September 20, 2015

                  Who is the greatest? What makes one person superior to another? We know we have trouble answering this question if we reflect on how we elect candidates – how we compensate people for their work – how we decide whom to listen to or follow. We hold certain values about wealth and success. Do they match our faith?

                  We hear a sort of old-fashioned wisdom about a “capable” wife. Perhaps we should use another word. “Capable” sounds too thin – like adequate. Rachel Held Evans, (a writer and recent convert to the Episcopal church) translates the word as “excellent” or even “valiant.” Certainly, this woman is an excellent spouse and partner. We must acknowledge that the description is limited by the culture of the time. It also depicts a family of some means as she has servants and buys property. The purpose is not to describe a sort of ultimate goal of women in marriage. It holds up an excellent way of life for us to translate into our experience.

                  I like the translation of a valiant woman. It’s not the specific actions of household arrangements. What is held up is the way that the valiant woman lives her life. (A businesswoman can be valiant, an athlete can be valiant, a writer can be valiant, a new mother can be valiant.) All is done with integrity and done whole-heartedly. All is done as an expression of faith in God and a desire to live out human relationships in the context of divine relationships. This is an example for every one of us in whatever circumstance.

                  This passage can also be seen as a description of following the way of wisdom instead of the way of foolishness. A good life is not lived with perfect theology alone. We live out our faith day by day in the interactions we have with everyone we meet. We live with integrity and love with our partner, with our children, with our neighbors, with our co-workers, clients, customers, bosses, etc. We live with integrity and love with what we say, with what our hands create, with what we write, with how we collaborate, with how we listen, etc. Not just on Sunday – not just when someone is looking – not when we are even conscious of it. The excellent person, the valiant person lives a full and rich life of love-filled interactions that enrich their family and proclaim the life God intends. All of it counts. All of it matters.

                  This is what James writes about. If we live in love, we will have generous hearts. We will give ourselves to others with joy, without worry. When we are full of fear, then we have envy and we become competitive for what we fear are scarce resources. We have forgotten grace of God – the generous outpouring of love that saves us.

                  Competition believes that there is only one winner and everyone else is a loser. Some people say that women in leadership are more collaborative and less competitive. Perhaps we should consider what it might look like if there were no winners and losers but only people working together for what we all need.

                  Jesus tries to teach the disciples about his death and suffering. They do not want to think about it. They are avoiding any talk of change or loss. Right now they are in the inner circle of an exciting movement. They walk next to Jesus. It feels good to be on top. Who wants to think about giving it all up? Instead, they wander off into a philosophical/rabbinic debate about who is the greatest. It sounds a little disturbing (and it is meant to). There is a tradition of thinking about what God values most. We are right to suspect that they were not following a good line of thought.

                  Since they won’t listen to what Jesus wants to tell them, he interrupts their conversation. Who is the greatest? What sort of leader do we want? Who will fix this mess or tell us what we need to hear? We already know the answer. Jesus is right there! Instead Jesus takes a little child and places her in their midst. If you want to be the greatest, you have to be like her.

                  What does he mean? I think my granddaughter is the greatest, but I don’t think that this is what Jesus means. We think of little children and we think of their trust. We think of their playfulness and love. I think Jesus is pointing out the obvious. The little child is not great. The little child is not important (to us, but not in the grand scheme of things.) The little child holds no position, no honor, no claim on us. If we want to be great – we have to seek to be nothing.

                  Little children, when they are not worried or frightened, when they are not hungry of neglected – they enter into a place of trust and play where they are curious and generous and open. They are (in this state) unaware of self and completely immersed into what every context they find themselves.

                  We are to enter into a life of love in the same way. It is more difficult for us. We have bills and worries. We are responsible for others. We have to work at trust. We have to get out of our own way. We have to accept that it is not all up to us. We have to be willing to accept what God gives – especially through other people whom we may not be inclined to trust.

                  It is not a simple formula. It is not a to-do list. We are called to live in such a way that we unconsciously give ourselves away and unconsciously accept what is give back. We do not learn by memorization. We learn by trying to love and failing and trying again. That is our work. That is what may make us great, and we won’t even know when we’ve done it, accept that we will know love.