G.O.A.T.
Mark 9:30-41
How would you like to be the greatest of all time?
Photo by Thomas Dumortier on Unsplash
They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again." But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him. Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me." John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us." But Jesus said, "Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward. - Mark 9:30-41
Whoever wants to be first of all must be last of all and a servant of all.
Greatness in Jesus' upside-down kingdom is not what we expect or value.
The disciples didn't understand how it works in God's kingdom. They were arguing over who is the greatest among them. What was that about?
I would think that they would see Jesus as the greatest among them, and all of them would be lower than he.
But Jesus placed himself at the bottom of the list, not at the top.
I remember when I was studying to be a deacon, the bishop said to me, We clergy are servants of the people. They are on top and we are below. And among the clergy, the priests and deacons are above the bishops.
I never forgot that.
Jesus makes this point with the child. Our job is to welcome that child as we would if it was Jesus himself.
What we do for one another, we do for him.
It is easy to see oneself as special, above others, great. But greatness is not the goal. It is a highly subjective title.
Who do you think of as great? How did they see themselves? Did they focus on the number of hits they got or the number of strikeouts?
The message Jesus gives his disciples at the end of the reading is the most powerful one for us today. It tells all the dedicated followers of Christ, the ones who call themselves Christians, that one doesn't need to be a follower to be doing the work of God through Jesus.
I think about that whenever I encounter someone who says they don't participate in the faith.
They don't have to go to church to do the work of Jesus. They may not see themselves as followers, but if they are helping others in Jesus' name, they are being good and faithful servants.
Imagine that.
More to come...