How many Facebook friends do you have? Is it over a hundred yet? Why do we tend to think “the more the merrier?” Isn’t one real friend more valuable than a thousand Facebook “friends?” And if a three-year-old child were given the choice between twenty shining pennies and a wrinkled ten-dollar bill, which would they choose? Don’t children believe “the more the merrier?”
What about Jesus? He was sent to earth to save the entire world. We would think that he also believed “the more, the merrier?” This wasn’t the case. Let’s listen to today’s gospel reading (Mark 9:30-37).
“Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,
but he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching his disciples and telling them, ‘The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.’ But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him.”
Jesus didn’t want the crowds to know where he was. If his purpose in life was to become famous, he would have sought out the crowds and advertised himself. Instead, he preferred to spend time with his small group of disciples. What he had to say would not appeal to the crowds nor even appeal to his committed disciples. Who would want to follow a leader who predicted his own demise? Blinded by their own expectations of the Kingdom of God, they couldn’t even understand what Jesus was saying. And they didn’t really want to ask questions for fear that he meant what he said.
Though Jesus talked about his death, the disciples were still thinking about being famous and powerful. As they argued among themselves who was the greatest, Jesus did a surprising thing.
“Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
‘If anyone wishes to be first,
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.’
Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
‘Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me.’”
Aren’t we surprised that a little child was hanging around the Twelve apostles? These were the “big shots” in the groups, a level “above” the other disciples. Where did the children come from? How did they get so close to Jesus?
Ignoring the adults, Jesus picked up the child and put his arms around him/her. With this one gesture Jesus made it clear who are the most important people in the world, and where leaders in God’s Kingdom were to set their priorities. Does a great and powerful leader put his attention on little children? Jesus gave this child more attention than he did the whole group of disciples who were listening to him.
In today’s first reading (Wisdom 2:12-20), the author reminds us that the just man is “put to the test” by his contemporaries. Does a just man seek the approval of the crowd or the multiplication of Facebook “friends?” His way of life draws persecution from others rather than applauds.
And in the second reading (James 3:16-4:3) we learn that many in the early Christian Church ignored the teachings of Jesus.
“Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?”
Why is it that there is war and conflict among us? Isn’t it because we want to have our way? Isn’t it because of power struggles among ourselves—and the desire for self-importance? This is the opposite of the servant attitude that Jesus taught his disciples. And we can be assured that if we stay close to Jesus, instead of winning the approval of the crowd and multiplying friends, we will be treated the way that he was.
We pray for the courage to be faithful disciples of Jesus.
