(a visit from James, the brother of John - one of the twelve)
(entering from the back)
What the heck did he
mean saying that kid is greater than the rest of us … this is all Peter’s
fault. He ALWAYS has to be the big shot, the important one.
He’s the first to
answer questions when Jesus asks, even when he is usually wrong he still blurts
out his answer … he’s such a jerk
It was Peter who
started that argument, insisting he was the most important among us.
“Hey James,” he said,
“Who do you think is the most important among us?”
And I had to answer
him. I suppose I should have just played his game and said “Me”. But no, I have
to say “Oh I think it’s Judas …”
That just set Peter
off, then he starts ranting about how HE is the most important, and how Jesus
tells HIM the most important things first.
I really shouldn’t
have said anything about the whole stumbling block episode – that just got him
really fired up … then he wouldn’t calm down even when John and Andrew told him
to … had to keep going on about how important he was, and how Jesus trusts him
more than the rest of us and he is the leader even if Jesus didn’t say it yet …
It was like a bunch
of kids … then Jesus asks what we were arguing about, and Peter goes and tells
him …
Man, I can’t believe
that … Peter tells him that we were arguing over who was the greatest among us
… and Jesus just smiles and shakes his head.
But I really don’t
get what Jesus meant with his answer … the being a slave and serving others I
get, afterall, that’s what we’ve been doing all along. Looking out for the
poor, making sure they have bread. Caring for the broken and lonely. We’ve been
doing that.
But what did Jesus
mean when he took that little girl and said ‘when you welcome even a child you
welcome me …” What did that mean?
I guess he was
telling Peter that a child was greater than he is.
But I think he was
saying more than that … wasn’t he?
(pause)
I wonder … I wonder
if what Jesus meant was for us to consider how helpless a child really is.
A child needs us to
look out for him. A child needs us to look after her. A child needs the adult
to provide for them … food, clothing, love, care – ALL of it. Without the
adult, a child would perish.
Yet, a child doesn’t
really give us anything in return do they?
They don’t have
power, or wealth, or influence.
They simply are …
What if that is what
Jesus meant?
What if he wanted us
to remember the most vulnerable people … children, the widows, the poor, the
disabled … those who can’t really give us anything in return, and we need to
look out for and look after THEM?
I wonder … in our
world, we are all about power, and wealth, and influence and prestige … but
children have none of that. Could that be what Jesus meant?
Which one of us is
the greatest?
Maybe the greatest
among us is the one who doesn’t strive for the power and privilege and the
influence … the one who doesn’t try to be top dog, but instead makes sure the
folks far from the power and influence are looked after …
What was it Jesus
said … just as you have done it for one of these who are least of my sisters
and brothers, you have done it for me …
Could that kid be
what he’s talking about?
It’s kind of like
that little boy back on the hillside above Caperneum. That one who heard we
were trying to feed ALL those people gathered to listen to Jesus, and that
little kid pulled out his lunch and said “It’s not much but I can share what I
have …”
Twelve baskets of
left overs from a couple of dry crusts of bread and a bit of fish … and a good
breeze would have blown that kid off his feet, yet look what he pulled off! He
stepped up and offered his lunch … yeah, and I remember Peter laughing at the
little boy standing there – “How can we feed ALL these people with that?” Peter
said.
Then Jesus scolded
Peter … huh … how can Peter even claim to be the greatest when he is the one
constantly being scolded by Jesus …
But that little boy.
He stood there in front of us holding out the measly loves of bread and the
dried fish and Jesus smiled and thanked him, then holding the boy’s hands and
his lunch said a prayer of thanks and then started sharing the food … and
dozens and dozens of people were fed that day.
Oh, sure it was
likely the case that everyone had lunches and they pulled them out when they
saw that a little kid offered his – but still it WAS a miracle. Because of that
little boy ALL those people were fed …
That wouldn’t be the
kind of leadership and greatness Jesus is talking about would it?
Being like a child …
accepting everyone … looking after everyone … just having a good heart without
judgement … without all the nonsense … offering what we have when it is needed
and not worrying about getting something in return … just being thoughtful,
caring and kind … living all these ideas Jesus keeps talking about and not
worrying about things like power, prestige, influence or even money … just
trusting in God to look out for us …
Jesus wouldn’t mean
THAT would he?
(pause)
I guess we know that
Peter may not be the greatest after all … maybe that little boy in Caperneum,
who shared his lunch is greater than all of us … maybe Jesus smiled because he
just knew that we’d figure it out one day …
(remove cloak - step out of character)
Often in the Church, to say nothing of the world in
which we live, we value our place in society by the wealth and property we
accumulate, by the job we hold, by the titles and influence we carry, and by
the connections we make and that’s okay so long as we don’t make it our sole
motivation in life – the thing we strive for constantly, or how we measure our
value as people. The question we need to face and reflect on is simply this: what
if, by faith, we are called to something different, something more?
What if, we are being challenged to see the world in a
slightly different way.
Instead of going out into our day, seeking to be the
greatest, what if we went out into our day seeking to serve those on the
margins, and to ensure this radical ideal of ‘All Welcome’ and the inclusivity
it offers, is extended to EVERYONE, not just the select few we are comfortable
with?
This past week, the Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto
released a study on the increased demands being placed upon them for food
support … our local food bank has been adding new families every month … ALL
around us are the signs that we are in the midst of tough economic and social
times … what if our call to faith is not about casting our lots with the
powerful and well-connected, but daring to step up and speak out about the
struggles our family, our friends, our neighbours and our community are having
…
This is the moment in time when we begin to live the
ideas offered by our Moderator The Rt Rev. Gary Paterson, who said in his
pastoral letter this past week:
You
see, I believe there are two key narratives that we need to focus on. First, we
know we are living in exile, in Babylon, and there's no going back to the
"good old days." We probably need to do a bit more lamenting—but then
we have to figure out how to live in Babylon, how to sing the Lord's song in a
new way, seeking the welfare of the city, the town, or the village in which we
find ourselves.
Which brings me to the second half of the story: right
across the country, new and exciting ministries are already happening. And why should this surprise us, we who are
rooted in a story of crucifixion and resurrection? Communities of faith—some
experimental, some small, some a bit larger—are exploring new ways of
worshipping, witnessing, and serving, though perhaps initially seeming as
strange and unrecognizable as the risen Christ was to his first followers. This
is Diana Butler Bass territory of deepened spiritual practices and communities
rooted in prayer and hospitality.
The word used in the Greek for Child in our reading
from Mark is the same word as “servant” used in Isaiah 53 – the Suffering
Servant passage … this is no mere coincidence. We begin in prayer and we move
to hospitality for ALL …
In the face of a world that is increasingly divisive
and confrontational, we are being called BY FAITH, to welcome in the child –
the servant – those at the margins: the poor, the hungry, the disenfranchised,
the AIDS patient, the homeless wanderer, the grubby panhandler, the immigrant,
the First Nations activist, the tattooed teenager, the gangbanger … we are
called to welcome them as children of God, and to humbly care for them …
What if we are being called to care for those in need
through prayer, through action, through daring to live our faith without
striving to be the greatest, but striving to simply, humbly, quietly and
lovingly, live our faith and show it through our actions?
The world is a hard and cold place … and it needs the
caring ministry of love that we can offer that is grounded in faith … we are
called to care for the children, the servants, - those on the margins …
May it be so – thanks
be to God … Let us pray …
No comments:
Post a Comment