16B Pentecost                                      Mark 9:30-37                                     20 Sept. 2009

Our scripture reading raises the question of what is greatness?

In our society, the idea of greatness often draws our attention to sports heroes, people like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Michael Phelps, or the Williams sisters.
All are individuals who have excelled at their particular sports, each is someone who is better than the others, someone who has risen to the top of the competition.
In other words if a person can hit more homeruns, or can play golf better than anyone else, or move from Point A to Point B faster than any one else, then we assume that person is the greatest.

Sometimes when we talk about greatness, we think of musicians, particularly those musicians who have won the most awards or made the most money, or gained the most publicity.

Clearly, we live in a society that is obsessed with greatness, and because of that, we are endlessly honoring and glamorizing those whom we have deemed to be great.
Why else would we erect Halls of Fame for everything under the sun; sit through endless TV award shows and listen to celebrities rant and give thanks to their managers and producers; and refer to the New York Times Best Selling list to determine what we are going read next?
We live in a society that constantly seeks to identify that which is "great" and yet, do we really have any clue as to what constitutes true greatness?
And more importantly, why is it that we often fail to give thought to what greatness is in the eyes of God.

With that thought in mind, let's take a closer look at our Gospel reading and this question of greatness.

If you recall, the disciples and Jesus were on the road traveling through Galilee on their way to Capernaum, a small waterfront town that serves as the home base for Jesus.
As they traveled, the disciples argued amongst themselves about who was the greatest disciple.
When they arrive Jesus asks the disciples about their argument.
We are told that the disciples were silent; I suspect they were silent because they suddenly realized how inappropriate their discussion was in light of the fact that Jesus had just informed them for the third time, that it wouldn't be long now before he would be betrayed, killed and resurrected.
None of the disciples had the nerve to ask him what he was talking about.
Instead, they simply did what most of us do when confronted with something we don't understand or something that makes us feel uncomfortable and we don't want to talk about, they ignored it and hoped it will simply go away.
Scripture says they were silent; it is possible they were embarrassed, maybe even a little bit ashamed.

The truth is, Jesus knew exactly what the conversation and bickering had been about.
Was it a stupid argument?
Of course it was, but stupidity has never stopped us from arguing and bickering about things we know nothing about. Fortunately Jesus, while possibly greatly disappointed in his disciples, allows grace to take precedence and recognizes that this is one of those wonderful "teachable moments".
So Jesus gets up and walks outside and comes back with a child and places the child on his lap.
Now to you and I this is no big deal, in fact we might even find it to be rather heartwarming and sweet.
As I think back on all the illustrated Bibles that depict this scene, it always appears as though the little children surrounding Jesus are always well scrubbed and appear to be polite.
I have yet to see a picture of scruffy, dirty, snot-nosed street urchins tugging and pulling at Jesus' robes or trying to climb up on his lap.
And to be honest, in light of the times and the status of children in those days, that might be a more accurate picture than the ones we find in modern day children's book.
The truth is, back in Jesus' day children in ancient cultures were essentially non-persons, essentially on the same plain as slaves.
They had no significant value.
One commentator I read pointed out that infant abandonment was a normal practice in the ancient world, a form of postnatal birth control, and it was perfectly normal and acceptable.
If you already had too many children, it was not uncommon to leave the infant on the street corner in the hopes that maybe someone will pick the child up and bring it home and take responsibility for the child.
And that did in fact happen on occasions, often by couples who had no children of their own.
However, some of these abandoned infants would die of exposure to the elements—and that was also considered normal and acceptable.
This was not a moral issue, it was an economic issue.

I tell you this not to pull heartstrings, but to help you understand that this action on Jesus' part was a physical parable, a physical picture of Jesus' love and concern for children in contrast to a society that had little use for children, a picture of God's adoption of those who were considered not the greatest, but the least.

And I tell you this not so we can pat ourselves on the back and reflect upon our far we have come as a society when it comes to the care and value of children because the truth is we have not really come all that far.
The truth is we have just gotten better at hiding and rationalizing our disregard for the vulnerable and those unable to speak for themselves.
I say this because a week does not go by when we hear yet another story of a child neglected and left alone in either a car or home alone, while the parents are off hanging out at the local bar, or gambling at the casino, or who knows what.
In the U.S., every day almost 8500 children are reported abused and neglected.
As odd as it sounds, we have children who die every day as a result of gunfire.
Every day more babies than we care to admit are born to mothers who received little or no prenatal care.
Have we really come any farther in our enlightenment? And when it comes to matters of economics, morality is tossed out the window and children are often the ones affected and hurt the most when we cut funding to schools, free lunch programs, health insurance and programs designed to help struggling parents.

So what physical parable do you suppose Jesus might offer to us in this day and age to help us understand what it means to be the greatest?

On the most basic level I believe that we are called to care for children and to speak for children.
But I also want to invite you to stretch your understanding of this passage by suggesting that this passage actually goes deeper and broader than children.
Keep in mind, in the ancient world, a child was a nobody, with nothing to offer; children had no value or status.
Therefore, is it possible that Jesus is saying that the mission of the church is to care for those who seemingly have nothing to offer?
Those who the rest of the world would choose to ignore, the orphans, the refugees, those who bring nothing to the table?
I suggest this because that is precisely what made the early church grow.
The opponents of the early Christian community may have found their beliefs scandalous, but even those who opposed the Christians had to admit that they cared for the hurting, the poor, the dying, the outcast, in a way no one else did.
+ And we are still doing this sort of thing when we establish hospitals, day cares, clinics, orphanages, schools, and after school programs.
+ We are doing is when we support ministries like Lutheran World Relief, who are often the first to arrive when there is a crisis and the last to leave.
+ We are doing this when we support ministries like Lutheran Social Services that works with children, the elderly, the homeless and the abandoned.
+ We are doing this when we support missionaries like John Lunn who serve and administer hospitals that serve children and adults regardless of their status.
+Up in the Red River Valley of Northwestern Minnesota, New Hope Lutheran Church has begun a ministry reaching out to the growing Latino population in the hopes of helping them integrate and become connected to the surrounding communities.
+ Next summer when our youth head to inner city Milwaukee, a significant amount of their time will be spent working, playing and simply spending time with children, the elderly and those are in need of God's grace and compassion.
Each of these ministries are a direct response to Jesus words regarding welcoming and receiving the least and the lost.

The fact is, when we set standards that exclude children, which exclude the weak, that exclude those who are not rich or beautiful or powerful or educated or powerful, we eventually wind up setting standards that will eventually exclude us.

I suspect you have heard this before, but it bears repeating: as Christians we are called to be counter-cultural.
In lifting up a child, Jesus is showing us what God wants most for us: a heart of compassion, that we are to value and treasure and welcome those who are least likely to have the world's attention and resources.

And not only that, Jesus makes a link between such "little ones" and accepting him: "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the One who sent me."
Our ability to be caring and compassionate towards those in need is a sign of our love of Jesus.
To welcome such a one is to love Jesus, and conversely, to turn away such a person is to turn away Jesus.

So, here is what I believe this all boils down to is this: for Jesus, what really matters is not "are we the greater than others", but "do we care for others", or "how are we serving others"?

I am reminded of something Martin Luther King Jr. once said in one of his sermons. He said:
Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness.
If you want to be important, wonderful.
If you want to be recognized, wonderful.
If you want to be great, wonderful.
But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.
That's your new definition of greatness.
And this morning, the thing that I like about it, by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great.
Because everybody can serve.
You don't have to have a college degree to serve.
You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve.
You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve.
You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve.
You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve.
You only need a heart full of grace.
A soul generated by love.
And you can be that servant.
(Martin Luther King Jr.--February 4, 1968)

As we leave here this morning, consider how your greatness might be lived out.
Consider the children you encounter and how you welcome and receive them.
Consider those who might live on the margins, who might feel left out and ignored and even rejected.
As you leave here this morning and as you live out your faith during the course of the week be mindful of who receive and whom you look down on.
Be mindful of whom you welcome with open arms and who you might turn your back on for whatever reason.
Be mindful that it is Christ who you welcome, it is Christ who you refrain from welcoming.
And when we are ready to regard the least of these as our equal, truly knowing that we are equally beloved by the One God and Creator of us all, and then we will be able to understand what Jesus meant by greatness.
For he is the greatest of all, the one who became a servant to all, our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Pastor Stephen Blenkush
Zion Lutheran
Milaca, MN
www.ZionMilaca.org
Sept. 20, 2009

 

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