25^th Sunday in O.T. (B); 9-19-2021

Wis 2:12,17-20.  Ps 54.  Jas 3:16-4:3.  Mk 9:30-37

Deacon Jim McFadden

         Swiss theologian Urs von Balthasar framed the basic spiritual struggle as the transition from the Ego-Drama (self-worship) to the Theo-Drama (worship of the one true God).  Making this transition is the path of discipleship in which we die to our (false) self, pick up our cross, and follow Jesus.  As such, this transition is an on-going process, which is why we go into the desert every Lent to reflect on our commitment to the Way of Christ.  Since our surrender to the Lord is a process, the temptation is to use Christianity to serve oneself.  In other words, the Ego does not go away because we are religiously affiliated; it just looks for ways to stay in control under the guise of religious practice.  Although Jesus has always been clear how we can live the Great Commandment, we always find other reasons to follow him.  In short,  we relate to our Lord on our terms.  This Sunday’s Gospel reading challenges us to keep Jesus  and his divine grace the goal of our spiritual life.

            The Gospel account begins with the Second Prediction of the Passion in which Jesus teaches and tells his disciples that “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death he will rise” (Mk 9:30-31).  They didn’t understand the import of what Jesus had just said because they were preoccupied with their private self-interest.   Jesus had just given them this heavy, foundational teaching of the Paschal Mystery and how do they respond?  They’re arguing over which of them is the greatest!  They’re still stuck in the Ego-drama.  There’s the Master revealing the way of kenosis, self-emptying, and there’s the disciples going in the opposite direction of self-aggrandizement: who’s up and who’s down? Do people admire me?  Are we ascending or descending the ladder of prestige and fame?  Who is the greatest?

            How does one break through this willful cluelessness?  Jesus proposes a simple antidote of sorts.  He sat down and called the Twelve around him and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and servant of all” (v. 35).  Then, “Taking a child he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it he said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me” (vs. 36-37).

            What does it mean to “receive a child” which is a necessary condition to entering the Kingdom of God?  We don’t want to have a sentimental or saccharine view of children, but a child, for good or ill, is just who he is.  They are like plans, rocks, flowers, animals, etc.—they don’t know how to be something they are not.  There was a TV show during the 50’s and ‘60s hosted by Art Linkletter called, “Kids Say the Darndest Things.” They do that because they haven’t yet learned how to pretend to be someone they’re not.  They don’t think one thing and say another; rather, they just come out with it, the truth.  They are who they are. For them, all that matters is simplicity, being the person that God wants them to be.  Who’s up, who’s down?  Who’s the greatest in heaven?  It doesn’t matter.  Who cares! Everything else is a distraction.

            If Jesus had just stayed at the level of the child, his words could have been construed by his disciples that they are meant to be adopted parents of the child—to take care of it.  But by adding himself and the Father to the equation of “being received,” he is pointing to a deeper, richer meaning.  Those with humility who can wait on a child, will be disengaging themselves from their egoic impulses and thereby opening themselves to the divine grace that Jesus is offering them.

            The simplicity of this story drives home the radical nature of Jesus’ instruction.  Most parents would suspend their work or modify their goals to respond to their children’s needs.  Indeed, most parents would “throw themselves under the bus” to save their child.  But, this is not what Jesus is commanding.  He presents an unnamed child—one who is unknown to the disciples—and says it is this little one that you should serve.  Few adults then or now would have the humility to take their marching orders from such a person that they don’t’ even know.  But, that is exactly what Jesus commands.

            Many Christians attach themselves to Christ because they want something from him—whether it be comfort, peace of mind, healing, a sense of belonging, esteem, and, of course, salvation.  All of these are good and are available, but the greatest disciple is one who recognize in these gifts a call to become like the one who grants them.  They follow his command not because they want to attain a high place in heaven, they do so because Jesus is the center of their lives; they are simply in love with Immanuel, God among us.  His love is enough; they have made the transition to the Theo-drama.  So, with humility they will wait on the least of Jesus’ brethren in whom God the Father will find a flawless reflection of his Son.  Amen.