Introduction and Context
We are skipping over a pretty big moment since last week’s text. The Transfiguration. Now Mark’s Transfiguration is interesting. Because ultimately it seems to mean very little in the narrative push forward. Peter, James, and John go up the mountain with Jesus. Jesus is transfigured. Moses and Elijah meet with him. A cloud overshadows them and says, “This is my son, the Beloved; listen to him!” And then everything vanishes, and they are just with “only Jesus.”
Then they go back down the mountain. Jesus finds the other disciples trying to heal a boy with a demon and they can’t because this kind of demon can only come our through “prayer [and fasting].” I could go on for a million years about the implication about all of that, but I’ll push forward this week.
But nothing really changes from there, right? None of Peter, James, and John really seem to get or understand anything more than they already had. And certainly, the disciples who weren’t there for the transfiguration don’t really have any understanding either.
But there’s one line in that text that connects to this one. After Jesus is with Moses and Elijah, Peter says, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” And then the text goes on to say, “He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.”
This Week
“But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.”
I believe this might be one of the most important lines that we get in our Gospel text today and that’s saying something. Because even though our Gospel lesson is only 7 verses today, it is packed with important things.
“But the disciples did not understand what Jesus was saying and were afraid to ask him.”
The disciples and Jesus are on the road together and he is trying to teach them about what we were hearing about last week. You know the scene where Jesus rebukes Peter and says, “Get behind me, you satan.” Jesus is again trying to teach them and inform them that he will have to die. That he is going to be killed but then he will rise again.
“But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.”
Now we could ask ourselves, why is it that they are afraid? Are they afraid because they don’t want to appear confused in front of the others? Are they each afraid that they will get rebuked by Jesus like Peter did if they ask about it? Are Peter, James, and John still afraid from the Mountain and they are usually the ones to speak up and ask the questions? Are all of them afraid for their own lives because they are associated with Jesus? Or are they afraid because they don’t understand what it all means, and they don’t know how to ask about it at all?
Whatever the reason for each disciple, none of them ask the hard questions that would inform them about what’s really going on.
And I think Jesus senses this. I think Jesus senses that the disciples aren’t really understanding what’s taking place and so he tries to teach them anyway. He’s asks them what they were arguing about… and the disciples were silent. Silent because I think, even though they don’t get Jesus’ teachings, they knew what they were arguing about probably wasn’t really a good thing.
Because they were arguing about who was the greatest. I’ve sometimes wondered to myself, what they thought would make them the greatest disciple? Was it who evangelized the most people in one day? Was it who could exorcize the most demons? Was it who could answer the most of Jesus’ questions?
I don’t think it’s unlike how we measure “greatness” today. It’s often aligned with power, riches, and authority. Those who “made themselves” through their ingenuity or business cunning. Afterall we currently have a billionaire space race in our country. But there is also a measure of “greatness” of who has the best morals. Who can be as close to moral perfection as possible?
Most of us are jockeying for position, like the disciples were, comparing ourselves in terms of who is greatest. Whether it’s comparing and arguing politics and elections. Whether it’s proving our worth for job interviews and college applications. Whether it’s proving our economic status. The culture demands that we compare and prove our greatness.
But Jesus sits the disciples down and says, “Whoever wants to be first, must be last of all and servant of all.”
That is Jesus’ response to greatness.
“Whoever wants to be first, must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
Any time we’re striving for greatness rather than compassion and alignment with the least of these, we are missing the point. Jesus does not ask us to be the most powerful. Jesus does not ask us to be the best. Jesus does not ask us to be the most holy. Jesus doesn’t ask us to be the most perfect. Jesus doesn’t even ask us to be the best disciple.
Whoever wants to be first, must be last of all and servant of all.
Preaching Possibilities
Fear, Silence, and Asking
There is a theme of silence among the disciples in these chapters. They are silent when Jesus asks them a question. They are silent when they have questions. They are silent when they see something astonishing.
Silence is not a bad thing. In fact, as an introvert, I really love it. It gives me time to sort my thoughts. It gives me time to recharge. But it’s also a defense mechanism when I’m afraid to speak up or ask something. Now in contrast, I know some folks who speak up at everything. Even a brief moment of silence makes them uncomfortable, and they have to fill it. Sometimes with things that make zero sense regarding the question or topic at hand.
But all of the disciples are silent. And clearly, they all have something they want to say but they’re afraid. So, I offer this thought.
Silence is not okay in the midst of misunderstanding.
Think about school. If a teacher is going through a lesson and a child doesn’t get what’s going on, shouldn’t the student raise their hand and say that they still don’t get it?
But it’s not just for students. It’s about us. All of us. Congregation members, seekers, community members. When there’s misunderstanding, we shouldn’t just let it go by. That is the time to ask and talk about what we’re not understanding.
And it needs to be okay that people ask questions.
And that’s going to require patience from all of us when someone doesn’t understand. We live in such a fast-paced world that we just want to state our point, mic drop, and change everyone’s mind. I want to write my Facebook post about this nuanced topic and if you don’t 100% agree, I don’t want to hear you because I don’t have time for you.
Now the nuance here is of course that the question needs to come in good faith. We cannot ask a question to try to embarrass or hurt someone. We cannot ask a question that seeks to belittle or dehumanize someone. But that doesn’t our question has to be devoid of emotion.
The story of God’s incarnation in Jesus is relationship with us. Growth, possibility, conversation, learning, connection, and hope, happen when we are in relationship with one another. Caring for one another. Answering and responding to each other’s questions. And Jesus is passionate about every single bit of that. Especially in Mark, his passion, anger, love, and hope are all right on the surface.
We are not supposed to remain silent in our misunderstanding. We are supposed to ask from where we are. In good faith that we are trying to grow together as a community of faith.
Welcoming the Child
Jesus, taking a child, says, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”
We often say that children are our future. They represent growth and hope and life. All of that is true. But all of that is dependent on the care that they are receiving. And that is what Jesus is focusing on. Children need significant care, and nurture. Children need teaching and instruction. Children need love and grace. And all of this comes without any expectation of receiving something in return.
Children are the least of these. Not because they are not important. Not because they don’t have incredible potential. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. They are of the utmost importance. Their being able to thrive is dependent upon the care they receive.
And in Mark 10:14-15 says, “14But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. 15Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”
Jesus tells all present that they should receive the kingdom of God as a little child. One who is malleable, dependent, and such full of potential. We are all children of God. And we are to treat each of each other as a child of God.
And that’s the overall message of this passage. Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be first, must be last of all and servant of all.”
All. All people. Not just children. Not just those that we like. But we are in service to all.
That because of the love and grace of God promised to us by Jesus, we will live every day to help others know that they too are Beloved children of God. That every day we remember that we are called to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God. That each day, in the promises that we make in our baptisms, we are called to greater service, to greater love, and to greater kindness because of the love that God first showed us.
Micah Krey 
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