Jesus Embraces the Most Vulnerable

Mark 9:35-37 (ESV): Do We, too, Embrace the Most Vulnerable?

[Jesus] sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

Thirty-two years ago, a group of compassionate educators intervened on my behalf. I was a freshman in high school and headed down a dangerous path. Family life crumbled around me, my daily routine was one of abandon, and the company I kept was significantly older. These circumstances and my poor choices flowed into a river of potential destruction. But these caring people saw the warning signs. They acted in effort to help an insignificant, troubled kid. And instead of allowing another statistic, they devoted their time, effort, and talent to rescue me. I am forever grateful.

Fast forward ten years. As a twenty-four-year-old beginning teacher, new and unseasoned in the field of high-risk education, I found myself teaching an 86-minute block of “alternative education.” The students in this class were eighth-graders who had been retained at least two times. Most had served time in juvenile detention; all came from volatile, at-risk environments. There were no special instructions or accommodations; these kids were at the end of the educational line. As I taught this class for the first five years of my career, I noticed something growing inside of me. That caring team of educators planted a seed that bloomed in my heart as a desire for service. As a result, I strived to make those kids feel wanted, appreciated, respected, and welcomed.

Many children in our world are dismissed, disregarded, and cast-off as unredeemable. In this week’s gospel, however, Jesus illustrates the opposite: He says that children, the lowest societal members of first-century Palestine, are the most important. Humility, meekness, helplessness, and poverty are the virtues that Jesus embraces. And he reminds his closest twelve that service, sacrifice, and surrender are what they must seek instead of self-aggrandizement. To illustrate this point, Jesus says, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” Immediately after, Jesus wraps his arms around the weakest member of society, a child, and reminds his audience that welcoming the weak is welcoming him and the Father.

Our lives are no different; our calling is just the same. The educators in my life made all of the difference, and whether they knew it or not, they were doing God’s will, saving the least by being servants of all. Let us ask ourselves if we, too, embrace Christ’s teaching and seek to serve those who are most in need. This does not mean that we are to hunt down the homeless, although helping the homeless is a good thing. What it does mean, however, is that in the span of our day, we give the best of ourselves to those we contact, especially to the person we think deserves it least. When we do, we, too, plant the seeds of love and service in the hearts of the future.

Heavenly Father, please grant us the grace to love and serve those who need us most. Give us the eyes to see, the ears to hear, the hearts to love, and the hands to serve. In Jesus Christ we pray, amen.

Have a blessed week!

Stan