BEGINNING WITH THE LEAST OF THESE | Danny Song, Class of 2010
Or, beginning with the FIRSTS of the Kingdom...
“Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne… many who are first will be last, and the last first.” Matthew 19:30
“So the last will be first, and the first last.” Matthew 20:16
“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me… as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’” Matthew 25:40-45
It’s that last passage that convicts my spirit the most. Jesus identifies himself not for but with and as the least of these.
When I first joined the MTR (back in the days of UAB, Selection Weekends at SOS, “Mondays with Memphians”, BCE, and the Rare Opportunities of Georgian Woods, I thought I was being the Christ figure in this story. I thought (wrongly) that I was coming to do the saving.
Within the first week of my residency placement at Booker T. Washington High School, I realized how wrong I was.
I’m not here to be Jesus for someone else. I’m here to literally serve Jesus. My students and their families are the Christ figures. I am his servant here to serve Jesus. Christ in me sees Christ in them, and we serve one another.
If we believe in the Thy Kingdom come of the Lord Jesus Christ, how could we not start with the least served of the world? It is our privilege, our honor, and our calling to serve the Lord Jesus Christ - through public education - by serving the children and families Hebrews says “of whom the world was not worthy.” (Hebrews 11)
Our world rejected its maker, and therefore it rejects his likeness. We must put on the right lenses to see our children and our families as our maker and savior sees them - and teach, serve, listen, care, and respect accordingly.
To close by going back to the gospel according to Matthew (once a Jewish tax collector), as we approach our work, as we see the injustice ravaged across those who bear the likeness of our God and King, as we are tempted to despair, and as we long for the day Jesus will bring his Kingdom on earth to welcome our students as the Firsts in his Kingdom, our savior sees us, too. “But Jesus looked at them (us) and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26.
“For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.”
-Isaiah 44:3
The classroom at times felt like a dry and thirsty ground. In these moments I reminded myself that God has struck the Rock and has brought forth his Living Water. This is the Spirit which nourishes the soul, which motivates and empowers us to continue returning to the well.
Danny Song, Class of 2010
