Pentecost 18B, 2024

18th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Brothers and sisters in Christ: grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

In our Gospel reading this morning, Mark tells the story of Jesus traveling through his home area of Galilee with his disciples. He’s trying to keep his travels quiet so as not to gather a crowd, because he’s very focused on teaching his disciples something very important - he’s telling them about what’s going to happen to him when he arrives in Jerusalem. This is the event that Christian tradition calls “the Passion of Christ” - the story of Jesus’ arrest, torture, and death. Arrested by his fellow Jews, then handed over to the Romans to do the dirty work. And on a Roman cross, Jesus would die, and then after three days he would rise again.

We know this story because it’s the most important event in the history of the world, and we talk about it in some way almost every week. Many of us wear a cross around our necks to remind us of the great sacrifice that Jesus committed for our sake. His death and resurrection are the reason we are here this morning. What he’s teaching his followers in these 3 verses is the Gospel in its simplest form. But to these people - who had been following Jesus and sitting at his very feet to be taught by him - this was not something they were able to understand. And it’s very likely they did not want to understand. Their teacher and friend is telling them that he’s going to die, and then three days later rise from the dead. Both of these statements are unbelievable to them. Even coming from the man who has performed amazing miracles in front of them… this statement is very hard for them to believe.

But just as troubling is the next statement: “…and [they] were afraid to ask him.” Other times in the Gospels the disciples will simply ask Jesus to explain what he means. Not so this time. Now they keep their mouths shut and do not ask. Up to this point in the story, any mention of Jesus’ death has been met with rejection or it has been misunderstood. The disciples still cannot grasp this idea. They don’t understand that Jesus’ death is necessary. Of course, they may also be thinking that if Jesus is going to die, they likely will also. That’s not a conversation they want to spend a lot of time on.

Their journey continues, but then there is an argument among the twelve, as they try to figure out between them who will be the greatest. Although Mark doesn’t give us much detail, we know from the other Gospel accounts that they are talking about being the greatest in the new Kingdom of God when it comes. I find it more than a little curious that they immediately went silent when Jesus asked them about their conversation. I guess they figured if they didn’t tell him, he wouldn’t know what they had said… how amusing. As if he didn’t know everything about their conversation before he asked the question. But no, if we don’t tell Jesus about it, he won’t know.

As with a great many topics, Jesus makes it clear that they’re still thinking about things the way the world thinks about them, not the way God thinks about them. Just in the previous chapter, Jesus had rebuked Peter for this: “...you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” [Mk 8:33] This is a lesson that’s going to take a while to sink in, apparently.

Once they arrive at Capernaum and arrive at the house where they were staying, it’s teaching time again. He wants the twelve to hear and learn this lesson: “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” [Mk 9:35] This is not how the world thinks. All around us people are vying for position, fame, wealth, and power. The methods of 2024 to achieve these things might be different, but the goal is the same. You know exactly what this is when you’re driving and it’s time to merge or there’s a lane closure. There’s no taking turns or letting another driver in - everyone is trying to get as far ahead in the line as they can. It’s a very visual representation of how the world thinks.

This is something we see Jesus teach on several occasions: the importance of humility. Again, not a virtue common in modern society. Jesus is telling them that if they want to be first among these disciples, they must “humbly put all the others ahead of [themselves] and be happy to take the last place of all.” [Lenski, 391] Although this will require effort on their part, this can be achieved by all of them. Again, how different is this from the world? The world would tell you that only one can be “first”. Ricky Bobby said it best: “If you ain’t first, you’re last.” That’s how the world views it. But Jesus turns these ideas completely upside down.

Jesus decides to use a visual aid of his own. He brings in a child. In their culture, children were at the very bottom of the societal ladder. Parents were encouraged to have many children, because of the high mortality rate. Children were not part of the conversation when you were talking about greatness. But Jesus tells them that they are to welcome a child as though the child were Jesus himself. Jesus taught this principle before also, when he taught about the sheep and the goats, he declared that “those who have shown compassion to the “least” of his brothers and sisters have in fact shown compassion to him (Matt. 25:31–46).” [Hare, Westminster Bible Companion, p. 113]

Jesus concludes by reminding them that to receive Jesus is to receive God Himself. This drives home the lesson that Jesus is not simply their teacher, but he is the Son of God in the flesh. In Jewish law, “‘a man’s representative is as the man himself.’ According to this rule, a duly authorized representative could negotiate a contract, even a marriage, on behalf of the one who sent him. This is the first [time] in Mark’s Gospel in which Jesus clearly identifies himself as God’s authorized representative.... Whoever despises Jesus rejects God who sent him. [On the other hand], those who welcome Jesus, that is, receive him into their hearts and homes, ‘receive’ God; they acknowledge his rightful [lordship over them] as proclaimed by Jesus.” [ibid., 113–114]

There are two things we should take away from this passage this morning. First is that we must think differently from the world. This should be abundantly clear to every Christian in this election season. The world’s way of thinking is perverse and destructive. It is decidedly anti-Christian and anti-God. We can’t allow ourselves to think like that. It would be, at the very least, counter-productive to our faith journey. We should be trying to think more like Jesus, not less.

The second take-away is about how we treat those who are less fortunate than us… but especially how we treat children. That was not just a metaphor Jesus was using to teach his disciples… that was an example. Jesus received children with open arms and welcomed them into his loving embrace. We must not forget our children when we are talking about matters of God’s Kingdom. Certainly we are blessed this morning to be welcoming three children into God’s family. Jesus welcomes them with open arms today, just as he has done for all of us who have been Baptized into his family. As the parents of these little ones make promises to them, we will join them in making our own promises - to support this family as they raise these children in faith. This is a good reminder to all of us that for each Baptized child in our family, we have made these same promises, and I hope that this reminder today will strengthen that promise for all of us.

But above all, it is a reminder of the promise that Jesus has made to us in Baptism, that he has welcomed all of us into his family in Holy Baptism, and in Baptism we are joined to him, so that his death and resurrection can achieve the greatest promise of all - the promise of eternal life - our very salvation. Let’s all reflect deeply on that as we celebrate this wonderful day for these three young ones.

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.