Suggestions
- Plan a fundraiser for those impacted by Helene and Milton to support the work of Lutheran Disaster Response or Lutheran World Relief. Whether a bake sale, Flocking, raking leaves for donations, or another format, do something simple that can quickly deliver resources to those often left last in times of disaster.
- Play a game of musical chairs, first with the standard practice of having one less chair than number of players and continuing to remove a chair after each round until there is only one winner. Then, without telling the group, start a new round and make sure there are enough seats for everyone. Use that as an example to highlight that everyone can be included and that we can change the ways we act now to include those people who are left last in society.
Closing Prayer
God of All, help us to recognize the value of all people. Empower us to recognize the dignity of those left behind by our society and change our ways to amplify their worth. Remind us that the last in this world are the first in your heart not only during times of natural disaster, but in every day and every way. Amen.
