Today’s scripture: Mark 9:33-37 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message)
As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.
My thoughts (Kristin Lee):
In today’s scripture, Jesus cautions his disciples against aiming for human greatness. Jesus gives an example of “appropriate greatness” to strive for as one who gives great service to children, a population considered lowly and the poor in spirit (as my Bible notes explain).
I heard a sermon on today’s topic when I visited a friend’s church. The preacher encouraged us to be mindful of those people Jesus would dine with if He walked the Earth today, and included a young welfare mom with many children and a young man suffering with AIDS as dinner mates. But it felt to me that by defining the lowly of today, he created an “us” and a “them.” It seemed as though an undercurrent of the message was that by being an “us,” we (the parishioners hearing his sermon) were somehow better than those who were a “them.”
I think there is an inherent risk of crediting ourselves as being “rich in spirit” when we look to define someone else as “poor in spirit.” I think the way we safeguard against such self-promotion is to make sure we have an accurate definition of service. What’s that definition? I don’t know what it is, but I think I have some idea of what it’s not.
One Saturday morning, I was serving breakfast at Horizon House with the Homeless Ministry Team. A woman, a neighbor, as HH refers to its clients, came through the line. She was very unstable, her hands shaking and her plate wobbling. I gave her an extra warm smile, showing her I didn’t mind her shaky hands, even if meant she was going through withdrawal. I asked her if she wanted a glass of orange juice or apple juice. About that time, another neighbor approached the woman and took her plate and juice and escorted her to a table. What I was doing, being nice and accepting, wasn’t service. What the neighbor did, waiting to go through the food line until another hungry woman was taken care of, I think was.
Thought for the day: Help me, Lord, to understand that I am poor in spirit so long as I readily see the “poor in spirit” in others.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.