For Sunday, September 20, 2015 – Mark 9:30-37
Jesus continues to teach his disciples quite openly about his coming betrayal and death and rising again, even though they do not really understand what he is saying and are afraid to ask. They would prefer to argue among themselves about which of them is the greatest — who is God’s favorite, who will one day deserve the most honor — than to fully show up here and now with Jesus. Yes, this is how we are. When we’re not wild about the way things are going, we escape into illusion, fantasizing about our lives rather than living them.
Jesus knows what they are imagining, and he says if you really want to be honored, it’s simpler than you know. Any one of you can earn first place. All that is required is to be the last. The most honored position is that of servant. Find someone who is most often overlooked, like this child perhaps, and welcome her. It will be the same as welcoming me.
Two sculptures of Jesus sit on our street in front of two ministry sites. One is of him teaching, and the other shows him kneeling to wash feet. Each Jesus is very approachable, and people interact with him as they might a friend. From the third floor window I see people greet him, pat his arm and hug his shoulders, calling out, “Amigo!” Sometimes they put a soft drink in his hands on a muggy afternoon or put a stocking cap and scarf on him when winter winds blow.
The sculptor, Jimilu Mason, hoped we would be drawn into such interactions with him. She says one of her favorite memories is asking a child, who had climbed up on his shoulders, “Do you know whose shoulders you’re standing on?” He shook his head, and when she smiled and whispered, “It’s Jesus,” his eyes grew wide and he scrambled down. Looking now with wonder into the sculpture’s face, he said, “Meant no harm, sir.”
We disciples mean Jesus no harm, but we are not always sure how to interact with him. If only we could welcome back into our lives the curiosity and adventurous spirit of a child, the ability to act and speak from the heart, we might understand better and be able to follow him more closely.
