Musings for Pentecost 16

Sunday, September 20, 2009
Lectionary 25
Proper 20
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Pastor Macholz

INTRODUCTION
Today we hear James warn against selfish ambition, while the disciples quarrel over which one of them is the greatest. Jesus tells them the way to be great is to serve. Then, to make it concrete, he puts in front of them an actual flesh-and-blood child. We are called to welcome the particular children God puts in front of us, to make room for them in daily interaction, and to give them a place of honor in the assembly.

Nelson Wesley Trout, bishop, died 1996 (TFF)
A native of Ohio, Trout served parishes in several parts of the United States before being elected bishop of the South Pacific District of the American Lutheran Church, the first African American Lutheran to serve in such a capacity.

Prayer of the Day (ELW)

O God, our teacher and guide, you draw us to yourself and welcome us as beloved children. Help us to lay aside all envy and selfish ambition, that we may walk in your ways of wisdom and understanding as servants of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

First Reading

Jeremiah 11:18–20

Today’s reading tells of the suffering of the prophet Jeremiah, who announced God’s word to Judah but was met with intense opposition and persecution. Jeremiah continues to trust in God in the midst of his suffering.

¹⁸It was the LORD who made it known to me, and I knew;
then you showed me their evil deeds.
¹⁹But I was like a gentle lamb
led to the slaughter.
And I did not know it was against me
that they devised schemes, saying,
"Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,
let us cut him off from the land of the living,
so that his name will no longer be remembered!"
²⁰But you, O LORD of hosts, who judge righteously,
who try the heart and the mind,
let me see your retribution upon them,
for to you I have committed my cause.

Psalm (ELW)

Psalm 54

God is my helper; it is the LORD who sustains my life. (Ps. 54:4)

¹Save me, O God, ^| by your name;

in your might, de- ^| fend my cause.

²Hear my ^| prayer, O God;

give ear to the words ^| of my mouth.

³For strangers have risen up against me,

and the ruthless have ^| sought my life,

those who have no re- ^| gard for God.

⁴Behold, God ^| is my helper;

it is the Lord who sus- ^| tains my life.

⁵Render evil to those who ^| spy on me;

in your faithful- ^| ness, destroy them.

⁶I will offer you a ^| freewill sacrifice

and praise your name, O LORD, for ^| it is good.

⁷For you have rescued me from ^| every trouble,

and my eye looks down ^| on my enemies.

Second Reading

James 3:13—4:3; 4:7–8a

The wisdom God gives unites our hearts and minds. Instead of living to satisfy our own wants and desires, we manifest this wisdom in peace, gentleness, mercy, and impartiality toward others.

Chapter 3

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. ¹⁴But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. ¹⁵Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. ¹⁶For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. ¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. ¹⁸And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

Chapter 4

Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? ²You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. ³You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. ⁷Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

Gospel

Mark 9:30–37

Jesus’ teaching and action in this text are directed to the church whenever it is seduced by the world’s definition of greatness: prestige, power, influence, and money. The antidote to such a concern for greatness is servanthood.

³⁰They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; ³¹for 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." ³²But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.
³³Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" ³⁴But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. ³⁵He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." ³⁶Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, ³⁷Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.

Reflection

“I call the front seat by the window! That was a phrase that I heard yelled out countless times as a child as we headed to the car. Once in a while I hear children in other families yell it out as well.

It is a call to get the best seat in the car, up in front by mom or dad, depending on who was driving. It gave one the best view of the road, got one near the radio (as if that gave you any control over what was playing on the old push button AM radio!) and guaranteed a window. Plus, it made you a bit better, if only for a moment, than those who literally took a back seat to you. In my case that would have been one sister and two brothers.

We still look for the front seat by the window, trying to get the best seats in the house, that place of honor we long for and hope for. The disciples are looking for the same yet they are caught up short when Jesus knows what they’ve been talking about and shares language about first being last and receiving a child, such as the one he wraps his arms around, as a way to be the greatest.

Receive this child in humility and honor and you will be receiving not me but the One who sent me. It is a call to take the back seat, to move toward the lowly, to spend time with those considered the least. Then you will be the greatest in the kingdom! Care to join me at the sandbox?

Let Us Pray

For humility and a willingness to welcome all, even the least

For families who mourn the loss of loved ones

To be open to the Spirit’s movement in our lives

That we might be champions of the last, the least and the lost

For healing for this broken world.

Quote

I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. Helen Keller