Many That Are First Will Be Last And The Last First
A Reflection On Matthew 10:32-33; 37-38
The Lord said to his disciples, “Every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny him before my Father who is in heaven. He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” Then Peter said in reply, “Lo, we have left everything and followed you. What then shall we have?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of man shall sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. But many that are first will be last, and the last first.”
Matthew 10:32-33; 37-38
Today, on the Feast of All Saints, we remember all who have been sanctified in Christ. As we begin a new liturgical season emphasizing the Gospel of Matthew, this feast reminds us of our call to sainthood and holiness, inspiring us to cherish our own divine calling to be God’s chosen people.
The term “saint,” or “holy one,” speaks to both our honor in God’s eyes and our role in worshiping Him. When we sanctify, or make anything holy, we recognize that we are setting it aside for the purpose of worshiping God. A practical example of this is the chalice we use for Holy Communion, or any item declared and honored as holy. Materially, it is a cup comprised of whatever precious metals we have deemed worthy of its honored purpose. Yet what makes it holy is the purpose it serves. It is not used for common drinks; it is used to contain the Body and Blood of our Lord and God alone.
In the same way that we set aside items for a holy purpose, God has set us apart for the same purpose: to be His people and to receive the salvation He offers us by centering our lives on Him. To truly embrace our sanctity, we should consider how daily actions—prayer, service, and love—reflect our set-apart status and strengthen our relationship with God, filling us with hope and a sense of purpose. Each of us is called to love and serve as God loves and serves us, and it is through His setting us apart that we are given all we need for this task.
This is why St. Paul refers to members of the Church as the saints, or holy ones, of God, recognizing that we have all been set apart for the purpose of worshiping God and receiving the gifts that worship equips us to receive. God makes us holy so that we can be fully united with Him, and He does this by meeting us where we are and raising us to His heights.
Today’s Gospel reading highlights this calling while showing us what our lives will look like as we receive the gifts of eternal life God offers. Christ begins by telling His disciples—and subsequently us, for we are all His followers:
“Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”
The acknowledgment of Christ as God is a reality of putting God first in our lives. For us to truly be holy, we need to make God our priority, for He is the One who offers us all we need for life in Him. We know and call upon the Father through the Son, and by acknowledging the Son as God before all else, we make God our first priority.
What acknowledging God before others looks like, practically speaking, is living a life that puts God first. It is not so much about what we say as about what we do, ensuring that our actions align with our thoughts and words. Offering our lives to God requires our whole being to be unified, meaning we must continually align our thoughts, motivations, words, and actions with the way we approach Him.
As we unite our whole being and offer our lives to God, His presence becomes known both to us and to all whom we encounter. This active commitment fosters a sense of purpose. It encourages us to live intentionally, knowing that our actions reflect our faith and open us to God’s gifts. In living this way, we image His saving presence as light to a darkened world.
This is why the inverse—denying God—leads to our being denied by Him. It is not so much that God is vindictively cutting us off as it is that we are rejecting the gifts He has given us. To receive His gifts, we must put Him first. If we reject them, we cut ourselves off from communion with Him, making it impossible to receive His freely given gifts, since He does not force them upon us.
Christ then goes as far as to say:
“He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”
A misconception of our Lord’s words would be to think that our relationships have no value. Remember, God values us all so much that He sets us apart as His holy ones. Yet the issue arises when we prioritize our relationships with others over our relationship with God. We understand the fullness of our relationships with others through our relationship with God, and we are called to love others as He loves us—not the other way around.
At the core of our relationship with Christ is taking up our Cross, or the struggles we face in life. If Christ took up His Cross to offer us eternal life, then we know we are called to do the same. Yet because Christ took up His Cross, we know we are not alone in our struggles. As we take up our crosses, He bears them with us, and we are called to offer our struggles to Him so that He may transfigure us. All things come through God, and so we know that in all He calls us to do, He is providing for our every need.
Peter then asks our Lord:
“Lo, we have left everything and followed you. What then shall we have?”
To which Christ responds:
“Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man shall sit on His glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or Father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.”
These final words of our Lord are a source of comfort to us, for as we take up the call to be sanctified, He continues to offer us the newness of life that comes with His loving and saving presence. We are part of a new world—or age—with the coming of Christ, meaning that all we experience is being transfigured and renewed. Christ is glorified, revealing that He is truly God, and it is by His authority that all He promises to us will come to pass, filling us with hope and confidence in our eternal future with Him.
In the honor He shares with the Father, we see that we are offered that same honor in His promise that we will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. What this tells us is that we have a role to play in serving as our Lord serves us. Our Lord offers us the whole of Himself, and we, in like manner, are called to offer the whole of ourselves to Him. Service to others becomes the natural result of this life, for in centering our lives on Christ, we become Christ-like, because He is the One giving us all the love and gifts we need to do so.
As we leave everything for our Lord, the promise is that we will receive a hundredfold, meaning that what He offers us is greater than anything we have left behind. In following Christ, we will struggle—remember the Cross. Yet it is in that struggle that we receive the true gifts He is offering us. Such a life may leave us with wounds, yet He is the One transfiguring those wounds in the same way that His wounds were transfigured when He rose from the dead. New life is found in the presence of Christ, and it is this gift that is more valuable than anything we may feel we have lost.
In His final words:
“But many that are first will be last, and the last first.”
We are reminded that if we exalt ourselves, we will be humbled; yet if we truly live a humble life devoted to Christ, we will be first in His presence. Like the thief on the Cross, there is always time for us to prioritize our Lord. In doing so, the gift of standing in the honored place of His eternal, loving, and saving presence becomes our ultimate reward.
All in all, what this Gospel and Feast of All Saints tells us is just how much God values each and every one of us. God loves us so deeply that He offers us everything we need to receive the life He provides in His presence. He sees our separation from Him through sin and defeats sin to offer us a path back to Himself. He sets us apart in honor as His holy ones so that we may prosper in the gifts He offers us. And when we experience loss in this life, He transfigures our wounds to offer us the true gain of life in His presence.
So, for us to be holy, all we need to do is seek our Lord in our lives, making Him our first priority. When we cannot seem to find Him, that does not mean He is absent; it means we need to call out to Him in prayer. Remember:
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.”
Our Lord speaks these words to remind us that He is always there for us, and all we need to do is call upon Him and pursue Him with the whole of our lives in faith.
When we put our Lord first, He gives us all we need to love and serve Him and all those we encounter, for this is our path to His saving presence. Thus, it is our calling to open our hearts to our Lord so that He may continue to offer us all we need for life in His presence. When we do, we will find that He is always there, treating us with the immense value His love bestows upon us and leading us to eternal life in the Kingdom of our Father.
To Him be glory, honor, and worship, now and forever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
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