Preached by Darryl W. Stephens at Lancaster Seminary, October 28, 2020
In this sermon, drawing on Matthew 20:1–16, I depict a rich young man wrestling with existential questions, searching for meaning in Jesus’s parable. The man clearly seeks to know what he must do to inherit eternal life. Tinged with references to “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe, the sermon unfolds as a conversation between the man and Jesus as the man tries to view the shadows of his existence in light of this text. May you also find good news in this encounter!
Let’s start with the ending. “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” . . .