|
First
Reading
|
Psalm |
Epistle |
Gospel |
| Jeremiah
11:18-20 |
1 |
James
3:13-43, 7-8a |
Mark
9:30-37 |
A
Mideastern folk tale tells of a man who feared his own footprints.
So instead of walking, he took to running. That only increased the
number of footprints he made, so he ran even faster and faster until
he dropped of exhaustion. What he really needed to do was to stop
and face his fear.
The stories of Jesus leading His disciples
on the final journey to Jerusalem clearly indicate a rising level
of stress. To the disciples, Jesus' predictions of suffering,
humiliation, abandonment and death seem to contradict and negate
the good news, the healing, and the joy Jesus brought to people.
The hope of the disciples’ future world seemed to be crashing
down before them.
Jesus was not unmindful of the disciples'
emotional upheaval. Yet he cared for them too much to offer false
comfort or deceptive promises. The disciples wanted to hear that
their security was assured and their future was safely in their
own hands. In response, Jesus took into his arms a small child.
Jesus was not saying that disciples should be naive and immature
like a child. Rather that children have most of their future ahead
of them, but never know what the future holds, nor presume to
be in control. In the context of Jesus' culture, a child had no
rights and privileges. A "year of the child" would have
been inconceivable in Jesus' time. Nevertheless, despite the total
uncertainty and knowledge of what lay ahead of them, children
grow up, not in resignation and despair, but taking each day as
it comes, growing and becoming something new each day. If a child
took to heart all our expectations of how the world should work,
they would all be clinically depressed and never dare to accept
adult responsibility. Unlike most adults, children do not hold
certainty dearer than truth and wonder.
Now I have to hand it to the disciples.
They were discouraged and disillusioned. They engaged in arguments
among each other that served to distract them and lead them off
course from what was really bothering them. They tried to argue
with Jesus and tried to dissuade him in the strongest possible
terms, but the disciples did not flee or withdraw. They stuck
with Jesus and Jesus stuck with them and that helped to see them
through this struggle. (Often that is how it is. How close we
perceive ourselves to God is related to how close we let God get
to us.)
We certainly live in a time when our sense
of security has come crashing down on top of us and our future
is filled with foreboding and fear. Distracting arguments among
us may touch on symptoms, but ultimately will not help, and will
merely cover up the fear that needs to be faced. Running faster
will lead to exhaustion. If we expect the church to mirror our
vision of heaven and shutting out all the contradictions and dilemmas
of the world we live in, sooner or later we will be crushed with
disillusionment.
On the other hand, if we come to worship,
open to God sticking with us and, like children with most of their
future ahead of them, being open to the availability of God's
grace each day as it comes, we, like the first disciples, will
be able to face difficult journeys as we grow, mature, and become
what God has called us to be.
And
I offer this to you in the name of the Living God, Amen.
