Thoughts for the Day

They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He 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 about 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.’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

We have seen Jesus and the disciples travel to Caesarea Philippi in the far north, then to the Mount of Transfiguration and finally to the base of the mountain from where they now begin their long journey back south through Galilee toward Jerusalem and the cross that awaits Jesus. Now Jesus shifts his emphasis to teaching his disciples.

In the 1980s the Church of England brought out a report called 'Children in the way'. It's double meaning was intentional, were children a bit of a distraction or were they travelling with the adults 'in the Way' of Jesus? The Diocese of Worcester where I worked as Children's and RE Adviser managed to get a 97% return of a huge national questionnaire about children's work from all its churches, thanks to my predecessor. The study (which led on to the Report) advocated working with all ages together because all of us were pilgrims travelling as baptised Christians together, and could learn from one another. We can see this so clearly when Jesus takes a child, the least in society, to use them as an example.

When Mark says that Jesus and his disciples are "on the way" this is a code phrase for saying he is travelling towards the cross, and his death and resurrection, and he knows his disciples urgently need some preparation for this because they simply do not understand him, preferring to argue about who will be first in God's Kingdom. As Halford E. Luccock a Methodist minister once said, "We too are always tempted to make a detour around the Cross, in favor of the open tomb". As we approach Lent, we should remember we move towards Jesus' death.

Heavenly Father,
as we travel with Jesus and the disciples
through these last few weeks of his life,
let us not forget that the forces of evil
are gathering in Jerusalem
and will finally have their way to kill Your Son.
May we also remember that we are pilgrims
travelling together whatever our age
and that we can learn from one another
as we journey each day.
Amen.