Welcoming

Text: Mark 9:30 - 41

Jesus was having some private teaching time with his disciples. He wanted them to understand that his fate was the cross and resurrection. I can understand why the disciples had a difficult time understanding what Jesus was telling them. Or maybe they didn't want to understand what Jesus was telling them. After all, things were going so well. They were miraculously feeding thousands of people, healing the sick, raising the dead, delivering people from demons, and whenever Jesus got into a scrape with the lawyers or religious leaders, he always got out of it. That he would talk about being betrayed and killed just didn't make sense. And what did "rise in three days" mean?

They understood what was important to them. Figuring out who was going to be the greatest amoung them ... that was the important stuff. I can hear their argument. One of them boasts of how many sick people they've healed. Another boasts of how often Jesus confides in them. Another boasts of how much scripture they know. Then someone counters the one who claims to have healed the most with a higher number. And so it goes ... one boast after another; a counter to this statement and that claim. I'm the greatest. No, I'm the greatest. Their heads and hearts were full of what lay ahead of them for the future ... the glory, the power, the admiration of people everywhere. They were the in-crowd.

Finally they came to the house where they were staying. Every one of them probably thought they made some very good points as to why they were the greatest. Jesus knew what was going on. He knew that they hadn't understood a word of what he was saying because of their distraction. Here they were, all puffed up with their own importance ... that is until Jesus asked them about what they were arguing. Then silence fell on them. They knew they were wrong. Jesus tells them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." He could see the confusion on their faces so in the silence of the disciples’ embarrassment, Jesus draws a young one near. He uses the example of being welcoming ... of being hospitable. He identifies himself with the child. The disciples were treating him as a kind of celebrity and enjoying being his entourage and gaining their own acclaim. But Jesus explains that being first means caring, giving, and sharing. Jesus explains that those who care for the weakest and most vulnerable are in effect caring for him. Consequently, those who care for him are caring for the one who sent him.

At this point, the disciple John blurts out that they saw someone casting out demons in the name of Jesus and they tried to stop him, because he was not one of their in-group. I honestly can’t believe that John thought that would bode well with Jesus after the teaching on welcoming even a child and the whole idea of the last being first. Hadn’t John realized they were being chastised for arguing about who was greatest? And yet, here he was being proud that they found this outsider and attempted to put the kibosh on his ministry. They still didn’t get it. Since the metaphors and gentle teaching methods aren’t working, Jesus resorts to plain old correction. "Do not stop him,” he says. “Whoever is not against us is for us.”

As detached as these teachings sound, they are all about the same thing. The kingdom of heaven on earth is not about who is the greatest and who is the least. It is not about evaluating someone’s ministry or life based on whether they are a part of your special group. The kingdom of God is about having a servant’s heart. It is about welcoming the weakest and most vulnerable.

Welcoming a child seems like a basic idea. How can this be a deep theological lesson? Well, in a way, it is basic. And yet it is easy to relegate the care of a child to their guardian and to pass them by without a thought. They have guardians who are supposed to tend to their needs and make sure they are safe, so there is no need to welcome them. But what if we did? What if we welcomed the children around us? To welcome means to take pleasure in their presence and to let them know. Welcoming a little child means bending down, listening carefully, taking time, and respecting the child as a person.

But it isn’t just children. Remember that this teaching began with Jesus saying that, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." There are so many people that we pass by without noticing. It is easy to pass by someone and not really think of them as a person. This is especially easy with those who are the most vulnerable. It takes time to respect everyone as a person. It takes thought to consider the context of someone’s life.

And it’s easy to turn this lesson around. For those of us who are not the most vulnerable it may feel like our personhood is being taken away from us. We might think, “Hey, what about my life? What about someone paying attention to me? What about me being made to feel important and respected?” I think this is what happened in John’s head when he blurted out about trying to stop the guy casting out demons. Maybe he thought it wasn’t fair that someone else could perform a miracle without having to spend the time in mentorship with Jesus. He and the other disciples were paying their dues and so should everyone else. According to Jesus, that’s not how it works.

Jesus said, “Whoever is not against us is for us.” This is a radical statement. All too often we believe that those who are not for us are against us. Believing the teaching of Jesus means not investing so much in the idea that we have to know who is against us. It means not focusing on the notion of us and them. Instead we can focus on welcoming the little children, the vulnerable, and those whose life and ministry may be different than ours but equally glorifying to God.

It is easy to get into the habit of looking for who is doing things the right way (our way) and who is doing things the wrong way (not our way). When we hear the teaching of Christ that, “Whoever is not against us is for us,” we end up with a lot more people for us than against us. And we end up being for a whole lot more people than we are against. This is great in theory, but in practice we might be a little put back to find out who isn’t actually against us. Like the disciple John, it can disturb us when folks don’t live like we do and yet claim to be one of us. We can be particular of whom we become compared to or associated with.

Take, for instance, our desire for church growth. We want the church to grow in numbers and in passion. We want God to be glorified because of the faith and works of this church. As the Holy Spirit moves in this congregation, do we have certain ideas of how we want our church to grow? Are there certain ways of living out faith and performing works of ministry that are more or less acceptable? Or do we have open spirits and minds?

It can be difficult for new people to enter a community that has a long history of doing things a certain way. It can also be difficult for a community to let go of the certain ways they do things. If our community is to grow, we have to be flexible to the moving of the Holy Spirit. We have to listen carefully, take time, and respect everyone as the person they are. Jesus drawing near the little child can be our example of how to be welcoming. The disciple John can be our example of how to not be critical and proprietary. Our community will change in many ways as we grow in number.

As we continue to look forward, let us remember that we are not seeking to become the greatest, but rather we must seek to become the least and to be servants of all. Those who are most vulnerable we must welcome with love and respect. Things will not become out of control because of change, but we may be pushed outside of our comfort zone. The more we are open to the gifts and wisdom that others have to offer, the more opportunities we will have to thrive. When we mix the gifts and wisdom that we have in this community already with those who desire to share their gifts and wisdom with us, we will find God being glorified in beautiful and diverse ways – ways that are unimaginable to us now.

Believe this with me. Be open to the possibilities. Let us continue to imagine anew who we are and who we are becoming. Our own diverse wisdoms will surface in new and wonderful ways. As people come to our community, let us honor them with our care and be excited to hear their wisdoms. The more we listen and share, the more we welcome one such child in Jesus’ name, the more we welcome Christ and the one who sent Christ. The revelation of God in our midst will increase as we increase our welcome and rejoice in the ministries that unfold around us.