Sermon: Downward Mobility and the Call to Welcome Children – Mark 9:30-37, Philippians 2:7
May 11, 2021
Jesus asks them, “What were you arguing about along the way?” They are all silent. I’ve been wondering why. The gospel tells us they were arguing about who was the greatest. And why were they arguing about greatness? Two things have happened just before this argument. The most recent thing is that Jesus called the disciples “faithless” when they couldn’t cast the demon out of the boy. He told them that in front of a whole crowd of people. That must have smarted. They were disciples, they had left everything to follow Jesus, and he just told them they were faithless. Ouch!
I am a Mennonite pastor currently teaching theology at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario. I’ve served congregations in Ontario and most recently, Alberta.