If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all

Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and he did not want anyone else to know it. For he taught his disciples and said to them, "The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And after he is killed, he will rise the third day." But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask him.

Then he came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?" But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. And he sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." Then he took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when he had taken him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever receives one of these little children in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me."

Now John answered him, saying, "Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us." But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in my name can soon afterward speak evil of me. For he who is not against us is on our side. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."

- Mark 9:30-41

Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and he did not want anyone else to know it. For he taught his disciples and said to them, "The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And after he is killed, he will rise the third day." But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask him. Jesus decides that he will pass through Galilee without anyone else knowing, in order to teach his disciples without others around. Once again, as he has in the past few readings, Jesus seeks to warn his disciples about what is going to happen: Jesus will be betrayed "into the hands of men," and they will kill him. And after he is killed, he will rise on the third day. Still, they do not understand, as is clear from the past few readings in which Jesus has already sought to teach his disciples about what is going to happen. (See, for example, the reading and commentary from Saturday.) I find this setting of "passing through Galilee" interesting. He is on the road, and uses this venue for teaching. This tells us that all places are places to meet Christ in private (such as St. Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus, or St. Peter meeting Christ on the road out of Rome). Many times Jesus has sought to take his disciples privately aside, sometimes for teaching and sometimes for rest. Often, the efforts to take them aside are thwarted, by those seeking healing or by the crowds who follow Jesus wherever he goes. There are times when Jesus finally retreats by himself, such as to a mountain to pray.

Then he came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?" But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. Again, the setting is the road, the drama that takes place on the road. While they were walking, Jesus heard them disputing among themselves. But he waits until they are in the house in Capernaum to speak to the disciples about this. "What were they talking about?" he asks. But they are silent. My study bible suggests that in this reading we already have two incidents where the disciples aren't communicating with Jesus. First of all, they are afraid to ask him what he means when he teaches them about his coming death and resurrection. Now, they are afraid to reply when he questions them. They may be afraid to face the facts about his death and resurrection, or afraid of more rebukes - which is why they didn't question him when he was teaching. Now, my study bible points out, even while Jesus was teaching about his own death, the disciples were speaking about personal ambitions. Perhaps, it points out, they misunderstood about his "glorious coming and the power of the Kingdom." To quote from a note: "They miss the point of suffering and discipleship. For they have performed many miracles and have exercised great power, and now they are tempted by pride and desire for position. So serious is this issue that the remainder of this chapter is cast against its backdrop." What I find important is once again the disciples' failure to quite keep up with Jesus, and to understand what he's talking about. But Jesus understands them perfectly well, even when they don't speak. Once again (as in Thursday's reading), we are treated to Jesus' teachings which reflect immediately upon his experiences. I love this fact about his preaching and teaching. We should recall this in our own lives; our experiences happen to help us to learn, to point the way, and even as Jesus does with the disciples, to point out our flaws or where we neglect to learn, so that we can grow in discipleship. Life itself is a journey of learning in this discipleship, of growth. We're all on the road in that sense.

And he sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." Then he took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when he had taken him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever receives one of these little children in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me." A teaching about humility, one of Jesus' greatest and most memorable sermons. We are to be humble, and receive all of those who come to us in his name. To my mind this is a teaching also about the communion of saints; we are all united in this journey and we are here to help one another. My study bible notes, "The passion for position must be displaced by a decision to be last, to serve all people. Beyond even humility, service is active care and love for others." The words, active care and love for others, strike me as essential to our understanding of our lives and what we are to do with them in this love, this strength of fellowship. In Saturday's reading, I quoted a note from my study bible that pointed out that "what Christ's disciples can or cannot do reflects on the Lord Himself." So, therefore, if we fail in this active care and love, we also fail to properly reflect on the Lord.

Now John answered him, saying, "Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us." But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in my name can soon afterward speak evil of me. For he who is not against us is on our side. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward." My study bible points out that this discussion follows the argument of the disciples as to who would be the greatest. My study bible once again has a helpful note: "Sectarianism and triumphalism (the attitude that one creed is superior to all others) are forbidden, for God's working transcends our limited perceptions. One is either for or against Christ, but it is not always ours to know who is on which side." This is a great statement about mystery, and that it even extends to our faith. When we receive a child in Christ's name, as Jesus points out in his prior example, how do we know from appearances who or what the child will grow to be? How can we judge? The question here is similar - how do we know or judge those whom we help or to whom we extend fellowship or care? It follows that the practice of humility and loving kindness extends as deeply into the practice in the living of our daily lives as it can get. I don't think that Jesus' teachings here are an exhortation to great deeds of service that are necessarily splendid or exemplary, but to daily acts of loving kindness. We don't know the stranger who comes to us. The child who's "received in his name" is another potential disciple. It is about our attitude of loving service that Jesus speaks, not deeds or outcomes or perfect records of service. This must be our practice, no matter what we do.

But there is more to this reading than that; service extends to the way we treat one another in the church and among the churches. In this fellowship of saints, we are all equals. Do we strengthen one another or pillory one another? Well, I hardly need to comment on 2,000 years of Christian history. Speaking for myself, I have many readers from many denominations (as far as I can tell), and this makes me very happy. My bottom line is that I hope that whatever I write is in some way helpful. As the note from my study bible says, we are either for or against Christ, and "it is not always ours to know who is on which side." If we consider Christ in his role as Logos, the Creator of the universe, how are we to judge who seeks to serve Logos - even those devout of other faiths who may not know the name of Jesus. Perhaps their souls, too, seek what we find in Christ, and we do not know what their future holds - especially when we consider that this future may be eternal. At any rate, as my study bible says, "God's working transcends our limited perceptions." There is just so much that we do not know. Today, I invite you to focus solely on Christ in your prayer. Ask Christ to open up the meanings of these words for you -- but even more importantly, what does it mean for you to practice humility and active loving service? That could be as simple as a kindness to someone when you are tired, or an extra smile for a person who happens to come your way. I may also say that loving kindness can take the form of a rebuke (as it does with Jesus' stern rebuke to Peter in Thursday's reading, for example), of telling someone a truth they need to hear for their own sake. As you focus today on Lenten practice, remind yourself that this practice is about love, its central face the One of Christ, and his teachings to you about how to put into service what he tells you. His is the "spirit of Truth." Ask him in prayer to teach you what it means to practice what he teaches.