Mark 9:30-41 (NRSV)
Read Mark 9:30-41 on biblegateway.com
Verse 33Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?"
Verse 34But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest.
Verse 35He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all."
Verse 36Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them,
Verse 37"Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."
Verse 38John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us."
Verse 39But Jesus said, "Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.
Verse 40Whoever is not against us is for us.
Verse 41For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.
Devotion
As year end lists galore fill airwaves and media pages, we hear of the “best,” “most,” and “greatest”—as well as their opposites. Like the folks in Jesus’ day, we seek out and praise the noteworthy, while consigning the “worst” and “least” to shame, ridicule, or abandonment. Jesus calls his disciples, including us, to walk a strikingly different path. The socially unimportant, those with no power to do striking deeds of glory or evil, are the ones to whom we should attend and even emulate. We who follow Jesus live generously among the ordinary, “unlisted” ones, receiving givers and their gifts with the same great mercy that God receives us and our offerings.
Prayer
Merciful God, guard us from the seductions of high drama and help us faithfully to cherish the everyday world, the ordinariness of life, even as you do. Amen.