Mark 9:30-37

Have you been to the American Club in Kohler? It's quite something, isn't it? After finding special rates on the Internet, and combining that with a mid-week, mid-winter package, Ralph and I could afford to celebrate our 30^th anniversary there last March.

They do know how to spoil their customers. I was amazed that, without fail, every person who worked there, asked at the end of our conversation, "Is there any other way I can be of service to you?" Over and over, no matter who or what, "Is there any other way I can be of service to you?" Oh sure, they were trained - well trained - to say that. They were paid to say that, but I have to tell you, it felt good, even if a bit forced and faked, to feel valued, to feel special, to feel like this person was hoping there was one more thing they could do for me. It was as if they believed I could afford to stay there!

So maybe I am just shallow, but I got a little thrill from feeling important. Come on and admit it, don't you like to feel that way too? Sure you do!

The disciples wanted to feel important. They each wanted to feel more important than any of the others. They were like siblings, vying for first place, competing for who was better, arguing about who might be closest to Jesus, better than the others.

And see when they do it? Ironically, right after Jesus has been trying to teach them about his suffering, his death and his resurrection. They hear this teaching, they can't take it in, so they keep on walking, maybe rushing a bit ahead of Jesus to avoid his talk about death and the awkward silence, and they end up doing what children of all ages end up doing when we fear there might not be enough of something to go around, we shout, "I want to be first."

We love winners. We quote Vince Lombardi, "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." Or Dale Earnhart, "Second place is just the first loser."

But Jesus knows of their arguing, their bickering, and he asks them about it. When he catches up to them, pretending to not know, he asks, "Say, just then, when we were walking along, what were you arguing about?"

Can you see them? The sideways glances at each other? The sudden need to brush that dirt off the front of your shirt. The nervous shuffling of sandals? Suddenly everyone needs to clear his throat or cough a bit. No one looks Jesus in the eye. No one says a word. With a simple question Jesus has exposed the silliness of their behavior.

William Barclay comments, "There is something heartbreaking about Jesus going to the cross and the disciples arguing about who would be the greatest."

Then Jesus sits down, he takes the formal position of a teacher in that culture, and calls the 12 to come and sit. It was obvious he was going to give another important lesson. "Whoever wants to be the most important must be last of all and servant of all." That must have been hard to understand for those who had just been arguing about who was the greatest.

Then to illustrate his point he took a child. We are not told the details of this casual phrase, "he took a child." Perhaps he went into another room, took a playing child by the hand, and led him into the room with the disciples. Perhaps he asked a woman nearby to fetch her child. I like to think that the children were doing then just as they do now. There were several of them, relatives of those closest to Jesus, playing in and around the house. Perhaps they were giggling and teasing one another. Then chasing one another from room to room. Just as the disciples were about to scold the children for making too much noise and interrupting this teaching session, Jesus reaches out and snags the one running by closest to him. He cradles the squirming child in his arms.

Jesus' action immediately makes the child -- who had only moments ago been a totally insignificant, perhaps slightly annoying part of the environment -- the central focus of all attention. The child represents the most powerless, lowest status member of any society. Children still had few legal rights, owned nothing and were completely dependent upon others for all their care.

But Jesus wraps his arms about this child, giving this child his protection and his welcome into their midst. Jesus proclaims that whoever receives such a child in Jesus' name, receives Jesus himself. Yet this startling revelation is only half of Jesus' message. He concludes this lesson by telling his disciples that when they welcome him, they also welcome "not me but the one who sent me" - that is the Creator God.

Wow, our welcome of the most needy, the most vulnerable, the one that seems to have no value, no worth, no influence, no income, no status, no power, no IRA's, no 401K's, no stocks, no education, no connections . . . Jesus takes these people, the ones that others reject and says, not only is it a good thing to welcome them - perhaps just on the general principle of being kind to others - Jesus says, when we welcome them, we welcome Jesus the Christ himself, but wait, don't stop there, we welcome God Almighty as well!

Here is yet another of God's great reversals. We serve and love God by serving and loving those in whom we might find it most difficult to recognize God.

I don't find this easy to do. I'd like to think I am quite good at this idea of loving God by loving others, by seeing God in others. But I have to admit, I found it hard to do last week. We were having trouble with our automatic garage door opener. I waited between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. for the workers to arrive. They were late. They pulled into the driveway and two young, tattooed, pierced, glum-faced men slid out of the truck. My cheery greeting was met with grunts.

I'm not proud of it, but I jumped to conclusions about these young men, including their ability to fix my garage door. Shame on me! (By the way, in the end, they did a great job fixing the door, and even let a smile sneak out before leaving.)

We serve and love God by serving and loving those in which we might find it most difficult to recognize God. "Tex" Evans was quite good at doing this. He was a United Methodist Minister, former missionary, and a pioneer in ministries to persons in Appalachia. And he was a character. I first met him shortly after he started a housing ministry in Kentucky in 1969. He was full of energy, spirit, faith, humor and vision. Tex had a big heart and an ability to love others. He was the founder of Appalachia Service Project and 37 years later it still provides service to those in need. Next Sunday you will hear a some of the experiences our Youth Mission Team had this past summer working with this same project.

Part of the genius of Tex's approach was to affirm our unity as children of God. I can still hear his rich southern drawl repeating the line that would form a central part of the core of the Appalachia Service Project's theology - "We go to our brothers and sisters and we accept them right where they are, just the way they are." Tex's no-judging approach is a pretty good way to look at all of life.

I have to tell you, again, though, it is easier to say those words than to practice them. One summer I was working on staff for the project and my colleague Chris and I were going out on a home visit prior to a work team coming. We pulled the truck up in front of the Johnson's house, such as it was, and got out to talk to Mr. Johnson whom we saw sitting on the porch. It wasn't until Chris put his arm out to stop my rather energetic progress across the yard that I noticed Mr. Johnson was rocking in that rocker on the porch with a shot gun laid across his lap!

"We go to our brothers and sisters and we accept them right where they are, just the way they are." Now in one way, that is easy advice to follow when the person has a shot gun in his hand. On other hand, I would have liked to have changed Mr. Johnson just a bit at that point.

(By the way, Chris and I had a nice chat with Mr. Johnson . . . from some distance out in the yard there . . . and he did welcome a work team, although we were always a bit nervous and prayed a bit extra as we sent the team out each day!)

Jesus asks us to have the courage to serve. Often we say that our hands and feet are the only ones God has to serve the world. Our choir sings a beautiful anthem based on this idea called, No Hands But Yours. It's true and inspiring but I think Jesus has a little different twist on that idea in talking about this child, in saying that by welcoming the least among us, we welcome him, and we welcome God.

Whenever we talk about serving others, Mother Theresa comes up. And for good reason. I think she took this verse very seriously. You see, she reversed that idea that we are Jesus' hands and feet. She said that in each face of the dying, diseased, destitute people she served, she saw that face of Christ, the face of God. She did not see herself so much as doing work on behalf of Christ as she saw her work as serving Christ, Christ in the face of the dying. "Christ in the distressing disguise of the poor" as she put it.

"Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."

This congregation is great at serving. We are good at doing that in our jobs, in our volunteer work, in the ministries of this church, in caring for our families and friends. You make significant differences in the world each day by the lives you all lead. It is amazing and inspiring.

In today's scripture we are challenged to go one step further. To do more than serve because it is "the right thing to do." Jesus challenges us to radically change how we look at others. To treat them as if they are Christ.

You know, if Jesus knocked on your front door, you'd quickly welcome him inside, give him the seat of honor, ask if you can get him something to eat or drink, make sure he is comfortable. We would serve him.

Clearly, Jesus is asking us to treat everyone this way. This Thursday, our congregation prepares and serves dinner at Salvation Army (they could use your help, you can sign up on the Involvement Center or just show up on Thursday) If you are one of the ones going there, see if it makes a difference if, as you look into the face of each person you serve, you consciously affirm that this is the face of Christ, the very face of God.

This coming week, what if we all tried to do that with every person we meet. Look at your children, your partner, your boss, your coworkers, the guys who come to repair your garage door, your annoying neighbor, the opinionated acquaintance and consciously say in your mind and try to believe in your heart that this is the face of Christ, in welcoming this one, in serving that one, I am welcoming and serving God. I believe it will change us.

Oh, some of it will be hard - very hard to do. But think how wonderful it would be if everyone saw YOU that way!

Jesus said, "As you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to me."

"Oh, and , is there any other way I can be of service to you?" Amen.