Gospel Reading: Mark 9:30-37
They went on from there and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again." But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him. Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."
Sermon: The Rev. Dr. Maryann Amor
Looking at this picture makes me cringe. I always wonder, How did I leave the house looking like that? I know it’s the 90s, but what’s with the purple pants? And why do my siblings look so cute while I don't?
I remember being the child in that picture, carefree and not concerned with what I looked like or what I wore. Things that weigh on my mind now didn’t matter back then. I see the same thing in my nieces. Let me show you a picture that I actually love.
This is a photo of me with my nieces from this summer when I was in BC. We were at the Ecodairy, a small dairy farm in Abbotsford where you can feed the animals. Abby, who is 6, is on the left, and Julia, who is 4, is standing in front of me. That morning, they chose their own outfits and they were super proud. Abby is wearing neon pink soccer socks and a white tutu…and even though it’s summer, both girls are wearing boots. Julia's are brand new, and she got them just because they look like Abby's. Neither girl cares what anyone thinks. They’re happy, carefree, and living in the moment—just as I was when I was a child. Just as we all were.
All these thoughts came to my mind when I read today’s Gospel. The disciples are arguing over who is the greatest among them, and Jesus responds by saying, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." Then he took a little child, placed the child among them, and said, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."
Why does Jesus use a child to teach this lesson?
In the ancient world, children were more vulnerable than they are today. They were seen as property, with no rights. Many children didn’t even survive to adulthood due to malnutrition and disease. Jesus lived in a world where children weren’t acknowledged as individuals, unlike today where we value children’s rights, health, and education. Back then, children were at the very bottom of society.
By placing a child among the disciples, Jesus is telling them they need to stop worrying about being the greatest. Instead, they must be willing to take the place of the least. They need to be like vulnerable children. When they do this, they can welcome others who are also vulnerable—and in doing so, they welcome Jesus himself.
While the message of this Gospel is fairly straightforward, I think there’s another layer of meaning. One author writes: “Children are needy and not often thankful. Children require attention. Children mess things up, speak out of turn, and have no social filter. The disciples were like children in the sense that they were dependent upon the hospitality of others. And children help teach us what it means to be human and faithful. Before they learn to be someone else, they are their full selves.”
As children grow, they learn to conform to what society deems to be acceptable. They stop wearing purple pants, boots in the summer, tutus, and neon pink socks. They learn that fitting into society matters a lot. Some children learn this very early, while others take longer. But eventually, it happens to every one.
I wonder if Jesus is also using the child to show the disciples the importance of giving up the societal layers they’ve built around them, Is He inviting them—and us—to stop pretending and be our truest selves? If we can do that, maybe we’ll realize that no one is truly “the greatest.” Inside, we’re all scared and vulnerable, hiding behind all the stuff we’ve put on to protect ourselves from judgment and rejection.
Thinking of the Gospel this way moves me very deeply. I look at Abby and Julia and wish they could stay just as they are: carefree, happy, and unbothered by what others think. But I know that’s not realistic. I’ve already seen it start. A child at daycare teased Julia about her socks, and later my sister noticed she kept pushing her socks down, trying to hide them. That child’s comment impacted Julia, making her feel ashamed. At just 4 years old, she’s already learning to hide parts of herself to fit in.
I know that nothing I do will stop them from growing up and learning to hide more and more of who they really are. They’ll do whatever it takes to be accepted, to be something else, to be someone else. I wish they didn’t have to go through that. I wish the same for myself, and for all of us. I wish we could reconnect with the feeling we’ve all lost—the ability to just be.
And I really wonder, if we could see ourselves as we truly are, if we could see the child we each carry inside, what kind of world would we live in? Would life be less stressful because we wouldn’t argue about who’s the greatest? Would we be kinder to others, knowing that we’re all just scared children trying to navigate a harsh world?
So while today’s Gospel message is clear and straightforward, Jesus using a child to illustrate the importance of valuing the least in society, thereby, telling the disciples that they need to stop arguing over who is the greatest. We can push the message a little further. Could the child also be a sign for us that we need to return to our true selves? The child in Jesus' lesson isn't just a symbol of vulnerability and humility; it's also a reminder of the purity and authenticity we once had before the world taught us to hide. Jesus is calling us to strip away the layers of we’ve built up around us, to stop pretending to be someone we’re not, and to live with the openness and freedom we had as children. If we can see the children that exist deep inside ourselves—and others—the vulnerable and real selves we all put away, we might find it easier to stop striving to be the greatest. We might be more compassionate, more accepting, and more connected to one another, welcoming each other as Jesus asks us to.
Amen.
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