First Among Equals? - A Reflection on Luke 9:46-50



An argument arose among them as to which one of them was the greatest. But Jesus, aware of their inner thoughts, took a little child and put it by his side, and said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the greatest.”

John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.”

 

A few extraordinary experiences that we might have of Christ, or even spending time with him for a prolonged period of time, is no guarantee that we will understand Jesus or the things that he says. It is also no guarantee that we will change our mindset. As an example of this, take a look at the apostles. Three of them—Peter, James and John—have just witnessed the transfiguration. All of them then witness a dramatic exorcism where a little boy is set free from demonic oppression.

 

Now listen to what happens next. While the crowd is marveling at what they have just seen, Jesus says to the apostles: “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.” And, very bizarrely, they begin to argue among themselves about who is the greatest! They don’t ask Jesus what he meant. They don’t talk to the boy about what just happened to him. They don’t marvel along with the crowds. They talk about who was the greatest! 

 

I am reminded of a story of this guy proposing to a girl. He tells her how much he loves her and all the wonderful things he is going to do for her. When he is done, about fifteen minutes later, he waits anxiously for the girl to respond. And she girl says: “Do you think I am prettier than Sandra?” Whaaat? Well, this is how I felt when I read this story. Jesus tells them he is going to die. And they say, “Do you think I am greater than the others?” Whaaat?

 

And then Jesus takes a child and says something that seems totally out of context. "Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” But then you think about it and it makes perfect sense. But first: What kind of a child is this? We always imagine a cute, innocent looking child being set in front of everybody. But when I thought about it some more, I didn’t believe it was. I believe it was the same boy who was demon possessed because this is all one single narrative.

 

So, imagine this boy standing next to Jesus. He is helpless. He is vulnerable. He is wary. He is fearful. For many years he has been the subject of scrutiny and curiosity. He has been poked and prodded. He has spent much of his life as an outcast. Now he is standing beside Jesus, accepted as one who belongs to him. Do we receive him? Or do we still think of him as the demon kid. If we receive him, we receive Jesus. If we receive Jesus, we receive God as our Father. And if we receive God as our Father, then we acknowledge that we are all his children, equal in his eyes, and therefore nobody is greater than another.

 

Is everybody equal to you, or do you believe you are greater than everybody else? It’s a question we all need to answer.

 

Watch a video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here: https://youtu.be/7w5i2WZSyoY

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