Cutting In Line

Luke 15:1-32

Have you ever been stuck in a long line, when someone cuts in front of you? We’ve all been there. My most memorable cut-in-line experience was in Ladakh, India. Ladakh is high in the Himalayan mountains, and just as we were concluding our weeklong stay, the monsoons came. Days of heavy rain washed out all the roads, covered the 12,000 ft peaks with snow, and shut down the airport. By the fourth day, the airport was crammed with desperate travelers trying to get out.

Hundreds of people were crammed around the ticket counter, filling the lobby. There weren’t service announcements saying what was going on. We were all just waiting, craning our necks to see what was happening. That’s when a young American woman sailed by us. She was following what seemed to be a low ranking airport worker who was making everyone else move out of the way. I realized that she had paid a bribe to get to the front of the line. I was furious. Who does she think she is? I have been waiting here for four days! Make her wait in line with everyone else!

It doesn’t matter if it’s in the grocery store or traffic or the coffee shop – when someone cuts in line, our usual response is anger. It is an injustice, after all. That person does not deserve to be at the front of the line, and yet they are treated as if they do.

As humans, we like to think we deserve things. We also like to think that other people DO NOT deserve things. We are pretty sure we are justified in our views of who is deserving and who is not.

It turns out this is an age-old way of thinking. We see it in our Gospel story today. Jesus tells a parable about a father and his two sons. The younger son demands his inheritance long before his dad even shows signs of frailty. It’s like saying, “I can’t wait for you to die, Dad, so give it over now!” This son goes off to live in the biblical equivalent of Las Vegas.

Meanwhile, the older son has to run the farm with dear old dad. Can you imagine what that was like? Doing the work of both sons, all the while witnessing how heartbroken the old man was?

And then one fateful day, the younger son comes back. He should be crawling back; he should be made to pay back his inheritance! But what happens? Dad goes out running to him! With open arms! And throws a party for him as if he is a hero, not a good-for-nothing waste!

This is a cut-in-line story, if I ever heard one. It’s all about who is deserving of what: the younger son believes he deserves his inheritance. Later he believes he doesn’t deserve to be considered part of the family because of his behavior. The older son believes his brother doesn’t deserve a party. He believes that he is the one that should be celebrated because of his constant devotion and work. 

But the father shatters expectations by being radically welcoming. He welcomes the younger brother back into the family. He welcomes the older brother into the party and into an opportunity for forgiveness. He welcomes the whole household to celebrate, even though some of them undoubtedly were judging him as enabling the egregious behavior of his son.

This radical welcome levels the playing field. It makes everyone equal and important in the eyes of the father. It shatters the stratification that separates people into categories of worthy and unworthy. Now, ALL experience God’s compassionate grace by being welcomed to the table.

What are we supposed to do with such a scandalous message? If we rewind a bit, we can take a look at the context of why Jesus is telling this parable. In the beginning of the reading, the Pharisees and Scribes don’t think that the tax collectors and sinners deserve to sit and eat with Jesus, the rabbi. They should not be welcomed or included.

Jesus is telling the parable to show that he is bringing God’s kingdom to earth, making God’s loving intentions a reality in day to day living. That means Jesus extends God’s radical welcome to all kinds of people. That welcome extends to us as well, even when we end up being like one or both of the brothers from the parable.

Jesus radically welcomes all people into relationship with him and into the kingdom of God. He casts categories of deserving and undeserving aside. Are we ready to do the same?

I think we are ready here at Epiphany. It’s part of our strategic work plan for this year. Pastor Corey will be recruiting Welcome Teams to think through how we can welcome the people who come through our doors and join us online and meet their specific needs for acceptance, growth, and care. If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to me or Pastor Corey!

You might be wondering, what happened in the airport in Ladakh? I was so angry that day, I actually started yelling. And guess what? That got me ahead in the line. But what happened a few hours later is where I think the God story is, and that is that four Airbus airplanes showed up that day. ALL of the travelers got out, not just the bribing American; not just your pastor who finally broke after four days of being cold, stressed, and stranded. Everyone got what they needed. That’s what I believe the Father is about in this parable – not what we consider fair or following the rules, but a loving parent who claims everyone as a child of God and gives them what they need. In this sense, God’s justice includes mercy and a kind of welcome that is absolutely radical and is absolutely needed.

We will all find ourselves in situations where someone is cutting in line. We might even do it ourselves. The point is not to excuse bad behavior, but to recognize that God has a much bigger perspective and our job is to let God do the judging. We are called to reflect the love of the Father, to put aside categories of undeserving and deserving and accept that we all stand in the need of grace. We are called to extend God’s radical welcome to all.