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 on 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, after the Transfiguration, when Jesus (with John, James, and Peter) came to the disciples, 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 become 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 on the third day."  But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.  This is the second time that Jesus has predicted to the disciples what will be coming after Passover in Jerusalem, known to us as Passion Week or Holy Week.  The first time He spoke to them of His death was directly after Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ (see this reading).  Let us note that at this time Jesus again did not want anyone to know of His presence, although they are in Galilee.  It is not yet His hour for death.  In this second revelation to the disciples about what is to come, He includes that He will be betrayed.  My study bible says that this second prediction of Christ's death and Resurrection is done to show that He is going to His Passion freely, and is not being taken against His will.  Note also the reaction of the disciples:  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."   My study bible comments that this dispute over who would be the greatest shows a selfish interest in worldly power.  They have likely assumed that Christ's prediction of what is to happen at Jerusalem heralds the coming of a worldly kingdom, ruled by Christ.  So, they began to dispute the positions each would have in such an imagined kingdom.  My study bible comments that, pointing to a little child as the model of true discipleship, Jesus emphasizes what is necessary to be first or greatest.  One must be servant of all, understanding that to receive even a little child is to receive Christ, and to receive Christ is to receive the Father who sent Him.

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 cites the commentary of Theophylact on this passage, who sees John's comment as a regret, his conscience having been pricked by what Jesus has just said about the last and the first (see immediate verses above).  On the other hand, it notes, St. Ambrose sees John as expecting full obedience to accompany the blessings of ministry.  But in either understanding.  the response of Jesus teaches that those who act in good faith are not excluded, even if they are not currently numbered among the disciples.   Theophylact writes:  "See how divine grace is at work even in those who are not His disciples."  See also Numbers 11:24-30.   Regarding those using Christ's name without good faith, see Luke 11:23, Acts 19:13-16.

In today's reading, our Lord gives great expression to His own compassion and open heart.  There is first of all His willingness to sacrifice Himself for those whom He has come into the world to save.  He has brought the love of God in Himself as a gift to the world, and as a part of that gift He will express the greatest love possible, He will lay down His life for His friends (John 15:13).  His generosity extends to all possible boundaries in terms of the love He shares.  In His teachings to the disciples regarding how they are to become the bishops and "great" in His Church, He extends the same generosity as a demand upon them.  He tells them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."   Unless one truly considers the hierarchy of creation, the "ratio" of grandeur, if you will, between creature and Creator, one cannot begin to truly grasp the magnanimity of His teaching that follows:  "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."   If the disciples think that being the "greatest" is something they really desire, then they must consider what He tells them, that to receive a little child in His name is to be receiving Him -- and that to receive Him is to receive the Father who sent Him.  How gracious and expressive of the expanded heart of Christ can they be?  These words express far more than we can even imagine.  In His final expression to the disciples in today's reading, He expresses great generosity in embracing those not of His immediate following, but who also work miracles in His name, extending tolerance among followers.  If only we had individuals in public life who sought to embody such a spirit of gracious and generous behavior, rather than the many who seem to desire to divide and enrage.  I wonder where we would be if all could seek to measure up -- to no matter how small a degree -- to the generous spirit of Christ?  It is part and parcel of our faith to understand the idea that to receive a child in Christ's name is to understand that one also receives Christ, and thereby the One who sent sent Him.  We take this to such depths of rootedness in our theology that we understand it as teaching us that all are created in the image of God, and all carry the image of Christ within.  And yet, we seldom see this attitude embraced around us, at least in our so-called secular lives.  As I have written before in this blog, the secular life -- for a Christian -- is not meant to be separately lived from the holy or sacred.  Rather, it is our internal life of reaching toward Christ in worship and communion that is meant to tinge all of our life, and that includes our common relations with those around us.  There might be times when we really do need to stand up and distance ourselves from injustice, abuse, and bad behavior that goes contrary to what we know is good, or true, or beautiful.  But that does not stop us from understanding that ours is meant to be a communion in love, and a participation in the grace of God.  It is possible to disagree with one another on all matters of public (and even private) dispute, and yet, at the same time, to hold oneself to the highest standard of loyalty in communion and worship of the generous and gracious Jesus Christ.  In a world that seems to ratchet up degrees of hatred by the day, let us consider our place in our worship of Jesus and where He calls us to be both in relation to Him and in conforming to His teachings.  There is nowhere in the Gospels where Jesus speaks frivolously or vainly.  On the contrary, He promises that it is in following His word that we are His disciples.  In John 14:15, at the Last Supper, He tells the disciples, "If you love Me, keep My commandments."  There is nothing He says that is negotiable or negligible.  Each word has meaning, all is deliberate and chosen.  Everything that He teaches to the disciples is also meant for us.  Unfortunately, in today's world, we may observe even those who proclaim they act in the name of love and tolerance, and yet manage to preach hate, vengeance, and evisceration for their political and social enemies.  Let us consider the words of St. Paul:  "And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma" (Ephesians 5:2).  Let us endeavor, in all our worldly lives, to ever be that sweet-smelling aroma that fills heaven with its love of Christ, and seeks truly to live to His word and teachings.