THE SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PETECOST
Wisdom 1:16-2:1 (6-11) 12-22
James 3:16-4:6
Mark 9:30-37
Year B/Proper 20
The Book of Wisdom is among
the church’s apocryphal books. It was written by a Greek-speaking Jew to
strengthen Jewish society in
The very thought of being
named a child of God is a beautiful thing. But even children openly show us
their pride and self-centeredness. Take for example, a small book containing
children’s letters to clergy. One reads:
“Dear Pastor, I have been a good Christian all my
life, even when I didn’t have to. Love, Rosemarie.”
Or
“Dear Pastor, Please say in your sermon that Peter
Petersen has been a good boy all week. I am Peter Petersen”.
In today’s gospel Jesus
declared there was no way out of the noose that was tightening around him. The disciples’
reaction was to spend the rest of the day meandering down the road to
There is something
heartbreaking about the thought of Jesus moving closer and closer to the cross
while the disciples argue over who’s going to be CEO of the company. From Mark
it appears they did not intend that Jesus should overhear this, because when he
asks them what they were talking about on the road they became silent. So when
they arrived at the house in Capernaum Jesus sat down. It was no small thing
that he sat down; because when a rabbi in Jesus’ day wanted to make a very
important point he sat. Given what Jesus was about to say the disciples should
have taken a seat as well. For Jesus took a child into his arms and called them
to task.
In Jesus’ day children were
not necessarily cute cuddly creatures to drool and coo over, but creatures who
were three feet below attention. They were the largest part of society that was
ignored. First century children were lowly because they had nothing to give.
They didn’t produce anything or contribute anything to society. Children were
those who might someday be useful to adults, but until that time you had to feed them and put up with them in hopes that they
might be worth the investment you had put into them. This is not to say that
parents did not love their children, but one had to be careful how much of your
heart you were willing to risk, considering that 60% of all children in the
first century were dead by the age of sixteen.
In many ways today’s society
functions as a direct opposite from that of the first century. Far from
ignoring our children, our culture caters to them more than anyone else. Our
lives revolve around their schedules, their performances, their desires. Their
wants empty many a parental wallet and we lavish attention on them in ways we
wish someone would lavish upon us.
Jesus was under no false
illusions about children. He knew one could kick you in the shins and then
blame it on the kid standing next to him. No doubt he knew that children could
be cruel as well as innocent and cute. In pulling a child into his arms Jesus was
referring to those he spoke of so often; the “little ones”, all those who were
under someone’s thumb; all those at the mercy of those with power and control
over their very existence. He said of them the unthinkable. He said the
The disciples may not have
understood much, but they did have the capability of being embarrassed over
Jesus catching them in an ego contest. It is possible that Peter, James, and
John, having been privy to unearthly moments such as the Transfiguration,
thought that this was an indication that they would be given a place of honor,
a boxed seat, if you will, in the Kingdom.
And Jesus said it was just
the opposite. And then he said something the disciples did not want to hear. He
said that humility and service in the
Some of you will remember my
dear friend, Father Paul Von Lobkowitz, Orthodox priest and bishop. Of the few
years I was privileged to know him before his death so many things stand out;
gifts he bought for me; precious things he gave me that belonged to him such as
a ciborium from Hungary (a container for holding consecrated bread) that I keep
in our own sacristy. Precious moments with him stand out like the time he
invited me to celebrate the Eucharist in the Eastern Orthodox Chapel in the
hospice he started in
Fr. Paul had an extraordinary
sense of humor, but one particularly serious moment with him I will never
forget. We were having lunch at the Adam’s
I have never forgotten that
moment for it seemed to me then, and it seems to me now, that he was not only
far more perceptive than I had realized but very clear about how real and how
dreadful are the ways we shut God out. The ‘little ones’ never do that. Fr.
Paul was one of those ‘little ones’.
Most of us are like those in
the Wizard of Oz, trying to convince ourselves that true life lies in the
things we are wrapped in; our credentials, our place in society, our
possessions. In the Wizard of Oz the
Through the years one of the
greatest joys of my priesthood has been the joy I get from the children who
gather around me, wanting me to pick them up, pressing in on me. Even last week
a boy old enough to worry about what other boys might think of him, did not
hesitate to throw his arms around me. They aren’t impressed by my credentials
or title. By the same token I couldn’t list them on my resume or let their names
out at a social gathering and impress anyone. So far they have no status in
society, which makes them, according to Jesus, precious in God’s eyes - and in
mine because when they rush into my arms I know it’s not for any other reason
than a pure desire to be in my embrace.
They are just what we need
Jesus says. It is in the presence of the likes of them, no matter how old they
may be, that your own worth is truly revealed. Jesus says when you spend time
with those of this world who expect nothing but end up giving you everything;
it is to come very near to the Kingdom. And that’s when you know just how much
you are loved.
You see what was missing from
the disciples discussion was, of course, love; pure, self-offering love. To
lose yourself in another’s company or another’s arms, or in suffering love for
another, is to touch a you so pure and genuine it may rattle you down to your
very foundations; down to the child that is within you. And when that happens
what you will end up receiving Jesus says, is nothing less than the presence of
God. And that is a gift, a wisdom and a treasure, worth nothing less than –
everything.
AMEN
The Rev. Virginia L. Bennett,
D.Min.
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
Edwardsville, Illinois