The Last In Line

The Last in Line

Mark 9:30-37

Ever play “King of the Mountain” when you were a little kid?

It doesn’t take any equipment.

All you need is a pile of dirt or maybe a mound of snow.

Then, several children run up the mound and try to push the others off on their way to the top.

Whoever is left standing at the top of the “Mountain” is the greatest or the “King of the Mountain.”

I learned that game when I was maybe 5 or 6 years old.

How about you?

From an early age, many if not most of us, whether it is done intentionally or not, are taught that greatness implies power, strength, fame, wealth and all the other things that make things go our way.

A person is often thought of as a great success if they have a lot of money, drive an expensive car, live in a big house, and it goes on and on.

But this morning’s gospel lesson begs the question: “What makes people truly great?”

This is a question that has been on people’s minds since the beginning of time.

What constitutes greatness?

Having just heard Jesus tell them that He will be betrayed, killed and resurrected on the third day, the disciples remain clueless as to what Jesus is talking about and, therefore, clueless about what Jesus is really about and what true greatness is.

And so, they are walking on a path.

And on that path, they start arguing with one another about which one of them is the greatest.

Perhaps they are comparing which one of them has spent the most time with Jesus, or maybe which one has seen the greatest miracle or perhaps performed the greatest miracle.

We don’t really know.

What we do know is that Jesus is not impressed.

I can imagine Jesus saying, “Hey, there was a lot of excitement back there on the road, what were you all talking about?”

And then, I can imagine the embarrassment that the disciples felt.

With their eyes focused on the ground, not one of them answered.

They had been caught with their pride on display.

Jesus’ response is to sit them down for a time of instruction.

Jesus was their rabbi and in rabbinic Judaism the rabbi always sat down with his students around him.

And the teaching takes two forms.

One is a pronouncement and the other is a demonstration.

The pronouncement is: “Anyone who wants to be first”—or in this case the greatest—“must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

This had to have confused them, because it wasn’t what they had been taught by the world—and if we are honest—it’s not what we were taught either.

The world’s standards of greatness are usually yoked with power over others, wealth, control, status and influence.

But that’s not how Jesus sees it.

And so, to drive home His point He gives them the demonstration part of His teaching.

He takes a little child who happened to be hanging around the house, picks the child up, and embraces the child in His arms.

From our vantage point, this seems cute: “Aaawh, Jesus picks up and hugs a child.”

But it was not likely cute to Jesus’ disciples.

In their day, children were definitely “seen but not heard.”

Children weren’t worth much until they grew up and proved themselves.

They were considered nobodies.

Their worth was tied up in their potential as adults, not in their being children.

But here Jesus places a child in the center of their attention and says, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

What in the world does that mean?

“In my name” means something like, “because of me,” or “having learned it from me.”

(pause)

What if we imagined that we all were in agreement that greatness isn’t about power and wealth and fame and all the rest, but instead greatness is measured by how much we share with others, how much we take care of others, how much we love others, how much we serve others?

What kind of world would we live in?

Can you imagine a planet full of people trying to outdo one another with their deeds of kindness and service?

What if there were nationally televised competitions to see who is willing to be the last in line so that others can go first?

What kind of world would we live in?

(pause)

A study that came out four years ago, found that drivers of flashy cars are less likely to stop and allow pedestrians to cross the road than drivers of less flashy cars.

The likelihood people will slow down for a pedestrian decreases 3% for every extra $1,000 that their vehicle is worth.