Competing for Greatness

September 18, 2024

Mark 9:34-37

On the way the disciples had argued with one another over who was the greatest. Jesus sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." Then Jesus 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."

Competing for Greatness

This is the passage that inspired pictures of Jesus with children running towards him to sit on his lap – bathed in the light of his love. For us, in our culture, that is a welcome sight. We tend to see children and smile. But that was not the world this passage was addressing. In that time and place, children were not supposed to be seen or heard. They were the ultimate example of powerlessness. Jesus lifted them up in love to help his hearers understand that the way the world sees greatness is not the way it looks in the Reign of God. Power and strength comes through our willingness to serve.

In our culture, there is a strong leaning toward competing to win. We drive ourselves to be better – to believe we are greater if we can triumph over the competition. We see it in school, in sports, in the arts, in politics, in business. In theory, competition doesn’t have to be the enemy of servanthood. Yet, all too often it seems to turn out that way. The idea of serving those who are considered smaller or less powerful sounds like a whole different language.

I was looking for signs of a willingness to share, to be more together than we are apart, on our walk at the beach this week, and ran across the image you see pictured at the top of this meditation. Someone thought of the Beach Toy Library – someone built it – someone put the first toys in it. I love that it reminds us that we don’t have to lift up toys as belonging to any one person, any more than the beach belongs to any one person. We can share the joy of making castles in the sand.

Reflection Questions:.

1) Who do you think would be considered the least of these in our time, in the way that children were in Jesus’ time?

2) What opportunities to serve do you see in your area?

3) What creative way could you find to point toward the idea of connectedness and servanthood in the divided places in your life?

Prayer: Dear God, I need to open my eyes to where you are calling me to serve your people. Help me Lord, give me eyes to see. In Jesus Name, Amen