They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise."  But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him. And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?"  But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he 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."  John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us." But Jesus said, "Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.  For the one who is not against us is for us.  For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.  "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.  And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.  And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell.  And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,  'where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.'  For everyone will be salted with fire.  Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." - Mark 9:30‭-‬43‭, ‬45‭, ‬47‭-‬50 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

The pursuit of greatness

From eating meals to financial decisions, many things were decided in light of what brought more importance. Who was more important was a big driver of how people were treated. The rich and powerful were treated respectfully. The poor and powerless were dismissed and disrespected. This is what the disciples were arguing over.

But Jesus gives a different perspective. He paints a picture of how His kingdom is ordered. It isn't about what others can do for you. It is about serving others. It is not what others can do for us. But it is about serving people around us. And not just that, but serving those who are unlike us. We are called to serve everyone. Jesus brings a child over. Children are not of much value in biblical times. There were the last of these and not of great importance. What can a child do for you? They could not make you more important or grant you any important favors. Jesus calls his disciples to serve them. 

So it is two mindsets contrasted with each other.

Is it me-for-you or is it you-for-me? Does your mindset orient towards our good or their good? Are your friends here for your good or is it for their good? Is your community/neighborhood for you or are you there to serve them? 

Then the disciples start complaining about someone they did not know casting out demons in Jesus name. What's wrong with that? This was not one of the group following Jesus. This was tribal, cliche-ish behavior. They were trying to build barriers rather than build bridges. But this is not what Jesus desires. Jesus wants us to reach out with love and truth to fellow believers. Not with contempt and condemnation. So today, how do we speak of those who are not woke? How do we treat fellow believers on the other side of the political spectrum? If it is with contempt and disgust, then we are not following Jesus. We are all of one body. We cannot mistreat the arm because we are of the leg and do not agree with how they do things. The church will never agree on everything on this side of eternity. But we will find out on the other side, who was right and who was wrong. Till then, we need to treat each other with grace and truth in prayer with God. 

How does God bring more saltiness to his church? He salts his church with fire. What does that mean? Trials and trouble for believers. Maybe covid is here to squeeze us and teach us to give up our preferences? Maybe racism will force us to have difficult conversations to learn to speak truth with love?