Greater

"What were you discussing on the way?" Mark 9:33.

Jesus seldom asks questions, but when he does, he puts our hearts on the examining table. But his disciples won't say. The Word, of course, does say: They had been conversing, well, OK, arguing. About what? Well, what else (?) - about which of them was the greater. Our hearts hurt because Jesus had opened up his heart's distress that soon he would suffer and die miserably. (In fairness, they don't get it. Nevertheless.) They focused rather on a coming triumphal entry into Jerusalem and establishing reign in the kingdom of God. So Jesus must open hearts to the nature of God's kingdom: Service. To be first in the kingdom is to become last of all, servant of all. It is to receive a child into a warm-hearted hug. For Jesus. And for God.

When we visit with a brother or sister today, we tend to real needs through which we may serve one another. And, together, we give thanks to the One whose heart met our need so completely.