Who is the greatest?
Recently I read the passage from Mark 9: 33-37 where
Jesus’ disciples were caught in the midst of their argument about which of them
was the greatest. Jesus knew what they were discussing – but he let them argue,
and then he sat them down, confronted them about it, and went on to use this as
a “teaching moment.”
“If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last,
and the servant of all.” Jesus proceeded
to take a little child in his arms and went on to tell his Twelve disciples, “Whoever
welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever
welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” Do you think these men were as confused as the
leaders of our world today? Right now I
see and hear about power struggles among leaders in so many countries – not the
least of which our country of service, South Sudan. The leaders certainly don’t
appear to be welcoming the “little children.” Instead, they are making these
vulnerable children experience more hurt, more pain, serious risk of malnutrition,
and continuing insecurity.
As one of Jesus’ followers, it would seem the CHURCH as a whole should be speaking out for the “little children.” The bitter
differences of leaders throughout the world are no different than in Jesus’ day
and time. But rather than quote LAWS AND RULES for his disciples to follow, he
spoke of the HEART! Times haven’t changed.
Jesus spoke of being a SERVANT LEADER……not many of those around these
days!
I came across an article recently about Uruguay’s President,
Jose Mujica, a man who donates most of his salary to the poor and lives in a
simple farm house with his wife. Most would consider him crazy….and I wouldn’t
pretend to know what motivates his servant heart. But many presidents in this
world could learn a thing or two from him, I dare say!
Living here, with no TV in our home and little evening
entertainment, some books circulate amongst the ex-patriates living in Yei. One
such book is Kate, a book about Princess Catherine from England. I just
finished reading it, and it made me think about the issue of “class structure”
and how we have so little control over many aspects of our lives. We cannot
change where we were born. We cannot change who our parents are. We cannot
change the faith into which we are raised. Others have had that control. The
children in South Sudan and many other desperate parts of this world cannot
change that they were born into their circumstances. But we from the US often
say that hard work and determination can change those circumstances, and we can
“rise above” those circumstances. Isn’t that the American Dream we from the US
have grown up with? Such was the story of Princess Catherine…born into a lower
class family that worked hard and dreamed of better things. I would venture to
say very few become a princess, even though many a young girl may dream of it!
Here, and in many other parts of the world, rising above
life’s difficult circumstances certainly requires hard work and determination.
But so many forces are beyond the control of the vulnerable children. Daily
survival is often their focus. I was out in a village this past week and found
myself counting plastic bags from mosquito nets that had been distributed by
UMCOR volunteers to individual homes. I kept thinking, “I should be doing
something more important.” But thankfully
I was prompted to think of the lives that will be saved as the little children
and families start using these mosquito nets properly and avoid that serious case
of malaria! Then my counting took on more significance……and I think my pace
even picked up! So often we think our
day has more value “if we do something really
important today.” Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes one these little children…..”
Thankfully there are many Aid Organizations who are trying
to help in South Sudan and other desperate countries. But will the aid come in
time? Will the aid reach every child? I
know I do not have answers to what seems like such serious problems in our
world today. But I do believe that my response can only be to pray for those
leaders who are still arguing over “WHO IS THE GREATEST?” And work in my “little
circle of life” to welcome the children around me, and seek to be a servant in
all that I do….whether that means counting out plastic bags from distributed mosquito
nets, or examining a child who is sick, or waiting for someone who is not “keeping
time.” I think that is what Jesus is
saying to me today! Thanks for listening! J
