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 

 

On Saturday, we read that, returning from the mount of the Transfiguration, when Jesus 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 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 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 His death and Resurrection to the disciples (see also Mark 8:31).  My study Bible comments that He is showing that He will go to His Passion freely, and will not be taken against His will.  Note that the Gospel tells us that the disciples do not understand, and are afraid to ask Him about it.

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."   Perhaps what the disciples have taken away from Jesus' second prediction that He will rise on the third day is that His Kingdom will manifest as a great earthly kingdom of Israel, as was expected of the Messiah.  Therefore, on the road they disputed among themselves who would be greatest in that expected kingdom.  My study Bible comments that their focus indicates a selfish interest in worldly power.  Jesus points to a little child as the model of true discipleship, emphasizing the virtues which are required for entrance into the kingdom of heaven.  My study Bible names these as humility, dependence, lowliness, simplicity, obedience, and a willingness to love and be loved.  Some Orthodox icons show St. Ignatius of Antioch as this child.

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 Theophylact, who comments on the similar passage in Luke by describing John's comment as regret, his conscience having been pricked by what Christ has just taught about discipleship:  "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."   But, on the other hand, my study Bible says, St. Ambrose views John as expecting full obedience to accompany such blessings.  In both interpretations, however, Christ's response shows that those who act in good faith are not excluded, even if they are not currently numbered among the disciples.  Theophylact comments, "See how divine grace is at work even in those who are not His disciples."  See also Numbers 11:24-30.  On those who use Christ's name without good faith, see Luke 11:23; Acts 19:13-16.

Lent is a good time to ponder humility.  Traditionally, it's a time for us to think about where we come up a little short, or maybe to emphasize that we need to get closer to God, if possible, even to allow for the possibility that there might be things we're missing where we need improvement.  It's a time to strip down to simplicity in our lives, to focus on prayer, to put our mind and our time into the spiritual side of life more deeply than we usually do.  We see that Jesus' chief aim in instructing the disciples about the authority and power they will wield in the future has everything to do with humility -- with the need to treat others, even the littlest ones among them, as those who deserve respect.  Jesus teaches 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."  Not only is He teaching them even to treat little children kindly -- meaning those with the least power or currency among a social group -- but they are to receive that child not as if they receive Jesus, but as if they receive God the Father, the final and full authority for Christ's mission into the world, "Him who sent Me."   This notion of the use of power in a way denoting humility, this concept of "greatness," was absolutely in contrast to the great men of the kingdoms and structures of power in Christ's time.  All we have to do is look at the examples in the Gospels, such as Herod the Great who slaughtered the little children of Bethlehem, of Herod Antipas (and his wife and her daughter) who beheaded John the Baptist in order to fulfill a rash oath, or Pontius Pilate who knew Christ was innocent, but allowed His Crucifixion anyway and washed his hands of the guilt for the sake of stability under Roman rule.  Clearly, brutality was the way of worldly kingdoms and empires.  But when I look around today at the world, although we still have violence and coercion as tools of power, in my personal life one of the most humble people I know is possibly the one with the highest salary.  He's a professional, but I am certain that it is his humble demeanor that allows him to "keep it real," makes him a good person to work with, and also an honest one.  His humility works for him to make him trusted, responsible, and enables his particular integrity.  So when we look to role models, we don't have to contrast the bad apples of this world with the saintly.  There are ways in which Christ's teachings, applied to our own lives, become recognized and valued by others, and let us hope for that recognition to remain a part of our society, and to grow.  It is up to us, for Christ hands to us this responsibility regarding how we treat one another as human beings.  To be humble doesn't mean one must grovel, or tell flattering lies, or engage in any form of manipulative behavior.   It simply means to treat each one with the respect Jesus recognizes belongs to the human soul, regardless of what rank they hold in a power hierarchy.  This is a formula for a good world and a good life, except for the bad apples whose company we don't want as an influence anyway.