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Jesus and his disciples passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.
Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
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This is the Gospel selection that will be read aloud by a priest on the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 20], Year B, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. It will follow one of two pairs of Old Testament and accompaniment readings, based on a predetermined path for an individual church, being either Track 1 or Track 2. The Track 1 option reads Proverbs 31, where Solomon wrote, “[A capable wife] looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.” That is balanced either by Psalm 1, which sings, “Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, nor lingered in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seats of the scornful!” Or, a reading from Wisdom 1-2, where Solomon wrote: “The ungodly by their words and deeds summoned death; considering him a friend, they pined away and made a covenant with him, because they are fit to belong to his company.” If the Track 2 path is the route, then the Old Testament reading will be from Jeremiah, where the prophet wrote, “But you, Yahweh of hosts, who judge righteously, who try the heart and the mind, let me see your retribution upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.” That will be paired with Psalm 54, which sings, “Hear my prayer, elohim; give ear to the words of my mouth.” One of the two pairing will precede a reading from James’ Epistle, where he wrote, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”
The last time this full reading came up in the lectionary cycle (2018), I wrote my observations and published them on my website. That commentary can be read by clicking on this link. What I saw then is still valid today; so, I welcome all to read that article and then compare what I wrote to what will follow now. As always, I welcome comments, suggestions, questions, and corrections. What I will address now will differ slightly, as additional thought that need to be expressed.
Last Sunday the Gospel selection was from Mark 8, the chapter before this. Jesus had gone to the north, to Caesarea Philippi, when he asked his disciples who they thought Jesus was. While in that same populated area, Peter rebuked Jesus for saying he would suffer, die and be raised; at which point Jesus rebuked Satan and told all his followers there to “take up your cross and follow me,” adding that “those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.” [NRSV] That took place before the “Transfiguration,” which was an event on a “high mountain,” which is Mount Hermon, not far from Caesarea Philippi.
With that logistical setting known, it was on the trip south, to Capernaum, that today’s reading is focused. This means that Jesus again made mention of what the near future held, to prepare his ‘children’ for what was coming. Whereas before Peter tried to tell Jesus he would hear no more of this talk of suffering and death, when Jesus said Peter was Satan-possessed, talk on this matter at this point in their travels did not elicit a response from the disciples. Mark says, “they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.”
What Jesus said that the disciples fully understood was Jesus saying he would be made to suffer and be killed by the Temple elite. Because Jesus told everyone, clearly, do not tell me differently, they were afraid to talk back to the teacher again. However, among themselves they were trying to figure out who was the strongest among them; and thereby, who would be the best bodyguard to always stay close to Jesus. That needs to be seen as what Jesus knew they were “ arguing about on the way.”
The Greek word that is translated as “greatest” is “meizōn.” As an adjective, it represents a comparative by degrees of measurement, which can be read as them questioning, “Who is strongest?” or “Who is largest?” This would make James and John of Zebedee be immediately lead candidates, as their nickname was “Sons of thunder,” meaning they were probably the meanest and burliest looking pair of the lot. So, that would mean a discussion as to who might best intervene if someone came to take Jesus and make him suffer. After all, Peter would make sure he carried a knife with him to Gethsemane, like he saw himself as an armed guard. Still, the same word has a noun meaning.
The word “meizōn” also means “village elder.” If that were the intent of the word, then rather than a “village,” the disciples and followers would better classify as a “church” or “synagogue” – an “assembly” or “gathering” that would be similar to a “village.” This direction of argument would then be akin to someone questioning, “What if Jesus is right and there is nothing we can do to stop his being killed? Who leads then?” In this light, the “greatest” takes on the meaning that questions, “Who has learned the most, so he can take over running the gathering like Jesus?”
When this reading is read on a Sunday when Solomon is giving long and loud praise to what makes a capable wife, where “wife” is metaphor for the “greatest” smarts; and, when James was questioning where the “greatest” form of “wisdom” comes from [above or below], this needs to now guide this reading from Mark. This must then factor into explaining why Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”
When Peter had before taken Jesus aside, he became the student chastising the master. Peter put himself above all the others when he did that, which was a statement of self-importance and self-will. While Peter figured [a wisdom from the brain thing] his views were in line with the views of all the other disciples and followers, making all be equally fearful of facing religious life without the guru Jesus to lead them, Peter was acting like a spoiled brat, jumping in the face of his parent who had told him something he did not want to hear. Because Peter (most likely) was a little older than Jesus, thus probably the elder of the disciples [measured by age], he felt that age superiority gave him the freedom to act like he knew more than the teacher.
In the Greek written by Mark, the word “prōtos” has been translated as “first,” giving the impression that “greatest” means being “first.” The word can also mean, “before, principal, most important” (Strong’s Usage), and “beginning, best, chief.” (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance) The word translated as “last” is “eschatos,” which can also mean “extreme” (Strong’s Definition), “at the last, finally, till the end” (Strong’s Usage), and “end, uttermost.” (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance) Thus, a different way of reading what Jesus said about their argument about who would lead them, should Jesus die, was: “Whoever wants to be the beginning must be until the end and most importantly [from the use of “kai”] servant of all.”
When Solomon has set a theme of “wives,” knowing that his intellectual focus was on females and women, take a moment to reflect on the concept of a mother-wife in a household. The mother-wife must become the reality of what Jesus told his all-male lead disciples. In a society that placed ALL importance on menfolk, so men constantly argued over who did the most work and needed to be given the most respect, the women-wives-mothers got no such respect, while doing all the day-to-day chores, including raising the children, to the point that their age meant nothing. They were the servants to all, from morning till night, from the beginning of the day until the end of night. Thus, Jesus just told his group of studs, “If you want to replace me, then you have to be a capable wife to Yahweh.”
From seeing this lesson being taught by Jesus to his twelve male disciples, knowing that they had come to Capernaum, where Jesus had purchased a house and lived, the followers of Jesus include his mother, aunts and uncles, and his wife Mary Magdalene, sister-in-law Martha, and brother-in-law Lazarus. The women followers did all the washing, cooking, mending, and getting water and food, to keep the ministry of Jesus thriving. Included in this mix was John, the son of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. At that point in time, John was a boy, probably around ten years of age. Without a wife, Jesus would have had no son. Thus, after having told his male disciples if they want to replace him, then they need to be prepared to serve everyone … like a wife … then they need to make a baby … like Jesus had done in his son John.
After a few hours of suffering, the life of self-importance will forever die and one will be reborn as a mother - slave to all that is family.
I went into my views on how John the Beloved, the Gospel writer, was the son of Jesus. The point does not require anyone believe that, in order to grasp the lesson of Jesus saying, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” That says a lot.
First it says, “Whoever welcomes one such child.” That means a good wife bears children. Being Jesus’ replacement means more than being top dog. It means receiving the Spirit and giving birth to a baby boy soul within ... a new you.
Second, it says, “one such child in my name.” That means receiving a specific soul that possesses one’s own soul and body, which comes with the name “Jesus.” The name “Jesus” means “Yah[weh] Saves.”
Third, it says a soul-body “welcomes me,” where the “child in my name” is not only named “Jesus,” but whoever that baby boy soul was born into “welcomes” being reborn in that identity. It means the love of a mother welcoming this new birth as as the extension of Yahweh to be His servant, as His Son resurrected.
Finally, when Jesus said, “whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me,” that says a soul who “welcomes a child named Jesus,” who is “not” the one named Jesus before [fill in your name here]. One's self-ego has died and moved to the rear in submission to divine possession, which is the soul of Jesus raised again in the flesh. For one being who “welcomes the one who sent me,” that soul has married Yahweh [not some generic “lord”], having become His "capable wife."
This means just as Jesus was not selfish [or gay], so that he did not made life be all about building up a singular ministry, refusing to not do any of the mandatory things demanded of all Jewish male adults, he exemplified obedience to the Laws. Jesus followed all the rules and expectations set upon a Jewish male. All the Jewish females did the same. As human beings devoted to a religious cause, they all followed the law that commanded, “be fruitful and multiply.” Jesus cursed a barren fig tree to wither and die. Had Jesus been fruitless [without child], it would have been hypocritical for him to have been that selfish. Jesus sired one son. That physical reality was Yahweh’s plan for all the followers of Jesus to do the same – SPIRITUALLY.
The true followers of Jesus must become wives of Yahweh - SPIRITUALLY. The true followers of Jesus must give birth to the one Son of their most Holy Husband - SPIRITUALLY. As a capable wife of the Father and the subservient mother of the Son, one must serve all, from beginning until end, in a ministry that is in the name of Jesus ... another Christ of Yahweh raised from the dead of mortal existence. Ministry as Jesus reborn is led by Yahweh's SPIRIT.
This means the message of this reading calls upon all who call themselves followers of Jesus – as a devotion to the human man, based on belief – to go beyond that belief and experience the truth of faith. To do that, one must:
1. Become a wife of Yahweh, through love and absolute submission of self-will to His
Will.
2. Become impregnated with the soul of Jesus, which makes that soul be “in the name
of Jesus,” no longer in the name of one’s biological father.
3. Enter into ministry as Jesus reborn, becoming a servant to all, as “a capable wife” for
Yahweh.
As the Gospel reading to be read aloud on the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s own personal ministry for Yahweh should already be well underway, the lesson is to stop planning how great one’s future will be, when you die and go to heaven. That is a mindset that serves oneself alone and nobody else. One must die of self, which means one will follow in the footsteps of Jesus: suffer, die, resurrect – before one will amount to a capable wife of Yahweh. In order to die of self-ego, one must truly love Yahweh, so His love is returned in a proposal of marriage. One must enter the nuptial tent as the wife of Yahweh and receive His Spirit that makes one full of the fruit that is His Son [no daughters allowed, only Jesuses]. Then one lets Jesus lead one’s body of flesh into ministry, however Yahweh sees fit.
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