Sept. 20, 2009 - Who Wants To Be First? - Mark 8:30-37

Who wants to be first? Don’t we as children remember being asked that question and everybody raised their hands and said, “Me! Me!”? - and who doesn’t want to be first? First in line gets to pick out the best things, while the last in line gets the leftovers. First in line, doesn’t have to wait to get what they want, the last in line seems to wait forever. First in line may even be noticed – we all look to the head of the line to gauge how much longer we will have to wait.

Who wants to be first? Being first can mean that people recognize you as something special – like being the first one picked for someone’s team in an impromptu baseball game.

Sometimes, being first really is everything. For instance, there is only one valedictorian in a class, only one Miss America or Mr. Universe, even only one president of the United States. And in all these cases, being in second place gets you nothing at all.

Who wants to be first? Most of us, I think – at least most of the time. In this morning’s scripture, disciples think so, too. Even though Jesus is telling them again that he will soon be betrayed, killed and rise on the third day, they are not getting with the program. As they journey through Galilee, the disciples argue among themselves about who is the greatest.

Do they think that Jesus can’t hear them? Have you ever been out somewhere with a crowd and picked up bits and pieces of conversations around you? Can you imagine the scene with Jesus at first lost in thought walking a few feet ahead of the disciples and gradually picking up bits and pieces of conversation until that’s all he can think about?

And can you imagine what the disciples are saying? “I saw him walk on water.” “I was with him during the transfiguration,” “I was the first one he called.” “But he told me I was the one with no guile” or even “I’m already in charge of the money! I’ll bet it’s me!”

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They are on their way to Jerusalem. Jesus has given the first prediction of his death and as they are on the way he continues teaching them that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of humanity - and yet all the while Jesus has been trying to tell than what will happen, they have been silent. They don’t ask him any questions. They don’t want to understand. And now they have seen wondering and arguing among themselves about who is the greatest – which one of them is first in line to get all the honors they expect to receive once Jesus takes over the kingdom of Judea.

They dream of honor and glory. The disciples have visions of the kings of nations coming to Jerusalem, showering them with gifts and bowing at their feet as they hope for an audience with King Jesus – whom they all think will be the supreme ruler of this world.

They are all in for a shock. They arrive in Capernaum and enter into a house to rest. Jesus calls them together and sits down in their midst to teach them. Back in the first century, the teachers got to sit – I kind of like that. Jesus begins to teach them saying, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’

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He calls a little child over and embraces it, saying, ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me (NRSV).’

Ah! Isn’t that cute? Isn’t that just a beautiful picture: Jesus embracing a cute little child and telling the disciples to welcome even little children as if they were welcoming Christ?

We think it’s cute because in the 21^st century, we tend to treasure our children. But in the first century, people knew exactly what they thought of children – not much.

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We live in a small town here in Windom and so we understand about how small towns work. We get along because everyone knows how to behave. We take care of each other and we also check on each other – and check up on each other.

We try to live quiet and orderly lives – no surprises and no excitement. Children on the other hand can by noisy, mischievous, loud and disorderly.

More than that, in an age where people struggled to get enough to eat, children were a serious drain on family resources. They didn’t help the family grow crops or earn money to live and they required constant attention. Boys might at least grow up to care for their aging parents, but girls would leave the family when they got married – and they’d even need to give her a dowry to get rid of her.

The death rate of infants was so high that in many cultures, children never even got a name until they were weaned – at about the age of two – just in case. Neither did they think that children should be seen and not heard. They thought that children should not be seen at all – they should be at home with their mothers, not in the company of men as this child in our scripture passage was.

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When I was in the Amazon area of Peru, our little boat went past a thatched roof home set up on stilts near the side of the river. There was sagging clothesline that went from the house to a pole set up at the side of the river and it was full of freshly washed laundry. In fact, a woman was still busy kneeling at the water’s edge washing more clothing.

Chickens ran about the dusty yard and five or six fat-bellied children ran down to the edge of the water to wave at us as we went by. To me, it seemed like a large and happy family – but Cliver, our guide, shook his head and said, ‘Boy, that man sure has to work hard.’ – at first I was offended that he didn’t think that their mother had to work hard doing all that laundry by hand. But he had also thought of something I had not even considered – but it would be hard, even in a land of relative plenty – food wise that is – to raise so many children.

Children were a gift from God but they were also a burden and a nuisance, a source of noise and confusion. Even in imperial Rome, rulers who needed heirs adopted adults instead of children because they at least knew what they were getting and what they would grow up to be – and one thing they would be more than anything else was loyal and that’s more than could be guaranteed from natural children..

‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.’ This is certainly not an example of the kind of person the disciples hoped to be receiving when they got to power in the kingdom. Instead of receiving the mighty and the powerful – instead on being the mighty and powerful - Jesus wants them to receive the small and the weak – and to be the small and the weak. Instead of receiving gifts from the rich, Jesus wants them to spend time with the ones who own nothing and can’t give them anything.

But there is more here – Jesus is embracing the most worthless person in 1^st century society – and telling the disciples to embrace them as well. What does that say to 21^st century ears?

A god who welcomes children first of all welcomes those who are ignorant.
A god who welcomes children welcomes those who cannot bring gifts and honor.
A god who welcomes children welcomes those who can only bring themselves..
A god who welcomes children embraces the weak, and the helpless.
A god who welcomes children cares about the poor and the downtrodden
A god who welcomes children welcomes us when we realize that everything we have done in the world has left it no better than when we found it.
A god who welcomes children has open arms for all God’s children who long for something more than the deep well of emptiness they have found in their lives.

Greatness on the kingdom of God turns this world upside down. The great and the mighty are sent to the end of the line, while the meek and lowly are received with honor.

The God of the Universe who came clothed in the humility of Jesus Christ stands ready to welcome each of us into the sheepfold of heaven – and that is so much more than just eternity in heaven. That is fullness of life in this world as well. That is all the love and joy and peace and happiness we know must be somewhere but cannot find. It is the meaning we have been looking for all our lives. It is what will fill up the emptiness and cure the aching loneliness we have inside.

Welcome little children in the name of Christ. Be welcomed as little children because of the love of Christ.

Lord Jesus, I come to you as a little child, with neither riches nor power, neither fame nor glory, neither wisdom nor understanding. But I come just as I am, imperfect, proud, stubborn and selfish. Help me to see myself as a child of the kingdom, to welcome the small and the unfortunate, the poor and the downtrodden in your gracious name. Help me to be first, by being last to live truly for you.

Amen.