Mark begins his Gospel by telling us that Jesus has come to proclaim that “‘the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news’â€Â (1:14-15). Everything that follows in Mark’s Gospel is about this “Good News …. of the kingdom of Godâ€. Jesus’ life, death and resurrection have one intent: To enable us to grow into a way of being in which God reigns.
Service is a constant theme in the Bible. It takes on a particular significance in the Christian Scriptures. Sometimes the theme is explicit, mostly it is implicit. Thus, Matthew tells us: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many†(20:28). Life in the kingdom is characterized by service: “You also ought to wash one another’s feet†(John 13:14) and “just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me†(Matthew 25:40).
Today’s Gospel – Mark 10:35-45 – offers us one of two particularly instructive moments in which Mark makes the theme of servanthood explicit. The first moment is found in Jesus’ response to the outrageous request by James and John: “‘Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you. …. Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory’â€. Jesus tells the two that “whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servantâ€. He is not offering them a strategy for greatness! He is, rather, reminding them – and the other disciples – of what life will be like when God reigns in their minds and hearts. De facto, he is also reminding them that their question shows they are yet some distance from the kingdom! Service and servanthood, when they are flourishing in the community, will be signs that the kingdom has begun to take hold. In particular, they will be signs of our communion in Jesus Christ: “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.â€Â
The second instructive moment is found in 9:34-37. Jesus has become aware that the disciples have been engaged in an animated conversation as they walked along the road. He asks what it was about. “But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest†(9:34). In an especially beautiful moment, Jesus takes the opportunity to explicate a central truth of the kingdom: “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’†(Mark 9:35–37).
So what do you think Jesus’ words and actions with the little child mean?