The season of Lent is sometimes referred to as a journey.  It is a journey through the wilderness, inviting us to put away our excesses and look to God for the bread of life.  It is a journey with Jesus that starts just after the mount of transfiguration and ends with the way of the cross in Jerusalem.  It is a journey that involves humbling ourselves, and admitting that we need God’s salvation and forgiveness, and moving some impediments out of the way in order to make space for God.  And today, as we begin this journey, we hear about some things that happened along the way as Jesus gets ready for his final journey to Jerusalem.

    In today’s gospel, this is already at least the second time that Jesus has told his disciples what awaits him in Jerusalem.  He will be betrayed.  He will be put to death.  And after three days he will be raised again.  This time, there are no objections from Peter or from any of the other disciples.  In fact, they have nothing to say at all.  According to Mark, “they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him” (Mk. 9:32).

    They might have been afraid of looking stupid in front of the others.  They might have been afraid of Jesus’ response after what happened to Peter before (cf. Mk. 8:33).  Or, they might have been afraid of what it would mean for them if their Lord and Teacher gets put to death.  Whatever their fears may have been, we soon discover that they are far more interested in greatness than in death and resurrection.  In fact, rather than actually addressing what Jesus has just told them, they get into an argument about who is the greatest.

    In that society and at that time, to be great meant to rise above the rest.  In a society where over 90% of the population were peasants, to be great meant to have enough, or likely more than enough to live on.  To be great meant to be honoured by others, and to be a land owner, and to have the means to keep yourself pure.  Given this understanding of greatness, Jesus simply did not qualify.  In fact, Jesus taught the exact opposite.

    Do you really want to be great?, says Jesus.  Then humble yourself, and serve others, and make serving God your highest aim.  Welcome those who are vulnerable and who are given no status whatsoever in your society.  Welcome those who are ignored and cast aside.  Welcome the little children, for in doing so, you will be welcoming God.

    I cannot hear these verses without thinking of Marthe.  Marthe lives in N’gaoundere in Cameroon.  Marthe welcomes abandoned children into her home and cares for them.  I don’t know for sure how many children she has cared for thus far.  She began this ministry one day when she came across a baby that had been abandoned at the side of the road.  Other children followed, some of whom have now been adopted by other families.  When young women come to the hospital there and want to get rid of their babies, they contact Marthe, and Marthe takes them in.  During our visit to Cameroon in January, we were privileged to meet Marthe and to participate in the baptism of six of her children.

    Marthe is not rich by any stretch of the imagination.  When we asked how she manages, she named a few people from her church family who help her out every so often.  There also seemed to be others from her church who lend their support however they can.  She quite literally welcomes little children and in doing so, welcomes Jesus into her home.  This has become her ministry.

    Marthe is simply one example of the kind of humble service that Jesus demonstrates to all those who would follow him.  And oddly enough, the ones who serve in the gospel of Mark include women (1:31; 15:41), angels (1:13) and Jesus (10:45).  It probably remains a really hard thing for us to get our minds around that humility is what defines greatness in God’s estimation.  Can you imagine an argument about who is the most humble?  Or, my cross is bigger than your cross?  Those who are truly humble (and truly great in God’s sight) would never enter into such arguments!

    And so, as we begin this Lenten journey, we are invited to humble ourselves, and to make space in our lives that will allow us to hear God’s call and God’s promptings.  Today we have heard the call to humble service and the call to welcome the most vulnerable, but there will be other calls along the way.  What do we need to move out of the way in order to be able to hear and to answer God’s call in our lives?  What will strengthen us for ministry and help us to focus on those things that are truly most important?  These are the questions that lead us into the discipline of Lent.  Amen.

Ash Wednesday (NL 2)                            Mark 9:30-37
February 10, 2016
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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