I remember when growing up that our family always rooted for the underdog team when we watched a ball game. We liked it when the weaker team turned the tables on their stronger opponent. Part of the reason for our preferring the underdog is that we were at the poorer end of the economic ladder. We were among society’s underdogs. So, in a way, we were pulling for ourselves.
It makes we wonder which teams God pulls for? In reading today’s gospel story (Matthew 21:28-32) I think God is like my family—he favors the underdogs. Jesus asked the chief priests and the elders this question:
“What is your opinion?”
He went on to tell the story of a man with two sons. One said “yes” to working in the vineyard, but didn’t follow through. The second son said “no,” and then changed his mind and went out to work. Which one pleased the father?
This was a no brainer for the chief priests and elders. They had to admit that the “doer” not the “talker” pleased the father. Then Jesus lowered the boom:
“Amen I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom of God before you. When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did.”
Those who talked about the law did not submit to the grace that God was sending his people through John. Those who did not measure up to the Law, however, accepted John’s message and received God’s mercy. Those who were categorized as “sinners,” who were designated to the bottom rung of the ladder, were the “winners” in Jesus’ story. God was on the side of the underdogs.
Jesus knew what it was like to be an “underdog.” He grew up as a poor person; his mother was rejected because of her pre-marital pregnancy, and, like a sinner, he joined the tax collectors and prostitutes in entering the waters of the Jordan to be baptized. And from the outset of his ministry he was looked down upon by the official religious leaders of the day. He didn’t fit their expectations as an acceptable teacher—after all, he even ate with tax collectors and prostitutes.
Yet, it was the sinners who “won the game”—they entered the Kingdom first!
The prophet Zechariah talked about a day when the rebellious people would be punished (Zechariah 3:1-2,9-13).
“For then will I remove from your midst the proud braggarts…But I will leave in our midst a people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in the name of the Lord—the remnant of Israel.”
The lowly remnant would win; the proud braggarts would lose.”
And in Psalm 34 (19-23) we read:
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.”
Jesus continued to preach about God’s mercy. When we get too focused on religious observances and being better “law keepers” than others, we forget that we are sinners—and thus close ourselves to the infinite flow of God’s merciful love. He is looking for people who are broken and are willing to receive His mercy—and if this is just a humble remnant, that’s fine with Him.
“When the poor one called out, the Lord heard and from all his distress he saved him” (Ps 34:7).
