The Gospel of Mark 9:30-37 Jesus and his disciples passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, You taught us that true greatness comes from serving others. Help us to embrace humility and to serve those around us with love and compassion. May we always seek to uplift others rather than ourselves. Amen.
This passage from Mark offers several key insights into the believes and life of Jesus. Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection: Jesus tells His disciples that He will be betrayed, killed, and rise again after three days. This prediction highlights the central theme of Jesus’ mission and the ultimate sacrifice He is willing to make for humanity.Despite Jesus’ clear message, the disciples do not understand and are afraid to ask Him about it. This reflects a recurring theme in the Gospel of Mark, where the disciples often struggle to grasp the full meaning of Jesus’ teachings. Even when Jesus speaks plainly, the disciples do not understand. There is such a great gulf between their expectations and Jesus’ predictions that they are afraid even to ask for clarification. They do not want to reveal their ignorance. When the disciples heard Jesus say things they didn’t like or didn’t understand they seemed to simply reason it away. Their immediate reaction is simply to shrink back into awkward silence. No probing questions to gain understanding. Just fear of answers Jesus might give, which would turn their world upside down; disrupt their plans; disrupt their expectations of how their messiah would win victory. After their initial silence, the disciples’ reaction to the most important news to hit humanity, is to start arguing amongst themselves about who is the greatest. While the disciples argue about who among them is the greatest, Jesus explains to them that true greatness comes from being the servant of all. He uses a child as an example, emphasizing humility and service as the path to greatness in God’s kingdom. Jesus explains that, if the disciples want to know who is genuinely great in the kingdom of God, they should take a good look at this child. He takes the child in his arms. Jesus’ gesture must be disturbing to the disciples because, in that time and place, children have so little status, ranking somewhere between women and slaves. Children spend their time in the care of women and know better than to interfere in men’s affairs. For a rabbi to take a child in his arms in the presence of his disciples is remarkable. In Jesus’ day, most people did not consider children to be significant in the social pecking order. In many ways, that condition still exists today: notice how day-care workers and teachers are still among the lowest-paid workers in many modern countries. Again, we find Jesus expressing yet another paradoxical way of thinking. He says that the way to greatness is the way of service. And if we want to be great, we need to be the greatest servants. And of course this is not simply something Jesus says, this is the way He lived. The life and the death of Jesus are the ultimate demonstrations of the greatness of humility. While we can quickly see the foolishness in the disciples’ conversation about greatness, the debate is a natural outworking of their worldview. They believed Jesus was on His way to establishing His kingdom on earth and they had every reason to believe they were going to be leaders in that Kingdom. Their expectations and desires for greatness leave them blind to anything Jesus says about humility or suffering. In a similar way we can be guilty of hearing what Jesus says and yet still thinking and living based on what we’ve previously believed to be true.
This passage invites us to reflect on our understanding of greatness and service. It challenges us to embrace humility, serve others selflessly, and recognize the profound value in welcoming and caring for the vulnerable and marginalized in our communities.
Let us Pray: Lord, Your disciples argued about who was the greatest. Teach us to seek unity and peace within our communities. Let us work together in harmony, valuing each person’s unique gifts and contributions. Amen.
Reflections by Bob 