Unshakably Secure

A Reflection on the Gospel for September 19th, 2021:
Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Mark
9.30-37

After leaving the mountain Jesus and his disciples went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.

Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house Jesus asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest.

Jesus sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”

Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
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The beloved Disciples were living in a perpetually liminal state. Each of them had left everything they knew to be true and good, in order to follow a teacher who was the ultimate Truth and Good. Every day, every moment, was a stretching of their minds, hearts, and habits into a newness of life, and much of what they were being taught is still, after 2000+ years of study, not fully comprehensible to our human minds. And truly, all of those lessons they were being taught are still today, impossible to follow with perfect fidelity. But they loved Jesus — so much — that even though His teachings twisted their minds, and stretched their behaviour into positions of utter confusion, they each wanted to be the apple of His eye.


Confusion resulting from a cocktail of fear and uncertainty can move us into a frozen state; paralyzed by the fear of the unknown, the fear of the loss of love, the fear of the unactualized but potential outcomes we construct in our minds. It’s unfortunate that fear steals away the opportunity to ask, with humility, the questions that rise up out of our hearts and minds, because we then muddle the truth with the fabrications we believe to be true (Think: Thomas versus Judas). Amidst confusion, it is difficult to separate the truth from the lies.



“But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.” (Mark 9:32)

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I think it’s fair to say that the Disciples were reasonably confused — generally speaking, and also because of the trending topic. Who can fully wrap their mind around the concept of resurrection, anyway? And when we are confused, we can often act out of the insecurity we feel. So, they didn’t ask the questions that were rumbling around in their bewildered minds. Instead, they walked straight into the comparison trap — chapter one in the book of insecurity.




“What were you arguing about on the way?” (Mark 9:33)




Jesus, however, is unshakably secure. He leads them toward a disposition of humility by His example: He asks the question. He didn’t have to ask the question. He already knew the answer. Because He is the teacher of teachers, He offers them (and us) a tangible example of humble conduct. Then He proceeds to unpack what this heart posture actually looks like when it is lived out.



“Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35)



Secure dispositions don’t compare themselves to others. They don’t try to one-up you, nor do they seek the spotlight. It is the insecure who seeks to be the greatest. Humility points to The Greatest. The secure and humble honour the gifts of the other without diminishing the God-given gifts they themselves embody. They relish in the beauty of the diversity of gifts God has given to each and every one. They are open to the wonderment of how God uses each person’s gifts in a way that unifies, and complements those of the others. They step out of the spotlight so that Love can take center stage.




Lori MacDonald

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