"We Are Called to Imitate Jesus"
Mark 9:30-37
One cold morning when I was in high school I was dropped off early for basketball practice, and the doors to the school were locked.
A janitor who worked at the school opened the door for me and invited me into his office.
As I sat there, he got to talking to me about his childhood.
He told me that he grew up very poor.
His father had left when he was young and his mother had to raise him and his two sisters on her own.
As a child he often had to wear clothes to school that weren't the right fit, sometimes the pants he wore were hand-me-downs from his sisters; often he wasn't well-groomed.
He might not have smelled so good on some mornings.
One year, the night before Valentine's Day, his mother helped him make home-made cards for every child in his class-room because she couldn't afford to buy the pre-made cards that all the other kids had to hand out.
The next morning all the children handed out their Valentine's Day cards at school.
Everyone in the class got cards except for him.
He sat at his desk and wept.
The teacher, feeling sorry for him, allowed him to go home early from school that day.
This experience haunted him all his life.
In our Gospel Lesson for this morning, Jesus is teaching, or trying to teach His disciples that He will soon be killed, and then three days later rise from the dead.
And while this is going on His disciples are arguing with one another about which one of them is the greatest.
Instead of getting angry at them, we are told that Jesus sits down and calls them all over to Him.
Then He says, "Whoever wants to be first must be least of all and the servant of all."
And in order to illustrate what He is teaching, He reaches for a little child, and embraces him.
Then Jesus said, "Whoever welcomes one of these children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me isn't actually welcoming me but rather the one who sent me."
In this lesson Jesus uses a literal child in order to make His point.
In Matthew Chapter 25, Jesus speaks of the same kind of thing, but He talks about clothing those who are naked, feeding the hungry, visiting those in prison, giving a glass of water to the thirsty, and so on.
Then He says, "I assure you that when you have done it for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me."
So, the child in this passage doesn't just exclusively represent those who are young in years.
The child represents all those who are vulnerable and helpless.
The child also represents those who are forgotten, and even those who are the most ungracious, manipulative, and disagreeable.
Caring for and serving them is often difficult.
It can be painful.
It can take a lot of work, patience, time, extra attention.
As you all are well-aware, a week and a half ago, city officials knocked on the doors of approximately 1,500 people living at the Superior Creek Lodge, telling them that they had to leave immediately.
Many of these folks are the poorest of the poor, the most vulnerable people in our midst.
They don't have the money to hire attorneys, demand their rights, sue or anything like that.
They have to do what they are told.
I was down at the lodge most of that Thursday night as people were being herded up, almost like cattle.
Many of those folks have lived at the Lodge for years.
All of their belongings are in those rooms.
Think about it this way: What would it be like for you if someone in authority were to knock on the door of your house and tell you that you must leave immediately--hit the streets--you're on your own--too bad, so sad?
How would you feel?
Add to that, the fact that you have been displaced, marginalized, over-looked and treated as less than human your entire life.
You have no money and no car.
You have children you are trying to take care of.
Perhaps you work at Burger King or McDonalds for $7.00 an hour and are never able to save any money.
Perhaps, paying the rent at the lodge and keeping your family in peanut butter and Spam takes all the money you have.
How would you feel?
What would this situation do to your already terribly desperate life-style?
How would you cope?
How in the world would you be able to deal with what was going on?
It's hard enough to raise a family when you have a decent income.
It's hard enough to move, when you have months to prepare and the ability to pay for a moving van.
It's difficult enough to have a healthy self-esteem when you come from what we might consider a "good home."
That night at the Lodge, I didn't see people fighting.
I didn't see people protesting.
I saw desperate people resigned to their lot in life.
For an entire week, 24-7 this little church has stepped up, and welcomed Jesus--God Himself.
That is who these folks represent.
Some of you have worked such long hours that it has made you sick.
Others of you have neglected your own family duties and put your plans on hold in order to do whatever you can to make sure that your fellow human beings are treated like human beings--by someone.
This Church has welcomed Jesus into its midst and there is nothing more important in all the world.
You have served.
And, as far as I know, there haven't been any arguments along the way as to which one of you is the greatest.
The rewards that come to those who have understood that greatness is service, are rewarded with the blessings of "the one who sent" Jesus.
And these blessings aren't material.
You can't cash them in at the bank.
They won't buy you a new car or flat screen t-v.
These blessings are an inner reward that is worth more than all the worldly rewards combined.
Let's face it.
We worship money in this country, and our idols are the rich and famous.
They are the ones whom we give special privilege, treat with respect and try to emulate.
They are the ones we smile at and try to be friends with.
They are acceptable and welcome in every home, every business, every party, every church--by everyone.
They, in so many ways, are the ones we serve.
I was giving a woman who had been kicked out of the Superior Creek Lodge a ride this past week.
She has been staying at another hotel which is just on the other side of Ringgold Road from Superior Creek.
I asked her how it is going over there.
She told me that the people working at this other hotel are treating the people from Superior Creek Lodge very badly and referring to them as "those people" right in front of their faces.
She said that her room at this other place was dirty when she and her family moved in.
Used cigarette butts are under the bed.
Cockroaches crawl out of the air conditioning vents.
And when a person, who was spraying rooms for bugs, walked by her room--she asked him to treat hers as well.
His response was: "We aren't spraying the rooms that 'you people' from the Superior Creek Lodge are in."
I know this hotel pretty well.
It's just down the street from us.
It is not a nice place.
And yet, even they are treating the people who have been displaced like so much human trash.
The oppressed and suffering in our world are in some respects like children, in that they are extremely vulnerable and are usually struggling for survival.
Compared to most of the world, I was born with a "silver spoon in my mouth."
I had parents who would do anything for me.
I never had to worry where I would get my next meal.
I never worried if I would be put out on the street.
I never questioned my parent's unconditional love for me.
My world was safe.
I was surrounded by great role models.
I was taught the life skills one needs in order to be successful.
I was given every opportunity possible...
...and still I messed up in a million ways--and continue to do so every day.
I can't imagine where I would be if I hadn't been born with the privileges I had.
And yet, what had I done to deserve them?
As far as I know I had no say in the matter.
And what about the people who are born into families where the mother is addicted to crack and the father is not around?
What about the people who are not encouraged to do well in school, or not even forced to go to school?
What about the people who were never loved?
What about the people who were physically, psychologically, and sexually molested by those who are supposed to love and care for them?
What about the persons who have felt unwanted ever since they were born into this world?
Is it their fault?
Did they ask for this?
And even when they are no longer children in age; if they have never been taught the life skills needed to survive and thrive in this world--are they not still very much like children themselves even when they are grown?
When we welcome people--visitors and friends--into our homes, we make an effort to make them comfortable and to give them the best.
Before they arrive, we vacuum the carpet, dust the furniture, clean the bathrooms.
We make sure that they safe and know that they are wanted, respected, important, loved.
Jesus is calling on us to "welcome" all people in this manner--and all means ALL.
Jesus makes it clear that the best evidence of our commitment to God is how we treat the most vulnerable among us.
And welcoming the least, the lost, the last, the marginalized, the "kicked around," is sacrificial, demanding, dirty and sometimes dangerous.
But this is what Jesus did.
And in doing so, Jesus got in trouble, was arrested and was crucified.
Three days later, though, He rose from the dead...
Jesus said, "Whoever wants to be first must be least of all and the servant of all...Whoever welcomes one of these children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me isn't actually welcoming me but rather the one who sent me."
We are called to imitate Jesus.
When we serve the least and the last, we welcome Jesus into our hearts.
And that is what it's all about.
