Mark 9:30-37
James McTyre
Lake Hills Presbyterian Church
September 20, 2009
Jesus Again Foretells His Death and Resurrection
They went on from there and 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.
Who Is the Greatest?
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.’
Jesus asked the disciples, "What were you arguing about on the way?"
It's been a bad couple of weeks for feet. They keep getting stuck in people's mouths. Usually when cameras are rolling and microphones are on.
You've got the pride of South Carolina, Rep. Joe Wilson, shouting "You lie!" at the President.
You've got Serena Williams, sounding off at a line judge, more like a roller derby queen than a tennis star.
You've got Kanye West spoiling the moment at the Video Music Awards for sweet little Taylor Swift.
They shoved their feet in their mouths arguing, basically, that they each were right. That they were smarter. That they knew better... than the President, the line judge, and whoever makes decisions about music videos no one has seen.
All were arguing that they're the greatest, the King of the world until the Republican Party, the USTA, and Jay Leno make them apologize.
And you have to wonder, even after apologizing: Do they get it? Are the apologies sincere? Are they truly remorseful or are they just going through the motions in order to save their hides?
In other words, are the apologies as self-serving as the outbursts? Are the apologies just exchanging one foot in the mouth for a better smelling one?
Jesus asks the disciples, "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.
Oops. Didn't know the teacher was listening. Didn't know the microphone was still on. I don't know about his feet, but Jesus had really good ears.
To really catch the ignorance of the disciples, bless their hearts, you have to read this in context. Immediately before this spirited, manly debate about who's #1, Jesus, in the previous verses, was teaching them that ‘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.’
Those of you who teach school, do you find yourselves teaching your students that one, essential thing that you know is going to be critical to them getting a good grade, that one thing that will make the whole semester understandable, and you look out at these blessed little children, the future of our country, the planet's hope for tomorrow, and see them staring off into space, counting the ceiling tiles, gazing at the girl or guy two seats over, or, best of all, yawning? It explains a lot of road rage. And the three-day waiting period.
So Jesus explains to the apostles how he is going to suffer and die and in 3 days rise from the grave for them, and did they get it?
But wait: here's the best part. It's fine to apply yourself to what your teacher is saying and not understand. Especially if it's something like Calculus or World Salvation. But the very next sentence of scripture says...
But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.
You know the saying, "There's no such thing as a stupid question." Those of you who are teachers know, that's not true. But it seems to me the apostles must have been very afraid of Jesus.
You don't think of that very often. We always think of the Jesus and his apostles as friends. Buddies. But apparently not. Twice in this passage alone, they don't ask questions and they don't answer his questions because they're afraid.
What could they be afraid of? This is sweet Jesus, meek and mild, right? So are they afraid of their own ignorance? Are they afraid of losing face (among the other disciples) by admitting their... density?
Arguments over how great you are, are always motivated by fear. Think about it. If you weren't so afraid of being wrong, you wouldn't be so hot to prove how right you are.
Think about a time when you got yourself in trouble by blurting out something dumb. Come on, everybody's done it.
You don't have to ask why you did it. A lot of times we blame it on the atmosphere. You got carried away in the heat of the moment. It's global warming's fault. Penguins can blame the heat of the moment. Climate change is no excuse for you losing your cool. "I got carried away in the heat of the moment" isn't a reason why. It's just admitting you pulled the trigger on your tongue.
The real reason why is always the same. Fear. When you lose your cool, don't ask why. Ask, "What was I afraid of?"
When you're arguing over dumb things, you're afraid of not being #1. Afraid of not being the person with right answers, the person who solves the problems once and for all.
You get mad at teachers when your kids aren't #1. When they unfairly keep your offspring from honors and awards, so they can't get into the right college, so they'll never get a good job, so they'll move back home, and move you into a nursing home where the temperature's always too hot and you'll spend your golden years red-faced and sweaty, being given blood pressure medicine you don't need. That's why those kindergarten citizenship awards are so important.
It's fear. Fear of being wrong. Fear of the future. Fear of looking dumb.
So what do we do? We open our mouths and make ourselves look really dumb. Instead of just us being embarrassed, we open our mouths and yell at the line judge and now the whole world is embarrassed for us.
So Jesus takes a little child and puts it among them, and says, THIS is how you're supposed to be.
Everybody remembers those passages that say we're supposed to be like little children. To have faith as a small child. Sweet and innocent. But again, put this in context. Being like a child is Part B. It comes after Part A, where the apostles are having an argument over which one of them is the greatest. So, being like a little child doesn't just come out of the blue. It's a response to arrogant, self-protecting fear.
In Bible times, children weren't so cute. They were tiny adults who weren't old enough to work or have babies. They weren't deductions, they were liabilities. Children had less status than slaves. To understand how they thought about children in Bible times, take away the cute factor, and focus on their inability to produce or reproduce.
So when Jesus says to be like children, he's not so much idealizing or romanticizing childhood or childlike faith. Rather, he's shaming grown-up arrogance.
So faith may be about belief and trust. But it's also about humility.
So what if you're so close to Jesus you can hear his footsteps? If you're a jerk, it makes very little difference.
A person of great humility may be worth more to God than a person of great faith.
Think about that. Maybe you're not "feeling it" when it comes to faith. Maybe you don't have a personal friendship with Jesus the way others do. Maybe you're not the greatest when it comes to belief & faith.
Maybe the best prayer you can pray is, "O Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief." (Which is also in the Bible.) Maybe you have a lot more unbelief than great belief.
Don't be ashamed, don't be feeling inadequate. If you have trouble believing and understanding, let you humility see you through.
We spend so much time in so many churches worrying about getting our belief right. You have to say the right prayers the right way at the right time. Churches worry about defining themselves as liberal or conservative, evangelical or mainline, yada, yada, yada. Jesus ends his lesson to his apostles saying to them, "It's not about you. It's not about how right or important or self-actualized you are."
Jesus ends his lesson to his apostles with the child in his arms. He says 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.’
Right faith isn't about being number 1 in belief. Right faith isn't about about being number 1 in stature. Right faith is about welcoming the zeroes. Right faith is about welcoming the people who have no one else to welcome them.
Jesus's solution to foot-in-mouth disease is to take your feet out of your mouth and put them on the road. Put them on the road where the people nobody talks to live. Put them on the road where the kid who doesn't have any friends lives. Put them on the road to people who need an ounce of kindness. Take your feet out of your mouth and put them on the road where Jesus walked. And then, whether your power of belief is great or not-so-great, your feet will be on the path of Jesus.
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