My friends, the gospel from Mark today contains a line that I feel says very well what our “walk with Jesus” is, or should be all about—“whomever welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me.”  In this same gospel reading we are told that the apostles are arguing among themselves about which of them was most important, or more simply put, who was “first” among them. 

   Earlier, Jesus had been attempting to teach the greater group of disciples the truth about his mission on earth—that he would be handed over to the powers-that-be, would suffer death, but then, would rise from the dead! Understandably, they didn’t comprehend what Jesus was saying, as this was something they had never heard of before, and even if they had, their idea about the “messiah” was not of one who would be conquered, but of one who would conquer their enemies. Therefore, they dismissed the true meaning of Jesus’ message, and instead, as we like to say at our house, when not understanding a greater truth, “got lost in the weeds” over an issue completely foreign to Jesus, namely who was best, most important—first!

   In my mind, Jesus had to have been a very patient man, in his humanity, as he strove to get these beloved twelve on the same page with him.  He sits them down, and patiently tells them again, “To be first, you must be last—you must be of service to all.”  And if that wasn’t enough of a lesson, Jesus fine-tunes it by saying, [In fact,] “you must be like a child” –that is, “child-like,” not “childish.”  

   To this final statement, we must remember that in Jesus’ time, children had no power, no status, and their voices along with those of women, were considered of little importance.  We can only imagine what an eye-opener these words were to Jesus’ rag-tag group of followers discussing who was “first” among them.   

   This always reminds me of theologian, Sister Elizabeth Johnson, who throughout her wonderful career of Scripture study and exegesis, always uplifting Jesus’ inclusiveness of women, as well as men, when asked if she thought it would have been better for women had Jesus been incarnated into humanity as a woman, she clearly answered, “No, Jesus had to come as a man to show men the way, because women already knew how to serve.”

   James underscores Jesus’ message of his followers not jockeying for positions of power when he speaks very clearly in today’s 2^nd reading about “jealousy and ambition” and that where these traits are, “disharmony and wickedness” follow.  James names the alternate trait that we should strive for as “wisdom.”  He goes on to say that this “wisdom” comes from above, and that it works for peace and that this “peace” will show itself in [actions] full of compassion which lead to [goodness] and ultimately, to “holiness.”

   And finally, James lifts up for us the importance of “prayer,” but not just any kind of prayer.  His ultimate, and most effective prayer is all about “humility” not about “indulging our own [good].

   As you all know, I visit many people in assisted living and nursing homes, as well as in private homes, and I must say that many demonstrate beautifully this quality of humility—while not wanting to suffer pain, nor an inability to move about as desired, a lack of proper vision, and any number of other impediments, I can honestly say, I hear little, or no complaints for the most part, but more so a sense of, “Well, it could be worse.”   And to me, this speaks well to the notion of the “wisdom from on high” that leads to “holiness” that James uplifted for us today. 

   This past week, I heard parts of a review of a book entitled, Road to Wisdom, by Francis Collins, wherein he named four attributes that he feels speak to wisdom: truth, science, faith and trust.  These attributes I would instead name as “virtues” and they came out of his younger life, lived as he stated, as “an atheist,” working in the field of science.  At a certain point in his search for truth through science, he came to see that indeed science couldn’t answer, nor fully explain all his questions, and at that point, came to “faith,” accepting Christianity as a way of life.  His faith led him to “trust” that “all the answers were about something bigger than what humans could come up with.”  And my guess is that “service” grew out of his study of our brother Jesus, 

   And that leads us back to our reflection of today’s readings:  Psalm 54, used today states simply, “God is the one who sustains my life”—which seems to speak of “faith and trust” uplifted by the above author.  The Wisdom selection serving as today’s 1^st reading speaks of “truth-telling” and that this “service” protects us before our loving God, the other two virtues that the author speaks of, or points us to, on the “road to wisdom.”

   As with each Saturday/Sunday that we gather here, I always attempt to connect the readings to our present day—as that is where the most impact can happen.  Therefore, I will name here several news items that came to me this week:

• Two political campaigns—one for the most part, speaking to “service and compassion towards others”—another about “self-importance” and being first along with lies uplifted as truth. 
• Several Middle-Eastern nations aggressively seeking peace through war with no apparent end in sight
• Immigrant peoples in our country having to face again and again, the sins of racism, lack of truth-telling, and the inability to see the good these differing peoples bring to our country as opposed to their so-called, lack of character.  And the real crazy-making realization being that all these sinful actions speak more about those “talking” than they do about those “talked about” and denigrated.

   So, what to do?  Our Scriptures today speak well to the answers we should be pursuing:  Be last, not first—serve, instead of expecting service, be compassionate and understanding, treating others as we would want to be treated, welcoming others, instead of turning them away, remembering humility—becoming more child-like in our prayer, and realizing that we are parts-of-a-whole, not the first, or even the best part, and above all—expecting the best from ourselves, and others—being gentle with others and ourselves when that doesn’t happen, but starting again when we don’t make the mark. Amen? Amen!