Words of Hope

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(36-37) And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” And with these words, a stunned silence falls upon the gathered disciples. All their words on the road – debating who was the greatest – they are laid bare with this poignant lesson from Jesus. Can you imagine how uncomfortable it is as they all sit there looking for a way out of their shame? Looking for something to say, some way to get past this lapse in judgment and show that they are ready to do better.

Then John has an idea: (38) John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” In your name, you say? That reminds me Jesus. The other day we came across this real character trying to do all sorts of things “in your name”. But don’t worry, we took care of it for you. It seems like the perfect opportunity doesn’t it? Show Jesus that you don’t just care about your own reputation … you care about His too. This should ease the tension.

But what Jesus says next wipes the beginnings of those smiles right off their faces. The ever-so-slightly straightening backs and raised eyes hunch down again in confusion and embarrassment. (39-40) But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. For the one who is not against us is for us. Do you think they felt blindsided? I would have. Isn’t it right for a student to be protective of his master’s name and reputation? Weren’t they doing an honourable thing in upholding the dignity of their rabbi? Wouldn’t we like to think we would do likewise if someone we came across was playing with holy things they didn’t understand?

The disciples were jealous. Maybe a little jealous that this man was doing something that they only recently could not. But mostly, I think, jealous for Jesus’ sake. It was His name, His reputation on the line after all and this stranger didn’t know the first thing about Him. Who did he think he was? While the first kind of jealousy is just plain wrong and leads only to trouble, the second is not so much wrong as it is misplaced. Consider the words of Moses to Joshua in our Old Testament reading, when something identical happens:

(Numbers 11:27-29) And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!”

You see, this kind of Jealousy for God shows that they still don’t understand what Jesus was trying to tell them about little ones and greatness in the kingdom. Greatness isn’t found in being jealous for the great, but for the weak. Greatness isn’t found in protecting God but in serving others. God is big enough to look after Himself … who is looking after those others?

And if that weren’t hard enough to fully comprehend, Jesus throws one more twist into His response. (41) For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward. Isn’t it just another form of jealousy to think that God can and is only working through us? That others don’t deserve to be used in such a way? Yet here Jesus clearly shows that God can be and indeed is at work in and through the lives of those who just don’t fit the mold. Those who don’t belong to His inner circle. Those who might not even nominally be known as Christians. And that work is for our benefit! Sometimes, in our jealousy for God, we are quick to paint people as either with us or against us. But it isn’t always so black and white. Who are we to say where God is at work and where He is not? Some who profess to be Christian are sadly, very far from heaven. Some of “them” out there are much closer than they or we might think.

There is a striking parallel to this idea in Paul’s letter to the Philippians (1:15-18) Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,

And why not rejoice? (49) For everyone will be salted with fire. Jesus goes on to say. Each will get what they deserve … it’s not up to you or me to decide. God will take care of His own reputation. So don’t worry, it will all come out in the wash! Again, just as St. Paul reiterates in 1 Corinthians (3:13) each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.

In short, what Jesus says to John and the other disciples is that they should be worried less about who is doing what (a question of greatness, and a stumbling block of jealousy) and more with what they are doing for those whom God has placed before them. In other words, their jealousy would be better spent not on Him, but on the very ones who seem to be weaker in the faith and yes, even outside of the faith. Thus He gives them His next caution, and a seemingly graphic one at that:

(42) “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” And don’t be fooled, this is no exaggeration. It is just that important. God wants everyone to be saved, and woe to any one of us that intentionally comes in the way of that all-consuming passion of His. It may make us uncomfortable, it may make us rethink our ideas of greatness, but not everyone will be saved by exactly the same road. By this I am not saying that Lutherans may be wrong in how we read the Bible and conduct our lives of faith. Nor am I saying that I think any other Christian group has got something right that we do not. But what I am saying is that there are some people who will not come to God by the Lutheran way that may by some other way. However, part of the inner circle or not, everyone who is saved will come to the same exact truth. A truth that we Lutherans both know and treasure already.

The truth that God loved us so much, we weak little ones, that He sent the greatest and the best … His one and only Son. Sent His Son to do what we could never do for ourselves. He sent His Son Jesus to serve the lowest of the low, to do great and mighty wonders in God’s name, to place himself under the condemnation of the law, to take our place under the right and divine wrath of God and literally be cut off and throne into the fires of hell. Hands and feet nailed to the wood of the cross, eyes blinded by sweat and blood. Drowning under the weight of his dying body unable to support himself any longer.

This is how jealous God is for us. Jealous enough to spend everything He had … even Jesus Christ Himself, to gain us back. And so this is one remarkable truth is the basis for not only our relationship with Him, but with one another. For Lutheran or not, Christian or not, God jealously wants every single person you know to come to this truth too! This knowledge seasons our every dealing with those around us. (50) Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

The Gospel is salt, the good news of sins forgiven. Sinners accepted in Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour is the seasoning. Where the salt loses its saltiness, and the Gospel is spoiled with doctrines of men, there the old Adam can no longer be spiced, there the worms will grow. But salt is sharp; therefore it is necessary to have patience and peace in the salt.”

It’s all about a well-placed jealousy. Greatness isn’t found in being jealous for the great, but for the weak. Greatness isn’t found in protecting God but in serving others – especially those who are different, those who are weaker in the faith. (Col 4:6) Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Being salted with the Gospel, and being jealous for the eternal well-being of those around us … that’s how we season the world one life at a time.

AMEN.

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Jesus and the Twelve were returning from a visit to the villages around Caesarea Philippi (Mk8:27-38) and from the Mount of Transfiguration (Mk 9:2-13), where Jesus had revealed himself to Peter, James and John in glory. At both places the Lord had talked to the disciples about the events soon to take place in Jerusalem involving His suffering, death and resurrection. He lays all His cards out on the table for each of the disciples to plainly see.

This was the Lord’s last visit to Galilee before His death, a private visit away from the crowds which had surrounded Him on many previous trips through this area. Jesus was not wanting anyone to know where they were. The reason for this period of privacy is told us in the words of our text: (31b) He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.”

Public preaching was now relegated to the background. The private instruction of the disciples was the priority item on Jesus’ agenda. In these out-of-the-way places Jesus was devoting Himself to the last, intensive training of the Twelve, especially preparing them for the end. It all related to what would happen to “the Son of Man,” the Redeemer, in His divine-human natures. He who by his many miracles had demonstrated His power over all things was going to “be betrayed into the hands of men.” Did this sound like something that happens only to the greatest?

Jesus would be “killed” and would “rise again.” That which had been prophesied concerning Him from the beginning was about to be fulfilled. Indeed, it is precisely in the fulfilling of God’s Word for us that Jesus’ true greatness lies. This was no oblique and shrouded reference to the series of events which would earn salvation for all mankind. Jesus again spoke directly about the events that would soon come to pass. Events that make Him the greatest that ever was.

How disappointing, therefore, the words of our text which follow: (32) But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it. Mark describes a continuing state of ignorance and fear on the part of the Twelve. They simply would not grasp what seemed incredibly horrible to them. Unfortunately, their thoughts seemed to stop with the words “be killed.” This didn’t fit into their ideas of how Jesus would establish His Messianic rule. Great men like the Messiah don’t lay down their life. They ask others to lay theirs down for them! That is also why they even feared to ask about it. Don’t we do the same when we hesitate even to discuss matters that worry us or frighten us?

One might look upon this reluctance to accept the necessity of the cross in God’s plan of salvation as a matter of stubborn obtuseness. But should it surprise us? Many who wish to be called Christians today imagine that the chief purpose of the Church is found in activities which relegate into the background the message of a Saviour crucified for sin. They suppose that the main goal of Christianity lies in spectacular demonstrations for social and political reform, or in making this a better world in which to live, or in engaging in activist programs which show that the church is a real “force for good” in this world.

The central message of the Bible is clear, but a “blood religion” – death for life, and the sacrifice of God for us – does not appeal to the people of this world. Who really wants to hear repeated references to the ugliness of personal sin and the divine necessity of a sacrificial cross to atone for it. Sometimes even we Christians may cringe at the thought of having to hear it one more time. Yet, as Jesus reminded the Twelve repeatedly, these were inescapable requirements of His mission. This was the measure of His true greatness. Christ’s sacrificial death and glorious resurrection are mankind’s only way of justification before a holy and righteous God.

And what comes next shows us the response Christ wants to find in those who accept his notions of greatness: (33-34) They come to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

That the disciples were still filled with false hopes concerning the Messianic kingdom couldn’t be more apparent. The disciples did not want to say what they had been arguing about. “They kept quiet.” They clammed up. They must have sensed that their ideas of greatness did not agree with what Jesus had been talking about when He spoke of the necessity of His sacrifice and death.

And how right they were! (35) Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” True greatness is determined for Christians the same way it was for our Lord. Not by deeds which receive the greatest outward attention, but by humble service, often scarcely recognized, It is found in giving up those childish notions that there is some greater recognition we deserve, some reward to be gained. The essence of true spiritual greatness in Christ’s kingdom is determined by the amount of humble, selfless service which a person contributes on behalf of others. Again, not for any kind of personal gain, but simply out of thankfulness for grace already received. How different from the standards which the unbelieving world uses in determining greatness!

The weak, the lonely, the destitute … the cast off and the discarded … the sick and hurting … the disgraced and the unlovable … these are the recipients of our best love and attention. These are the focus of our care and our energies. Not because it is pleasant. Not because they can give anything back. Not because of something they might one day become. Just simply because the greatness of God is such that He has so much to give them in Christ — and He has chosen us to be the means by which it is brought to bear in their lives.

In order to illustrate this principle of greatness among Christian disciples, the Lord does a striking thing: (36,37) - He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me. What an object lesson for the Twelve! Whoever receives one of these little children “in my name” – literally “upon” my name, “on the basis of my name” – welcomes Jesus himself. To receive a child in the name of Jesus means more than physical care. It involves spiritual care as well — being concerned about the child’s eternal welfare. Jesus says that the business of taking care of this need is the highest kind of ministry in His kingdom. What Jesus calls greatness in his kingdom is also greatness in the eyes of the Father who sent him. This is why VBS, Sunday School, and Children’s outreach events are so important in the life of a congregation! In doing these things we were echoing our heavenly Father’s own priorities.

But whether we show our greatness in providing for the spiritual welfare of our city’s children, or by helping the homeless, sponsoring the refugee, feeding the hungry, visiting the sick or lonely, or giving dignity to the downtrodden and outcast; it is not really our greatness we are showing to the world. When we do these and so many other things, we are simply reflecting the greatness of Christ who has first done all this for us. His Baptism has given us a heavenly home, welcomed us into God’s family. His Word gives dignity, wisdom and forgiveness. His promises bring comfort in times of distress. His very body and blood feed us and give us strength to live in the greatness to which we are called. Remember the greatness of your Lord. Give thanks for his great mercies to you and then and only then you too will be great. Both here in this life and in the kingdom to come.

AMEN.