[FROM NOW ON, from the movie GREATEST SHOWMAN]
Sing [slowly and meditatively]
From now on, These eyes will not be blinded by the lights. From now on, What's waited till tomorrow starts tonight, Tonight. Let this promise in me start. Like an anthem in my heart. From now on, From now on
That’s the refrain from a song from the musical GREATEST SHOWMAN. It came out two years ago and stars Hugh Jackman as PT Barnum. The power of the song states that things can be different, not next week, not next year . . . but from now on.
The song goes into a refrain that say, “And we shall come back home.” Home to what? Well I think many of us want the world to return to an age of innocence. A time when the world was at peace, when politicians weren’t yelling at each other, that the church had no problems, that families all got along. And I think that we have so many problems in the world, so many arguments is that many of us want to return to the age of innocence. Well, I’ve got to tell you that that kind of innocence NEVER occurred. There was never a time when things went smoothly, or that people agreed. It didn’t exist.
Jesus begins that gospel today, by proclaiming what we can look forward to . . . he announces what the kingdom of Heaven is like. And we think, “Oh boy, this is good.” But then he goes into this weird story of people working just a few hours get the same pay and recognition as those hard at it all day. Hence, it doesn’t seem. And we want things to be fair, just like we want everything to go back to the good ole days, when everything was fair.
Remember, it’s a parable, Jesus made up the story to teach a deeper truth. And the first reading gives us a clue to what we wanted to teach. In the first reading, we hear from Isaiah the profound passage that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, that God’s ways are not our ways. Jesus tells us, through the parable, that God is hugely merciful. Or as the psalm said, “That God is compassionate, slow to anger and of great kindness.”
And maybe that’s what we need to “come back home” to. That God’s love and mercy is extended to those we don’t think are deserving. But that doesn’t exclude us! We, who have been laboring at this all day, are still part of God’s mercy, God’s compassion.
Like the GREATEST SHOWMAN movie, that the most unlikely characters are included and even become the stars of the circus; so it is with us, the ones we think shouldn’t be treated equally, because of what they look like or act like are the very ones that God welcomes.
Maybe today is your day, to set aside the blinders that say some people don’t get to share in God’s bountiful mercy because of their race, or orientation, or belief. Maybe it’s time for you to come back home to what God intends for the kingdom to be. Maybe you’ve been mis-lead or mistaken that the rewards of God’s love are ONLY for these kind of people. Maybe it starts today, starts tonight for you to stop thinking that you know what’s best for the world, or for others. Maybe the promise that God gives that all are created equal, that all are loved NOT for what they do but for who they are. May we be a church that is known for who we include and not for we exclude. From now on, may we all feel welcomed!
[Sing]
From now on, these eyes will not be blinded by the lights. From now on. What's waited till tomorrow starts tonight. Tonight. Let this promise in me start. Like an anthem in my heart. From now on
From now on.