Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me

 Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone 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

Yesterday, we read that when Jesus came to the disciples (after coming down from the mount of Transfiguration), He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them.  Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him.  And He asked the scribes, "What are you discussing with them?"  Then one of the crowd answered and said, "Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit.  And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid.  So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not."  He answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I bear with you?  Bring him to Me."  Then they brought him to Him.  And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.  So He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?"  And he said, "From childhood.  And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him.  But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."  Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."  Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"  When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!"  Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him.  And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He is dead."  But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.  And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?"  So he said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."

 Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone 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.  This is the second time that Jesus teaches the disciples about His death and Resurrection.  This time it's with a new detail:  He will be betrayed.  How can the disciples even begin to take this in?  They are looking toward the manifestation of a kingdom, and He is the Messiah.   James, John, and Peter have just come from the Transfiguration.  My study bible says that this second prediction of death and Resurrection is done to show that He is going freely to His Passion, and not being taken against His will.

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."  In the expectation of receiving His kingdom, the disciples are disputing among themselves as to who will be greatest in this Kingdom; they are thinking on worldly terms of a worldly kingdom, in the popular expectations of what the Messiah would be and do.   It's a "selfish interest in worldly power," as my study bible puts it.   Jesus pulls the "least of these" from the crowd, and teaches the disciples what their leadership is supposed to be like:  not a dispute over who is the greatest, but who serves the least among them will be the greatest.  The least among them, when received in His name, is not the Christ received, but even the Father Himself.

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."   We are beginning to get an understanding of faith in a deeper sense, the link that connects all of us, each of us.   That is, what it means to work in His name.  Jesus here makes it clear:  he who is not against us in on our side.  And there's a deeper link in Christ's name, whoever gives them a cup of to drink  in His name will not lose his reward.

 While the disciples dispute among themselves as to who will be greatest in Jesus' kingdom, they are thinking about worldly kingdoms, like the one of Herod Antipas, for example, who reigns in Galilee. 
But this is an entirely different kingdom, and entirely different order of things entirely.  They know the Roman Empire, with its tremendous worldly power and might, but this -- yet again -- is a kingdom of an entirely different sort of  power and regulation.  In Jesus' Kingdom, the greatest among them "shall be last among them and servant of all."   And the key to this Kingdom is the will of the Father.  That is what it means to be "in the name" of God, or of Christ -- it is the reality of the Kingdom present, the will of the Father.   This is something understood even in the terms of a worldly kingdom, where the decree of the king or emperor is enforced as if the king or emperor is present.  And the name of the monarch -- or his or her signature or seal -- carries the same weight as his or her presence.   When receiving dignitaries or representatives of a kingdom, one receives them as if one is receiving the king.  But in Jesus' case, whoever receives even a little child "in His name" -- that is, in faith -- receives not only the Christ, but even the One who sent Him, the greatest, the Highest, the First.   Here it is faith that creates the presence of the Name, the true King.  And what it means to be truly great is to understand that presence in the little ones, to act and to receive as the Father wills.  This is a kingdom of love, not of rank and superiority.  In this context, a drink of water given to one of the disciples in His name, is an act that will not lose its reward.  It is a bond of faith, an act witnessing the presence of the Kingdom.   For "where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20 NKJV).    In this sense, all who put faith in Christ are spiritually unified in the Name, for "he who is not against us is on our side."  It is faith and love of Christ that binds this Kingdom and makes it present, faith in His word and teachings and commands.  The greatest among them will be the One who goes to the Cross in the Father's will, knowingly, laying down His life for His friends -- and He will call His disciples His friends.  He sets the example of the Kingdom, His Kingdom, for all of them and for all of us.  He isn't just the servant, but also the sacrifice, for all.  How can we be of His Kingdom if we do not seek to be like Him, the One who serves the Father, who takes up His Cross, who exchanges a worldly life and way of thinking for the life of this Kingdom that must be made manifest through us in this world, via our faith?  Let us remember what it is to live in His name.  This isn't about a sort of "magical" phrase, it's about life devoted to His presence, His teachings, His persona -- and the Father's will that He fulfills.  It's faith in the times we are called to sacrifice, to give up something.  It's faith in the mystical reality of the Kingdom.  It's faith in God's love.  It's faith in God's word.  It's faith in Christ, and living "in His name."  Can we be what He calls us to be?