They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered over to human hands. He will be killed and after three days he will rise. But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.
They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who had been the greatest.
Sitting down Jesus called the Twelve and said, "Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all."
He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one of these little ones in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."
Mark 9:30-37
If you were in the service this past Sunday you heard this Mark 9 text followed by Ian MacLaren's excellent words of exhortation regarding our Christian duty to love our neighbours and care for those in need. I attended the 8 am service and as this scripture was being read a friend began to laugh out loud as she thought about those bickering disciples. You can picture it can't you?
"Listen up," John says, "I know I am right about this. I am the one who knows the Lord best, he always chooses me to help him out." Peter objects, "well if you know him so well how come you were so slow to identify Him as the Messiah, I believe I was the only one to speak that out." "Ya, Peter, of course you said it. You are always the first to speak BUT we ALL thought it," Andrew retorts impatiently. "Does being chosen to "help out" or being the first one to speak make you better than the rest of us?" The conversation on the road to Capernaum was rapidly deteriorating as disciples argued about who was the greatest.
My friend laughed because this conversation is foolish and immature and decidedly human. It is what we discover as sibling rivalry in our homes, what we see in the classroom every day as children elbow, push, whine and jockey to be first. This incessant striving, this dogged self determination, this me-first attitude is not our childishness however, it is our human nature in full view. This story from Mark isn't about school children after all, it is about grown men wanting to assert themselves and establish dominance over one another. This is our story too and while it does produce some measure of greatness it often leaves a trail of devastation in its wake. To enter the competition for greatness in the world you have to be willing to sacrifice relationships, putting yourself and your ambition ahead of everything else. We offer up endless praise to people who do this; we tell stories of their self discipline and sacrifice and courage. The stories about the people who were used along the way, the rules that were bent and the cost of cut throat competition on one's soul is a lesser told story, but we know it too. Jesus words expose our strivings, our desires and reveal a deeper truth about God and his Kingdom.
Sitting down Jesus called the Twelve and said, "Anyone who wants to be first in my Kingdom must be the very last and the servant of all." The ways and means of greatness on earth are not the ways and means of greatness in God's kingdom.
It is not our way to look first to serve others. It is not our way to give up our positions of preference or power. Most often we look to others to serve our needs so that we can be first, not last. We wonder what someone else might have to offer us, whether it is social capital, time, help, access to something we want. Take a moment to think about how this is true in your life. Have you ever pursued a relationship with someone because the relationship helped you to get something you wanted, not because you were first interested in the friendship of the other person? Perhaps you have you been on the receiving end of this? Remember the palpable panic in your university classes when group projects were assigned and everyone clamoured to claim 'the great ones' who would be the key to the good grade? Or the time when you skillfully identified the one neighbour or school mom or colleague who seemed to unlock a whole social world for you. This is all wrapped up in what Jesus is talking about, positioning ourselves for 'greatness' - using people for our own ends instead of serving people towards the end of loving our neighbours and loving God.
Jesus envisions an entirely different way of being. Looking around he picked up up a small child from amongst them and said, "whoever welcomes one of these little ones in my name, welcomes me and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me." Jesus' love for children is clear but he wasn't speaking exclusively about welcoming children. In this text and later on in chapter 9 Jesus is speaking of the child as a disciple/servant. He is exhorting the disciples to become like children who have no basis of pretensions to greatness. The small child in this story becomes an example of discipleship. Therefore to receive a child (a disciple of Christ sent by Him) is the equivalent of receiving Jesus. To the disciples Jesus says, whoever receives you, receives me and the Father who sent me.
As followers he calls us to to give up our spots (our privilege/our greatness) at the front of the line by way of serving and loving others in a child-like way, not seeking after greatness but serving with a pure heart. Jesus imbues this call to the servant life with the utmost dignity by telling the disciples that anyone who welcomes you, welcomes me. This is holy work.
Like the disciples it is easy for us to find ourselves jealous, bickering, striving for greatness by the world's standard. Jesus wants to counter that tendency in us by always keeping before us the goal of loving service of others. Could it be that serving one another in love is the antidote to endless striving and competition? What does service look like for us and for the children? How does loving service change our homes, our schools, the playground, our work places?
Can you think of people who exemplify this life of love and sacrifice for others? Tell these stories to the children this week. Our leaflets and learning materials may tell stories of Mother Theresa and other well known disciples and while these are worthwhile stories to tell, they can sometimes end up being about greatness in their own way. I am sure Mother Theresa herself would rather you told stories of ordinary people in your life who model Christian discipleship.
If you are looking for a story to tell illustrating what the fruits of comparing, competing and posturing can produce in our lives, I have two: Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss and The Pain and The Great One by Judy Blume. Let me know if you are interested in either of these stories.
May we in our own lives become like little children who are not concerned about greatness; may our service keep us humble and grateful and may we encounter Christ as we follow him in this way.
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