They came to
Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, "What
were you discussing on the way?" But they kept silent, for on the way they
had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest. Sitting down, He
called the twelve and said to them, "If anyone wants to be first, he shall
be last of all and servant of all." Taking a child, He set him before
them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, "Whoever receives one
child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not
receive Me, but Him who sent Me."
The disciples are caught in a conversation that
would not be appropriate—especially in light of Jesus’ recent claims that he
would be killed. They were all arguing
about who would be Jesus second-in-command—the one among them who would gain
the greatest honor beside Jesus himself.
Jesus does not rebuke them for being presumptuous. Rather, he just explains what is required to
be the highest honored. He says that to
be honored in the future, they must be the least honored in the present. Both the servant and the child have in common
that they receive the lowest honor in contemporary society. A little child was mostly ignored and not
thought of until they were ready to be taught.
This is the same principle Jesus is using when he is saying that he
would die as a criminal and then God would give him the great honor of being
risen from the dead.
When Jesus is
speaking about “receiving” children, he is speaking about offering
hospitality—which in ancient Mediterranean society is only given to those who
have privilege or those whom one is offering honor. Jesus is telling his disciples to give honor and resources to the least of them.
In my church we have a gal who, for the last eight years, has gotten up in the middle of the night two nights a week to wash towels and clothes for the homeless, so that they might have showers and clean clothes for the rest of the week. This isn't a glamorous job, and she wouldn't appreciate the pulpit even if she got it. But her faithfulness and humility is worthy of greater glory than most pastors.
Being a pastor is a tough job, sure. No one listens to you, and you don't get paid as much as other professionals. Trying to lead a church is often like trying to direct the ocean with a shop-vac. A really frustrating job. But, let's face it, the pastor or elder or church leader, while not a cushy job, is an honored position. More often than not, pastors complain about having too much to do, too much attention, not enough rest and not enough meditation time. That's because the pastor is the center of attention in the church world. They get a lot of respect, so everyone wants to hear their opinion. Their opinion, in the end, doesn't count for much more than anyone elses' but it's always sought.
In Jesus' church, the leader who gets the attention doesn't necessarily get God's attention. Those who are the least significant, the people who fall between the cracks, the suffering and struggling, the ones who don't really fit into the normal church-- they are Jesus' people. They are the great ones, the powerful ones, the ones whom Jesus really pays attention to.
In God's world, power belongs to those least equipped to wield it.
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