God, help us not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly so we can hold fast to the things that endure. (Proper 20 Collect)
Peter was not alone. The Gospel of Mark makes it clear, the other disciples also failed to understand who Jesus was and what Jesus needed to do. Jesus was aware of their failure. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus met privately and repeatedly with the disciples. Between public ministry activities, he taught and prepared them. On a trip through Galilee to Capernaum, Jesus again laid out what God had set for his ministry. Jesus said,
‘The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, killed, and three days after being killed, rise.’
In spite of Jesus’ instructions and preparations, the disciples could not comprehend God’s intent and did not take advantage of the privacy and undivided attention Jesus afforded them. Instead they allowed confusion and fear to silence them. They did not ask questions, were unwilling to offer comments and proved incapable of seeking clarification. Confusion confounded them and fears rendered them speechless. Audrey Lorde, scholar, poet and activist, wrote about the consequences of silence in an essay titled, “Your silence will not protect you.” It’s a pity Audrey Lorde was around to show them the importance of speaking up and taking action when confusion and fear reign.
Peter claimed his confusion and named his fear. He tried to correct Jesus’ prediction of rejection and death and afterward Jesus corrected him. Jesus told him to put his mind on divine things instead of earthly things. When Andrew, Peter’s brother, James and his brother John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas failed to understood they did not speak to Jesus. Instead, they argued with one another. They argued about who among them was the greatest. Faced with the prospect of Jesus’ rejection and death, the disciples vied for power and position. When their leader was no longer around, they needed someone to lead in his place. Jesus waited until they arrive in Capernaum to ask, “what were you arguing about as we traveled?” Jesus asked this question, not because he did not know what they were saying. Jesus asked to give them another chance to understand. Jesus asked to give them an opportunity to claim their confusion and name their fear.
As you struggle with hardships, during seemingly endless days and nights of grief, when depression immobilizes and isolates you, or as outrage and anger rattle your soul, remember these things. Like the disciples you may avoid claiming your experience and naming your feelings. Like the disciples you may argue with yourself instead of engaging with God. You might argue with others and not see that God is with you. We also need to remember that just as Jesus knew what the disciples were discussing, God knows our confusion and understands our fears. God sees our avoidance and evasion. Jesus asked the disciples what they were discussing to offer them a chance to know he was there to help, he was ready to listen, and he wanted to love them. This day, during this service God will offer us a chance. In Word and Sacrament, addresses our confusion and stands with us in our fears. Every day God is available to help, ready to listen and eager to love.
The disciples responded with silence after Jesus asked, “what were you discussing as we traveled?” Jesus did not leave them to wallow in fear or to be tortured by confusion, he demonstrated his love for them. He showed them what to do and say when confusion and fear reign. Jesus took a little child, placed the child in their midst and enfolded the child in a loving embrace. In Jesus’ day, children were property. Little children were useless until they matured. When they were little they could not work, had to be fed, and required protection. Once children were old enough to dress and feed themselves and stay away from danger they became valuable assets for the family, clan and tribe. By bringing a small child to the inner circle of the faith teachers, healers and leaders and embracing a person who represented burdens and liabilities, Jesus demonstrated who God called him to be/do and what God expected believers to be/do. Jesus explained his demonstration,
Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me, but the one who sent me. Mark 9:37
Audrey Lorde was not around to show the disciples what to do when confusion and fear reign, but Jesus was. He showed the disciples the importance of speaking up and taking action. The world could and would see the cross (his rejection and death) as burden and liability. From a worldly perspective, the resurrection (his rising) was an asset or property of limited value. By holding fast to heavenly things, it is evident that nothing can separate us from the love of God: not confusion or fear, not rejection or death. Like Jesus’ embrace of a little child, his rejection, death and resurrection were and are demonstrations of eternal love.
