Who is the Greatest?
Mark 9.
30-37
What would
you do if you knew that you only had a week to live? Assuming you were fit and
healthy, that is. If you had full health, and freedom of movement, what would
you do with your last few days on earth?
It's a
puzzle isn't it?
If it was
me, I'd probably want to spend time with the family that I hardly ever see -
because they are scattered around the country. Or I'd want to do something
really bonkers - like sky-diving. Perhaps I'd go on that trip to Egypt that
I've always promised myself. Who knows?
What about
you? What would you do?
Of course,
this is all very theoretical. None of us really knows when we are going to die.
But that wasn't the case for Jesus. He knew that his journey towards Jerusalem
was going to result in his death...and he had to decide what he was going to do
with his final days.
He could
have gone sight-seeing. Perhaps he could have had a mega-party with all his
friends and followers. Being God-on-Earth, he could have held mighty rallies,
and shown mighty acts of power to wow the crowd.
But no.
Instead, Jesus chooses to spend some of his last days on earth teaching his
followers about what it really means to be a disciple. He teaches them about
two vital things. Two things that are so important, that he takes his disciples
aside to make sure they've got the message. Those two things are:
First, the vital importance of humility,
and
Second, a command to reach out to the weakest
members of society.
When they
arrive at a stop-over in Capernaum, Jesus turns to his followers and asks them
"What were you arguing about on the road?" (v. 33). "But they
kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest"
(v.34)
Mark adds a
nice little detail now. He says; "Sitting down, Jesus called the twelve
and said...". Sitting down was what a Rabbi did when they were teaching
their disciples. Sitting down was a sign that serious teaching was about to
take place. When a Rabbi sits down, you take notice. Now what it is that Jesus
wanted his disciples to take notice of? He says to them...
"If
anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of
all".
It's the
topsy-turvey Kingdom of God again, isn't it? Time and time again, Jesus turns
the world upside down - away from people having power over people. Instead, he
says that real power is found in service.
The notion
of service is absolutely central to the Gospel. Jesus teaches us that it is in
serving others that we find the real purpose of life. Rather than being a
sacrifice, in fact we find that when we serve one another, there is a kind of
freedom, and a kind of joy, that infects us. This is an essential part of what
it means to be a follower of Jesus.
Before he
died, one of his most significant acts was to wash his disciples' feet. Just
imagine that. Smelly, dirty feet. Covered in camel dung. That was a job that
usually got done by the lowest member of the household - a slave, or a child.
It was certainly not a job that was done by the master of the house.
A member of
our Thursday congregation, the theologian Martin Mosse, actually argues that we
should take this washing of feet idea much more seriously. His thought is that if, instead of
celebrating the Eucharist, we washed each other’s feet, we would open up whole
new levels of understanding about what it means to be one of Christ’s
followers. It’s a fascinating thought,
isn’t it?
Ask anyone
who works in our charity shop, or who stewards for our visitors during the day
in church. Ask them how they feel when
one of their regulars, perhaps an elderly widow who lives on her own, comes in
for some warmth, a smile, and a chat. Ask one of our pastoral visitors how they feel
when they leave the home of a housebound parishioner. Do they feel that they have wasted an hour of
their life? Or do they feel as blessed
by the encounter as the housebound person now feels?
The fact is
that the church of God, and the work of God, exists entirely on the voluntary
service of its members. Without that sense of service...we could not be here.
Without the gifts of time that you give, this church would have closed years
ago...and with it would have gone all the good that we are able to do in this
community.
But Jesus'
message in today's gospel was not only about service. After making his great
statement that those who would be great must be the servant of all, he
"took a little child, and had him stand among them"(v.36). Taking
that child in his arms, he said to his disciples, "Whoever welcomes one of
these little children in my name welcomes me".
Why did he
do this? What's so special about children? Well that's a question you hardly
need to ask if you are a parent, or now, (in Clare’s case) a grandmother! But, in Jesus day, children were treated
rather differently. Children didn't have any of the rights that children have
today. There was no 'criminal records bureau' protecting them. There was no
state education. There was no right to free medical treatment. There was no
protection in law against exploitation and child labour. Did you know that in some circumstances, it
was even legal for a father to kill his child!
So children
were essentially treated as goods and cheap labour...even slave labour. They
were the least powerful members of society. They couldn't change anything.
There were no school councils asking for their opinion. There were no youth
workers and teachers who tried to help them develop as whole human beings.
Jesus didn't
take that child into his arms because he was sentimental about kids. He picked
up that child to show that he, Jesus, was on the side of the poorest, the most
dis-possessed, the most abused and sometimes despised members of society.
And so that
was his message, that day, in the house in Capernaum. Anyone who wants to be
considered great in God's kingdom must be the servant of all...and especially a
servant to the poorest and most outcast in any society. We are called to bless
and serve the poor...not only for the sake of the poor, though that would be a
good enough reason. But for our sake too. As we bless others, whether it is
with gifts of money or of time, we will ourselves find blessing.
So finally,
may you discover the liberation that comes from service. And may you discover
the joy of taking the lowest, poorest, most struggling members of our society
into your arms - and blessing them. Amen