He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”

— Mark 9:35-37

Some of the best leaders, teachers and priests I have ever met are people who serve others, and the worst leaders I’ve ever met are people who want to control others with fear and intimidation. A good leader asks the people, “What gifts has God given you, and what would you like to accomplish with those gifts?” Leading in this way leans into an asset-based community development approach, a philosophy that guides Episcopal Relief & Development’s work.

Today’s Vespers reading contains three stories in which Christ educates the disciples and also us modern believers about how religion, government and all systems of the world should operate. He chose to be incarnate on earth at a time when the hierarchies of society were fixed and when humans had chosen to assign different values to different human beings. Slavery was an integral part of the ancient world, and slaves were considered to be of lowest value. Children had low value in society because they were dependent and not yet productive.

In his ministry, Jesus turns that entire system on its head and reminds his disciples that no one is greater than another. He rejects their question about who among them is the greatest by saying, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”

Reflect: Can you imagine a world in which all humankind is of service to each other? What would that look like?

And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

— Mark 9:47-48

When I was a kid in the Baptist church, we heard a lot about hell, and I can assure you that it kept me on the straight and narrow. Visiting preachers would deliver sermons on hell, and we learned all about the long list of things that might lead us into the lake of unquenchable fire. We even saw very low-budget scary films and slideshows about it, and I truly believed that they were scientifically accurate representations of a real flaming place with people wailing and gnashing their teeth just like in the movie.

Jesus talks a lot about hell in this passage, but what is he saying? He tells us that unless we rid ourselves of things that are destructive to us or others, we will “go to hell.”

The original Greek for the word hell in this passage, and at least seven other places in the Gospels, is Gehenna (γέεννα). Gehenna was an actual place outside Jerusalem, which has variously been described as a constantly burning garbage dump, a place of unclean burial for outcasts or a place of pagan child sacrifice. Was Jesus using Gehenna as an example of what hell is like, or was he using it as a metaphor for the hell we experience in our lives when we choose the path of harm and destruction?

What the actual, empirical truth is, we have no idea. Theologians and scholars have pondered the concept of hell over the centuries, and no one has ever figured it out. Nobody has ever been there to bring back a report. Jesus is speaking of something here that is beyond our comprehension. We do not know what this hell is, but we can comprehend the idea of ridding ourselves of destructive things. We know that following God will help us avoid hell, whether it’s in our own lives or takes some other form.

Reflect: What were you taught about hell? What is your belief about hell now?

But from the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female.” For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

— Mark 10:6-9

In this passage in Scripture, Jesus seems to be condemning divorce. As you can imagine, his words here cause some discomfort for many people. I know some preachers who dread the Sunday when this Gospel is appointed for the sermon. I completely understand. It makes me uncomfortable, too, because I am also divorced, and so are some of my Sisters in the Convent. Many of my friends and family members have divorced and remarried. What is Jesus saying about all of us?

As is always the case with Scripture, there are many ways of interpreting Jesus’ words. Even in his own time, Jewish husbands were allowed to divorce their wives. Roman wives were also allowed to divorce their husbands. It was an accepted practice that was in keeping with the Law. Jesus says, “Because of your hardness of heart [Moses] wrote this commandment for you.” Jesus acknowledges that divorce is in the Law according to Moses, but he also points out that Moses wrote the Law because of the people’s hardness of heart.

The interpretation of this passage that makes the most sense to me is that Jesus is holding up an ideal for the union of two people. They should love each other to the point of becoming one flesh. They should be kind to each other, and they should take care of each other. It is only through human weakness that spouses become abusers, drive their families into financial ruin, or commit any of the many other destructive acts that take root in the human heart. Jesus is saying, “This is how it should be. Love should be eternal. Love is from God. Why can’t you people figure out how to love each other?” It is in keeping with his commandment for all of us to love one another.

Jesus then shows his boundless love by blessing the little children after the disciples scolded them. This is one of the few instances in Scripture where he becomes angry. He has compassion for these innocents, and he was indignant that they were being mistreated. In all his actions, Jesus demonstrates the essence of true love.

Reflect: How do you deal with challenging passages in scripture? Do you have a prayerful response that helps you with this encounter?

Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

— Mark 10:21

When I was discerning the call to be a nun, this passage leapt into my mind. I was 46. I had a successful career as a photo editor in Hollywood, and I had dozens of friends. My job was stressful, yet I was always terrified of getting fired. I clung to the security of the paycheck even though it was costing me my health. I’d been like that since I was 7 years old, knocking on doors offering to rake leaves for the neighbors for a quarter. Not earning money, getting rid of all my belongings and moving away from all my friends was daunting to me. I had been earning money since I was a child. How would I survive without a paycheck?

I put off joining the Convent for many years as I hovered over the threshold to the unknown. Then I was told I needed to be out of debt to enter a community, so that added another ten years. I often despaired that I would never get out of debt and that I had let God down by waiting too long. Somehow, though, God found a way. My boss suddenly gave me a significant pay raise. Friends asked me to do freelance work, and someone at church anonymously gave me $1,000. I started getting rid of my stuff and realized it all seemed like heavy weights to me. The idea of being free of all the clutter, knick-knacks and dishes I’d never used started to feel good.

When I was finally accepted into the Community of St. John Baptist, I quit my job and drove across the country with a friend. Any time I was seized with fear because I was jobless, I would repeat the words “God will take care of me” as a mantra. By the time we reached the East Coast, I had convinced myself that my mantra was the truth. I put my life into God’s hands and trusted that God would take care of me.

God then showed me the abundance of a life lived in his service. I have no income and no bank account, yet I feel more cared for now than I ever have. We Sisters have all we need within our lives of Holy Poverty. We live simply, but we are blessed beyond measure by God’s goodness.

Reflect: What do you think of this passage? Monastics take it literally, but it can also be interpreted differently for modern minds.

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They replied, “We are able.”

— Mark 10:35-39a

At this point in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus and his disciples begin their journey to Jerusalem. On the way, Jesus tries once again to explain what is to come—his suffering, death and resurrection—but the disciples still don’t get it. They do not want to believe that their teacher and friend will endure such suffering.

Their denial is such that James and John come to him and ask if they can be the equivalent of a chief minister and lord chamberlain by sitting at his right and left hand in glory. Instead of being impressed by their wish to serve, Jesus scolds them. Clearly, they are envisioning a future that is the opposite of God’s plan.

Oh, how many times I’ve done that! When I joined the Convent, I prayed for God to use me in any capacity to build up the church and the religious life. I was grateful for the opportunity to live and serve in New York City in a ministry to the unhoused. Every day, I prayed fervently to do all I could for my Savior. At the end of every one of those prayers, I would always ask, “And please, God, whatever you do, please don’t let me ever be elected Sister Superior.”

And guess what God did? In 2018, the Superior told me I’d be coming back to the mother house from New York. I was heartbroken. I did not want to leave my ministry there, and I did not want to leave all my friends and colleagues. The community insisted, though, and I grudgingly came home. When I returned from New York that summer, various Sisters kept pulling me aside and whispering that they wanted to elect me Superior. That was why I had been told to return to Mendham.

I prayed, “OK, God, we talked about this. Remember? That is the one thing I cannot do. I am woefully unqualified! Surely these nuns will come to their senses if you intervene! Please Lord, take this cup from me.”

In spite of my pleas and my fervent attempts to keep my story on my track, I was elected Superior less than a year after I made my life profession to become a nun.

My prayer after the election was, “All right, God, if you’re going to force me to face my fears, you’ll have to run this community through me. I cannot do it, but I can be the instrument of your will for us.” This past December, I was re-elected to a second five-year term.

The disciples were focused on their own vision of Jesus reigning supreme on an earthly throne with a firm hierarchy of disciples in place. God’s plan was, as always, much better.

Reflect: When has God made you face your fears? How did you feel about God’s plan as opposed to your own?

Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

— Mark 10:51-52

Jesus heals the blind in all four Gospels, and each story is deeply moving. Earlier in Mark, he heals a blind man by spitting and making mud. Here, Jesus simply says, “Your faith has made you well.” Mark’s telling of this story is so vivid that it is easy to put ourselves into the scene and hear the blind beggar calling out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” We can see the man spring up, throw off his cloak and rush to Jesus to be healed.

How strong this beggar’s faith must have been, that it brought about his healing. Jesus tells him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” What great faith he must have had to recognize who Jesus truly was, even without being able to see him. In the darkness of his blindness, the beggar could still see the light.

The healing of the blind, of course, also has a symbolic meaning. Jesus is trying to make the world see the truth, and even his disciples are blind to it. Sadly, humans in the past—and even today—are still blind to the full reality of God’s glory. The world is still choosing not to follow Jesus’ command to serve one another in love and to make the least of us the greatest.

This is one of the Gospel passages that inspired the Jesus Prayer, which is “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” It is meant to be repeated over and over, and it was first used by the Desert Mothers and Fathers in Egypt in the fourth century. When done consistently over time, it is a deep and powerful way to invite God’s mercy into our blindness. I highly recommend it.

Reflect: When have your eyes been opened on your spiritual journey?