Pastor Tom Johnson, September 19, 2021
In our reading from Mark, Jesus shares his humble, selfless, and sacrificial mission. He will be betrayed, killed, and three days later will rise again. They do not understand and they are too afraid to ask for more of an explanation. Just after this, the disciples argue just out of earshot of Jesus. Jesus asks what they are arguing about. The disciples are silent—perhaps because they are so surprised Jesus calls them out or they are too ashamed to fess up. Jesus knows the answer to his own question: they were arguing about who is the greatest among them. Jesus sits down and calls his disciples to come and listen. Sitting down is a cue. He is signaling the need to not stand proud and tall but to humbly come down to the level of a child—not to be childish but to be child-like and humble.
The greatest are those we esteem or value the most—in this case, ourselves. In an article in Psychology Today, research says Americans are number one—number one in thinking we are number one. We live in a culture that encourages grandiose ideas about ourselves—that we are the first, the best, and the greatest. Of course, this is not an American problem; this is a human problem. But it does seem to be a growing problem. Perhaps it is because we are so individualistic. If we are too preoccupied with ourselves, our self-centeredness will keep us from thinking of our neighbor and stunt our growth in empathy and compassion. It is actually because of the disciples' deep sense of insecurity that they feel they must argue their way to greatness. And so it is for us. Self-aggrandizement is not only ugly, it is rooted in our desperation for attention and validation. As the actor Norman Reedus recently said, “The dog that barks the loudest is most afraid.”
The Scripture addressed this problem thousands of years ago. Proverbs 26:12 says, “Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them.” Proverbs 27:2 says, “Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.” Psalm 10:4 says, “In their pride the wicked do not seek the Lord; in all their thoughts there is no room for God.” Proverbs 11:2 says, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” There is nothing new under the sun, indeed.
Jesus asks us to consider what you and I argue about. Why are we so prone to competition? Whom are we trying to impress? If we succeed at impressing others and even ourselves, the Word of God is clear that we have only temporarily fooled others and fooled ourselves. So Jesus sits down. The eternal Son of God comes down from heaven to earth. The Word takes on our humanity and is born a little child. He leaves his glorious throne and begins his earthly reign in a feeding trough. Jesus sits down. His posture alone preaches. He could have stood taller and beaten down their pride with words like a sledgehammer. Instead he sits down and says, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” This is in keeping with what Jesus says just a chapter later in Mark 10:45: “For the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and give his life a ransom for many.”
Then Jesus takes a little child into his arms. The word for child here is neuter. Mark does not tell us if the little child is male or female. That is why the translators use the pronoun “it” which in English may sound dehumanizing. But that is quite the opposite of what Jesus does. He brings the little child profound dignity Jesus sits down. He goes to the level of a little child. The child does not receive his or her worth from their stature, gender, or role in society. The child is deeply loved by Jesus. The child is invisible until Jesus brings attention to her or him. He takes the child into his arms. The child deserves loving and protective arms around him or her because the child bears the image of Christ and the image of God. “Those who welcome one such child,” Jesus says, “welcomes me and the one who sent me.”
This is the sure antidote to our grandiosity, competitiveness, self-aggrandizement, self-centeredness and pride—to take our eyes off ourselves and see the image and love of Christ imprinted into the little ones around us. They are not invisible to God. They are deeply loved and valued even without an impressive curriculum vitae, résumé, or entry into Who’s Who. Jesus masterfully redirects our attention away from ourselves to the little ones around us. He wants us to return our love to him and to God the Father by cherishing and loving the little ones around us. That is the fulfillment of the command to love God with our whole being and our neighbor as Christ loved us.
Jesus has set little ones all around us. We are those little ones. He gathers us up by his Word and Spirit. He takes us up into his strong arms of forgiveness, protection, and love. Jesus becomes the Servant of all. He selflessly and sacrificially yields his life to us on the Cross to gather us up into his loving and eternal arms of mercy. The debate over who is the greatest is over. Greatness has been declared from the Master who humbly takes his seat on the earth. Greatness has been accomplished through the Shepherd who lays his life down for the sheep. It’s not our greatness but the greatness of his love which he selflessly and sacrificially lavishes upon us.
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