An argument arose among the disciples
about which of them was the greatest.
For a moment it might have seemed like Peter was the rising star of the group, as he had been praised by Jesus for his correct response to the question, "Who do you say that I am?" But then there was the whole business about dying on a cross that none of them were able to understand. Peter himself transitioned from standing out positively for a good answer to being told, "Get behind me Satan!" Perhaps the other disciples thought this was an ideal time to assert their superiority over Peter and over one another. But if Peter was the one chastised for trying to keep Jesus from the cross it was also the case the none of the disciples understood why the cross should be necessary any better than Peter did.
The revelation of the fact of the coming crucifixion led to results that were predictable on a human level, for people thinking, like Peter, as human beings do and not as God does. The idea of suffering was inherently repulsive. They therefore turned to seek more immediate consolations rather than to allow the mystery of suffering to penetrate them in a way that would have made them more able to follow Jesus to the cross. We are reminded of the way James and John jockeyed for positions at the right hand and the left hand of Jesus without knowing what that would necessarily entail. But too much attention to the rewards that might one day accrue to them distracted them from what Jesus was trying to teach them in the present. It would be like a Christian using the idea of the eventual reality of their hope of heaven as an excuse to ignore the human sufferings of this present life.
Jesus realized the intention of their hearts and took a child
and placed it by his side and said to them,
“Whoever receives this child in my name receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
For the one who is least among all of you
is the one who is the greatest.
Jesus therefore took the effort to diffuse his disciples' worldly conceptions of greatness. Greatness for Jesus was not necessarily opposed to suffering, nor simply something otherworldly and distant, opposed to and after the end of suffering. Greatness was precisely to be found in the one with nothing to claim for himself, no throne upon which to sit, no merits to proclaim, whom society regarded as almost nothing. This child who had done nothing to earn a place of greatness was for that very reason a model of greatness. But it was greatness according to a new formula. It involved receiving that which the world held to be worthless because it was valuable to Jesus himself, and therefore, in turn, to the Father who sent him. Only those who became like children themselves, and who could welcome children in turn, could come to terms with the reality of the cross. They would not be immunized to the suffering. But they would have, as Jesus did, an ever greater trust in the Father that allowed them to persist in hope no matter the circumstances. The response of Job to his ordeal was not far from this ideal of trust.
“Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb,
and naked shall I go back again.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
blessed be the name of the LORD!”
Those who are childlike are able to welcome others even if they do not follow in our company. They are able to see the genuine good done by others for what it is even if they do not belong to our tribe. It is vital that we learn to see the good that does exist outside of our denominations or political parties. But it is impossible when we are preoccupied with worldly ideas about who is the greatest.
Jesus said to him,
“Do not prevent him, for whoever is not against you is for you.”
We ought to be more concerned with the good we see than the reputation of our brand. Were there potential logistical issues from this person was casting out demons outside without collaborating directly with the disciples? Yes. And yet a child would delight to see it, whereas we adults would tend to worry more about ramifications. We are instead permitted to have a large and generous trust in God's ability to make all things work together for good, a trust so great as to be almost naïve, one which relies on God so intensely that we would immediately fall without his supporting hand.
Show your wondrous mercies,
O savior of those who flee
from their foes to refuge at your right hand.
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