We like to think of faith as a linear thing – a progression – constantly growing and developing. But sometimes our faith journey can be a wee bit regressive; as it was for the disciples. In Mark’s account, the core disciples (the twelve whose words are recorded, plus the women disciples whose words are not) seem to be in something of a reverse gear. Peter made his great confession of faith, then it was all downhill from there, it seems. Now, as Jesus continues to teach of his arrest (literally “handed over [paradidotai] into the hands of men” – the language reminiscent of the fate of John the Baptist) the disciples are so confused they are too afraid to ask clarifying questions of the Teacher.
Apparently, this journey through Galilee, which is home territory, leads the disciples into a new and unfamiliar spiritual landscape in which they find themselves lost amidst familiar surroundings. Such dissonance must have been mind-blowing!
Jesus’ teaching about his passion and death is the beginning of his redefinition of power and status. Clearly the disciples have in mind the world’s definition, which is why they are now so confused and afraid. This new information simply does not compute! Jesus is offering a new perspective which the disciples simply cannot yet enter without being powerfully and completely disoriented.
The old-world perspective of the disciples is on full display as their journey continues, and their argument over greatness is observed by Jesus. And here, the superlative of “greatest” refers to their prominence in Jesus’ group, rather than the Kingdom (contrasted with Matthew 18:1). On arrival in Capernaum, Jesus asks them what they were arguing over “on the way” (again, a journey motif). At this, the disciples fall into an embarrassed silence. They seem to sense the contradiction of Jesus’ teaching and their own values. At this point, Jesus enacts the aforementioned redefinition of power and status in a shocking and compelling manner. Now, to understand the shocking nature of Jesus taking a child into his arms, you must put aside the symbolic image of children in the modern era (innocent, sweet, etc.) and understand that in the New Testament era they instead symbolized what one scholar describes as “completely lacking social status – non-persons, social non-entities.” So, when Jesus holds this child, and teaches these men that to welcome this non-entity is to welcome him, the moment is, as another scholar describes it, “awesome and subversive.”
Now, to understand the concluding series of “welcomes,’ one must understand the emissary system of the ancient world. To receive an emissary with respect and hospitality was – to all intents and purposes – to receive the one who sent him as if he himself were there (and likewise the reverse being true). So, Jesus is saying, in effect, that to welcome into one’s life, (circle of friends, society, etc.) one whom the world deems to be a non-person, is to welcome Jesus himself. Likewise, to welcome Jesus is to welcome God the Father (indeed, to welcome the Triune God). Sounds pretty radical, inclusive, and subversive to me. Indeed, it sounds as if the disciples (then and now!) are on the road to a new reality. No wonder they (and we) are lost!
