Living in Jesus’ Servitude

Mark 9:30-32

30 They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30 is a federal statutory holiday that honours the survivors of residential schools as well as their families and communities. It's an opportunity for all of us who call Canada home to reflect, learn and act. Orange Shirt Day is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day intended to raise awareness of the individual, family and community inter-generational impacts of residential schools, and to promote the concept of "Every Child Matters". The orange shirt is a symbol of the stripping away of culture, freedom and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children over generations.
 
In the gospel of Mark, chapter 9, we find that Jesus and His disciples came to Capernaum quietly, passing through Galilee. On the way, Jesus foretold His suffering and death a second time (Mk 9:30-32). Also on the way, the disciples disputed who would be the greatest (Mk 9:33-34). Jesus took this opportunity to teach His disciples the way to true greatness, but in a way involving servitude, and in a way involving humility. The route through Galilee returning from the North stands out in the closeness of His sacrifice in Jerusalem. Due to that, in Mk 9: 29-36, for the second time, Jesus announces His passion, death and resurrection on the third day; but on this occasion, He adds the following words: "The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men." In the Old Testament, this expression is contrasted with that of "falling into the hands of God, whose mercy is great" in Sam 24:41.
 
How terrible it is to fall into the hands of man, and not into the hands of God, is seen in the passion of Jesus. When men have done their work, and everything has been accomplished, Jesus will commend his spirit into the hands of the Father, and the Father will resurrect him. The disciples cannot understand that their teacher, whom they recognise as the Messiah, should suffer so many insults and even death on the cross. Nor do they understand anything about the resurrection on the third day. However, the fear that they feel in asking shows that they do not understand because they do not want to understand. The disciples cannot accept the tremendous programme that their Master has revealed to them. That is why they prefer to keep their mouths shut while their hearts are filled with sadness (Mt 17:23). A group of stragglers begins to argue behind Jesus' back about ranks and origins among the disciples. Jesus does not take notice and lets them do as they please.
 
But as soon as they have arrived at Capernaum, possibly already seated in Peter's house, he asks them what they had argued about on the road. Ashamed of their behaviour and knowing that they could not please their Master, they remain silent. The disciples do not respond now for the same reasons that they did not dare to ask the Master before about what he had told them about his passion. The disciples' shame is perfectly explained to Jesus, who has much deeper concerns and only thinks about serving others. Jesus teaches that the greatest honour is the greatest service, that the first is the one who humbles himself to serve all. During the last supper, Jesus will wash the feet of his disciples and serve them, placing himself last.
 
When he is raised on the cross the next day, the disciples will understand the meaning of Jesus' words: The last will then be the first: he who dies for all will be Lord of all. It is necessary to serve everyone, but especially the humblest and the smallest. He who serves the poorest and most humble, like this child, serves Jesus and the Father who sends him. Jesus' attitude towards children has often been misinterpreted. It is not that Jesus "liked" children or that he specially loved them for their candour or purity of heart. For Jesus, a child is no more and no less than a poor person who is not usually considered by others and who occupies the last place in the house. That is why Jesus takes him as a symbol of all those who are his favourites and whom we must serve if we want to be first in the Kingdom. someone.

Life and history must make us humble; history confronts us with ourselves in the same way as the Bible. Both expose us to our vulnerabilities, our realities, our weaknesses and our evils, but both also offer us means of redemption that involve repentance and change. to expose vulnerabilities, our realities, our weaknesses and our evils, but both also offer us means of redemption that involve repentance, recognition and change through faith. It means faith that we can be better and that we can do things better. History and the Bible connect us with everything, with the past through storytelling and memory, with the present through recognition and analysis and with the future through hope, and they announce to us a past that, although it is not unknown to us, we want to ignore.
 
Life is a trip; it's a personal journey, like Jesus' journey in the gospel. For Jesus, the journey was from Bethlehem to Capernaum; for us, it's a journey from birth to eternity, just like that, because we don't finish with death, but we belong to eternity. Throughout this journey, we find people around us, some of them are supporters, others are our witnesses. Supporters are people who live the story with us, giving us support, encouragement, and empathy. Witnesses are people who see our story from the stage without commitment, but with indifference, even judgment. Both can testify to what God is doing in our lives, but from different perspectives.
 
God's story is one full of love and mercy, with two big aspects to highlight: the story of salvation and the story of human dignification. The boy with spirit was dignified in the same way as all people who received a miracle from Jesus. We can check in detail the miracles contained in the gospel to recognise that Jesus wanted to embrace people in need and restore their dignity with love and empathy. Jesus is not advocating for Himself any religious authority to impose a culture or a condemnation, but the way to greatness in the kingdom of God is different from the way to greatness in the kingdoms of men. From Jesus, we learn that it involves servitude and humility. Jesus clearly stated: "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all," in Mark 9:35.
 
How we can practice the servitude in the context of the day of truth and reconciliation, we can consider next ideas: Serve people in need, as someone led you to Christ, can you lead another to Him, practicing the hospitality, offering acts of kindness and service, can you help others, giving with deliverance, being present in the life of people affected by solitude, greeting every one not only people who affected by loneliness. Take special interest in those who are vulnerable, take care of them, serve others in benevolence, visit the sick or elderly, at home and in the hospital. Render services such as cleaning, transportation, errands, and minister to the poor, the hungry, or those otherwise in need. How can we practice humility in the context of the day of truth and reconciliation? Jesus used a little child to teach the importance of humility in Mk 9:36-37. When we humbly receive others in Jesus' name, we receive both Him and His Father in heaven in Mark 9:37.
 
Then we can consider some ideas to implement as the next: Be open to opportunities to learn from people in situation of disadvantages, ask others if you can show your areas of improvement or weaknesses, reach out to those who are different than us, especially those less fortunate than you, gladly accept roles in the church not to much visible, warmly welcome those below or above your "social status", help with mundane tasks (e.g., cleaning the building). Truth and reconciliation are part of the history and of the Bible. Jesus shows us how to develop a servant heart and keep servant hands, also a humble heart and humble hand, in that way, we can recognise in the past the true, seek in the present the reconciliation and build a future based on Jesus' hope for all.