Proper 20, Yr B (2024) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
Proper 20, Year B (2024) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
Mark 9:30-37 St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
In the name of the one, holy, and living God:
in whom we live, and move, and hove our being. Amen.
“Greatness” seems to be the topic of the day.
When Jesus and his disciples finish their journey to Capernaum, he turns and asks them,
“So, guys,
what were you arguing about on the way?”
But all of a sudden the cat got their tongues, and they were silent
because they had been arguing with one another about who was the greatest.
Jesus had been talking about suffering,
and they couldn’t go there,
so they starting talking about who was the greatest…
not realizing that the two were connected.
Their silence in response to Jesus’ question indicates
that they knew their definition of “greatness”
was perhaps not the best way to be spending their time.
Again and again we hear Jesus say,
“Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all”
or “the first will be last, and the last will be first.”
We hear this over and over in Scripture,
and yet it is,
in reality,
difficult to live.
Our society and the “American Dream” tell us that we can be whoever we want to be
as long as we try hard enough.
Our society sets up competition as the way of being:
the way of getting ahead and proving oneself.
When I read this passage in Mark,
I immediately thought of my all-too-frequent lunchtime college experience.
Lunchtime conversation was always talking about that morning’s exam
– comparing answers to test questions –
or finding out who made what grade on last week’s lab.
“Who is the greatest?” was the looming question.
Jesus, of course, knew what the disciples were arguing about,
so he looked around the room and picked up a small child,
wrapping the child in his arms.
“Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me,
and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
Have you ever noticed
that we never hear a story where Jesus ignores or sets aside a child?
The child is the classic image of the powerless –
those who are without claim
and without the capacity to reward or repay in terms of money or prestige.
To welcome and attend to the needs of a child
requires the motivation of grace and love…
the motivation of gift.
To serve “the least” is to find one’s motivation not because someone can pay you back,
but in the understanding that in serving “the least,”
we are participating in the life of the Kindom of God.
To be the “greatest” then does not mean making the highest grade,
or beating the sales quota by the highest margin,
or bringing in the highest income
or driving the fanciest car.
To be the “greatest” means to live out our lives in service to others.
_______________________________
Some years ago I watched a film called “The Philosopher Kings.”
which documents the lives of seven custodians
who spend their days cleaning and arranging rooms
at some of our nation’s most prestigious colleges and universities.
I would guess that most of these folks go completely unnoticed each day
unless they are sought out for some particular purpose.
In the film, each of these folks tells part of their life stories:
some are filled with utter tragedy,
and all are filled with hope and joy and fulfillment in their daily tasks.
One particular man’s story grabbed my heart and my mind,
especially in relation to today’s Gospel story.
His name was Mr. Lajeunesse.
I must admit that I don’t remember his first name,
but his surname caught my attention because it is a French name
– roughly translated – the young.
Not only that but it is a feminine form –
often some of the most ignored people in many societies.
Mr. Lajeunesse was from Haiti.
He was the youngest child in his family,
and he left Haiti to come work in the United States.
He would wake up very early in the morning
and spend his entire day working as a custodian at Princeton University,
cleaning up after others.
He then would leave his day job at Princeton
and head to his second job as a taxi driver at night,
where he got off work around 2:00 in the morning.
After getting about three hours of sleep, he started his day over again.
Mr. Lajeunesse lived alone in New Jersey,
having left his family behind in Haiti.
He lived on as little money as he could so that he could send money back to his family.
The film then took us with him on a trip back to Haiti to visit his family:
his sons and daughters, his wife, his father, and extended family.
As he goes back to his hometown where he was raised, we see one building –
that is the entirety of his “town.”
The people there have to walk 20 – 25 miles up a mountain to get water.
They make the journey only once or twice a week.
He breaks down and sobs,
seeing the worsening conditions in which his family has to live.
He and his brother,
who still lives in Haiti,
are working to construct water towers to hold enough water for the people in the surrounding area so that they don’t have to journey so far for fresh water.
The process is slow…
and expensive.
They are only halfway done.
He is resolute on finishing,
and even though the task seems overwhelming,
he will continue to work until it is complete.
I imagine when that project is finished,
he will find something else that needs to be done.
Watching this man spending his whole life in the service of others was very humbling.
“Whoever wants to be first
must be last of all
and servant of all.”
It strikes me that “greatness” is a by-product of service,
not a goal to be achieved.
Greatness is determined by what we do when no one else is looking –
with someone who does not count:
someone who cannot pay us back.
This week I invite you to take some time to reflect:
where might these opportunities be in our lives?
Is there someone I have noticed who needs something that I can do?
Are there gifts I have to share with someone who cannot pay me back?
It just may be that in tending to the people no one sees,
we may be ushered into the Kindom of God!
Amen.
