It happens every year. Each year towards the end of the year, I anxiously await my copy of Time Magazine with its “person of the year” award. And, every year, I am disappointed . . . I didn’t get the award again! Nor did I make any media organization’s lists of the “most influential people” in whatever category they are broadcasting. I also have yet to receive an invitation to be inducted into any “halls of fame”. I’m still waiting . . . still waiting for my 15 minutes of fame. I ain’t got it yet!
I am not narcissistic . . . or at least I think I’m not, but I think we all have within us (whether we want to admit it or not) this innate desire to be famous . . . even if it is just for 15 minutes. I think this desire within me has gotten stronger as I have gotten older. I have noticed that the older I get the better I was. Also, more than one person over the years has pointed out to me that I consider myself a “legend in my own mind”. Whatever the case, I think that we all would like to be famous for at least 15 minutes.
In our reading this morning, Jesus and the disciples are traveling. As they are traveling Jesus notices that his disciples are arguing. When he gets the chance, he asks the disciples what the argument was. Caught in an awkward moment, the disciples remain silent. They are embarrassed . . . embarrassed because they had been arguing about who among them “was the greatest.”
They were arguing about fame. There are lots of benefits to fame . . . to being the greatest. For one thing, people fawn all over famous people . . . they get treated differently and better than everyone else. They get the best seats, best food, and best hospitality. Rarely do they have to pay for anything. They are the center of attention. To be famous is to be privileged and who doesn’t want to be privileged? Apparently, it was a pretty heated argument that couldn’t escape Jesus’ attention . . . an argument they knew went against everything Jesus taught and believed.
Thus, it is that Jesus reminds them. Jesus tells them: “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
Ouch! Kind of puts a crimp in this whole fame thing . . . even for 15 minutes worth. What Jesus is telling them goes against everything that they had been arguing about. It is the opposite of what they wanted. They did not want to be the least of anything nor did they want to be servants. They wanted to be famous . . . they wanted to be the best . . . the greatest!
There is none of that in being last or a servant.
If the truth be known, I really do not want to be famous. From what I can gather, being famous can be a hassle. What I do want is to be acknowledged . . . acknowledged for the person I am, the person God created me to be . . . that I am a person worthy of respect and love . . . that I belong. This is what I think that most of us really want. Not fame, but acknowledgement. Acknowledgement that we are wanted.
Now I might be speaking out of left field in what I am about to say, but I believe that God created all of us in God’s image. We are all chips off the old block. I also believe that God sees us as equals . . . that there is no hierarchy within the family of God . . . that God loves us equally. Because of this Jesus focused upon those who were being excluded from the family in his ministry. Jesus worked to bring the family together. It is no surprise then that he would remind his disciples: “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” Then to drive his point across, he held a child in his arms and told them: “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
From this example one would think that children were not valued in the time of Jesus, but this couldn’t further from the truth. Children were a gift from God especially in Jesus’ lifetime where approximately 59 percent of children never reached adulthood. Children were loved, but in society until they had gained social value within the family or community, they were treated differently. They had no status in society, thus no recognition. Also, in the way that families lived during the time of Jesus children were viewed as tattle-tales.
In Israelite society it was not unusual for extended families to live together. In this arrangement, the women lived in one section of the house and the men in another. Children were allowed to wander freely throughout the house. Remember that little ears have big mouths. They were often used by the adults to discover what was going on in other parts of the house. They carried stories back and forth . . . they were the ultimate destroyers of secrecy. No one could keep secrets because the children would expose them.
Several times in the stories of Jesus and the disciples, the disciples shoo the children away for this reason . . . they couldn’t keep a secret. The disciples did not want Jesus exposed for various reasons. And that is what makes Jesus’ actions in our reading so important. Jesus does not shoo the child away. Instead, he gathers the child and welcomes the child into the fold. Jesus welcomes the children to show that he has no secrets, that his life is open and above broad. What he offers is for all people.
The core of Jesus and his ministry was not to be a secret . . . to love God completely and to love others. This love is for every person as all are the children of God . . . all loved equally . . . all desired and wanted. There is no hierarchy within the family of God. Jesus welcomed all and that is what Jesus desires from those who follow him.
Unfortunately, the way Jesus sees things and society sees things are often at odds with each other. Society seems to be built on hierarchy . . . position, wealth, and power. These are the things that are valued in society, yet do not amount to much of anything in the eyes of Jesus. Because of this those of us who follow Jesus and live in society find within ourselves this dichotomy that plays out in our daily lives. Jesus and society are often are conflict with one another.
So . . . what are we to do?
What would you do?
Whatever we do as the followers of Jesus we must ground it in the ways of Jesus . . . his words and more importantly his actions. We must welcome others into the family no matter how society views them. Acknowledge them for who they are . . . who God created them to be, after all they are chips off the old block created in the image of the Holy. Acknowledge that they are wanted. When this is done, God is invited in. That is what Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
Almost famous . . . I can handle that. I can handle that knowing that I am a child of God . . . loved for who God created me to be. And, because of that I am desired . . . I am wanted . . . I am included. God loves me, and hopefully others will too. That is probably more than I could ever ask for . . . that any of us could ever want. In this the Kingdom of God is realized. Amen.
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