Wisdom of Solomon 1:16-2:1,12-22; Psalm 54; James 3:13-4:3,7-8a; Mark 9:30-37
The Rev. Drew Brislin
In the name of the one Holy and Undivided Trinity, Amen.
This past weekend I had the privilege of serving on staff for Cursillo up at Wonderful, Wonderful Camp McDowell. Some of you have attended I know, however, for those of you who have not, Cursillo is a lay led movement within the Episcopal Church that provides an opportunity for participants to grow in faith and spirituality. Participation in this movement begins with a three-day weekend up at Camp McDowell where you get to hear various people and clergy share their experiences and thoughts on a variety of subjects related to God, Christian life and Christian community. It is the hope of those serving on staff and of the church that the participants will come away from the weekend with a deeper understanding of who Jesus is and what his teachings are about and subsequently how they can better serve Jesus through their service to others. I have found serving on staff rewarding for a variety of reasons, one of those being the new friends that I always make, both the fellow staff members and the pilgrims we serve. When serving on staff you meet several times prior to the weekend to get to know each other, begin planning, make assignments and other various preparations related to the weekend. It is during this time that friendships begin to develop. What is beautiful though is that these relationships continue to grow as new friends are added when the pilgrims (those who come to experience Cursillo) arrive. Over the course of the weekend, we seem to grow into one big happy family. Like the disciples in our Gospel reading this morning, those on their Cursillo pilgrimage come seeking a better understanding of who Jesus is in their own lives.
In our reading this morning, we hear again Jesus telling the disciples about the Passion and that The Son of Man must be betrayed and killed so that he can rise again. Scripture further tells us that they did not understand and were afraid to ask Jesus for elaboration on this topic. I can only imagine that there was probably a little self-denial happening on the part of the disciples too, whether it was because they just did not want to accept the truth that Jesus was telling them or their misperception about what the Son of Man would do to reconcile the world prevented them from accepting that their teacher would be taken from them in such a way. Personally, I get it, I’m sure the disciples had certain preconceived notions about Jesus as the Messiah that did not include his death, but as my father would often tell me growing up, ignorance is no excuse. Jesus has a job for them to do and he needs them to be ready. Jesus is talking to them in private because he needs them to understand what God is doing so that they can share with others what Jesus is doing in the world. Part of this understanding involves getting the disciples to understand how leadership works in this new community that he is growing. Our reading this morning places us just after the Transfiguration, when Jesus took Peter, James and John up the mountain with him which leads some scholars to speculate this as the impetus for this discussion about who is the greatest among the disciples. So, when they arrive in Capernaum, Jesus asks the disciples what they have been arguing about. It was as if Jesus were my dad, who often pretended not to hear me and my brothers arguing under our breath on a trip only to confront us upon arriving at our destination. Our response was usually
that either one, ‘we aren’t arguing’ or like the disciples we would simply clam up and say nothing.
Jesus’ response is to sit them down, which in the Jewish tradition often points to a teaching moment and he begins to explain to them the counter cultural form of leadership that will be required of them. To help them understand this idea of servant leadership, Jesus takes a child and places it among them and says,” Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” This radical servant leadership is not just for the church; it is also the witness of the church to the world. To understand how radical this is, I think it is important to understand that children did not command the place in society that they often do today. During Jesus’ day children were seen as a drain on resources because they did not produce, could not earn or do anything to contribute to the household. Mortality rates among children were extremely high contrasted with today where we value children and the gifts that they are and the joy that they bring into our lives. In placing a child in the middle of the disciples Jesus is instructing them to invite children and to invite the marginalized into their circles. Jesus is instructing them to practice a radical form of hospitality and servitude. Who are we inviting into our circles today? And not only does Jesus tell them to practice radical hospitality, but I think he is trying to get them to focus as well. That in inviting this child, they are inviting Jesus and in inviting Jesus they are inviting God into the center of their lives. So often the business of our work can lead us down paths that distract us and get us focused on who is the most important that we lose centering our lives around God. When we get off track and sort of lose our way for a minute what do we do to refocus our attention on God?
I think for a lot of people their Cursillo weekend is a refocusing. Cursillo is very much like that child that Jesus places in the middle of the disciples that calls us into a radical welcoming that further invites us into radical service. As we as a parish continue our studies and discernment around living an ordered life, I invite you to contemplate Cursillo if you are not already involved with it. Feel free to reach out to me or Candice or anyone you might know who has attended. Steve and Sharon Massey are our co-parish lay rectors for Cursillo and I’m sure they would love to share more with you about Cursillo as well. Most if not all of us find ourselves at different points in our lives not focused on God like we feel like we should be. That is the beauty in God’s grace that he is constantly calling out to us. For me personally I usually do not recognize when it is happening that God is doing something in my life. It requires reflection on my part, looking back as I take stock of where I am. Cursillo is very much one of those moments for me. Growing in friendships and relationships especially in my relationship with God and understanding just how loved by him I am.
De Colores and Amen.