Mark 9:33-36
35 He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’ Verse 35
Jesus and crew are on the move towards Jerusalem but still traveling in northern Israel. They came to Capernaum. Back in Mark Chapter 1, Mark started talking about Jesus in his first report that he told after Jesus chose his disciples. Jesus casted out a demon in Capernaum. Now Jesus enters Capernaum not as a healer but as a teacher headed to the cross and imparting his last thoughts to his followers. We ask ourselves if we are listening.
The followers have been discussing among themselves who will be greatest. They seem to realize that Jesus is trying to teach them about the Kingdom, the KIngdom of Heaven, that they are anticipating but they can only envision it in images of their present earthly kingdom. There will be the great and the less great, the ruler and the oppressed, the rich and the poor, the able and the not so able — all those categories they and we use to categorize people and make ourselves feel good that we are better than “them.” Not only do the followers not understand what he is saying about his approaching death, they do not understand the core of his message. So Jesus confronts them. “What were you arguing about on the road?”
Now there is a question. We argue, we discuss, we take sides on end times, and on the book of Revelation. We want to see ourselves as one of the “good guys”, perhaps not perfect, but at least on the right side of the lines we draw in the sand. Jesus challenges us. The first shall be last. He calls for a little child.
37 ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’
Are we listening? There are two words to ponder today, childlikeness and welcoming. As I ask God to shine his flashlight on my soul during Lent, my prayer for today would be that he reveal any attitudes of superiority that might be marring my relationships and to pray that I would be a welcoming presence this Lent. Welcome: W is for _____, E is for _____, L is for _____, C is for _____, O is for _____, M is for _____, and E is for _____. Blessings as you listen.
On the Way to Wonder 