On March 12, 2010, my wonderful husband and Indy REJO!CE debate coach, David Lockman, delivered the following devotion to 230 Christian homeschooling speech and debate competitors and their parents at the NCFCA Region VI Indianapolis Qualifying Tournament. The message is based on Mark 9:33-37 where Jesus confronts the disciples about an ongoing debate that they were having. I hope you enjoy!
A despondent guy stood on a bridge about to jump. Someone saw him and yelled, “Don’t do it!”
He said, “Nobody loves me.”
The person said, “God loves you. Do you believe in God?”
He said, “Yes.”
“Are you a Christian or a Jew?”
He said, “A Christian.”
“Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?”
He said, “Protestant.”
“Me, too! What denomination?”
He said, “Baptist.”
“Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?”
He said, “Northern Baptist.”
“Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?”
He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist.”
“Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?”
He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region.”
“Me, too!” Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?”
He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912.”
“Aw jump, you heretic!”
Is this the type of debate that the disciples were having on the road? Trying to distill the characteristics of the greatest that would eventually eliminate them until only one was left standing? The form of the resolution was simple,
“Resolved: that I, [state your name], am the greatest.”
How does one judge such a debate? What are the criteria for establishing a winner? Notice the ambiguity of the resolution. Greatest what? At least a noun would help construct a context, but it is obviously missing.
Of course, the disciples are not so different than us, are they? Isn’t an overarching theme of any debate and speech tournament the discovery of the greatest through competition? What’s our currency for establishing the greatest? Is it speaker points? Ranking in the tournament? Making the out rounds? Best overall? Highest number of picket fences? We adults have our own currency for deciding this personally important issue as well. Annual compensation, position in a company or firm, size of house, or quality of our rides, are all criteria submitted for our place in the pecking order. Even the lowly Christian homeschooling mom puffs out her chest and cackles like hen that has just laid an egg to present her children as evidence of her place in this debate. The looks, the grace, the achievements, and the irrefutable potential of her children are all stellar exhibits of greatness.
Ludicrous, that such a debate could even take place in the presence of Jesus. Yet, wasn’t Jesus partially responsible for this debacle? He did not emphasize that the Son of Man was king of all nations. Instead, he taught “that the Son of Man would be delivered into the hands of men and they will kill him, and when he is killed, after three days, he will rise.” Such teaching was beyond their comprehension and even though the source of clarity was less than a spoken word away, they clung to their lack of understanding and feared approaching Jesus on the topic. Why? Was Jesus imposing? Was He an overbearing intellectual task master who ridiculed those without ears to hear and those without eyes to see?
Of course, not. Look at his response to the farce of a debate that had derailed the disciples from focusing on the lesson Jesus was teaching them regarding the Son of Man. A direct question, “What were you debating on the road?” Well, what were we debating on the road this morning? Does Jesus need to ask? Not really, but he wants us to acknowledge our debate. Can we speak it here in the presence of the assembled Christian homeschooling community? Or would we rather join the disciples in their sheepish silence?
Despite the awkward silence, Jesus did not think these disciples were incapable of learning, though what encouraged him to think so optimistically of the group is not immediately apparent from the text. How do we know he thought them worthy of his teaching? He sat down. With that action, he assumed the posture of a teacher with his students. Rabbis sat amongst their disciples to teach. He also revealed a form of exclusion had already occurred in the community of his disciples because he called the twelve. The twelve were a group that had been set apart not for anything they had done, but because he had called them. A special place had been given to them because Jesus had shared with them his authority to cast out demons and heal illnesses and had sent them on a mission to exercise this authority. They returned from that mission with news of all they had done and taught. They had been separated from the larger group of disciples, but the burning question of the day appears to have been,
“Which one was the greatest?”
Distinctions are present in our community here today as well. Into outrounds, some have been relegated to audience-only roles. In a few minutes when the “breaks” are announced, some more of us will join their ranks. Others will anxiously rejoin the fray to present their evidence that “I [state your name] am the greatest.” In the heat of this debate, Jesus interjects some winning advice,
“If anyone desires to be first,
he will be last of all and servant of all.”
How broad is this reach of all? Jesus demonstrates its reach: he receives a child, puts him or her in their midst and takes the child in his arms. The act looks relatively harmless, but in first century Palestine making oneself a servant of a child was absurd. Yet Jesus underlines the point, “Whoever receives one such child in my name, receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me, but the one who sent me.” The implication is clear. God’s authority demands that the least be included in the community and that they be served. Want to be the greatest in the community? Consider yourself to be the last in community. Exclude none from the circle that can ask you for service. Do you want to debate who is the greatest? It’s OK. Jesus doesn’t cut off the debate. He simply establishes the criteria for the debate and any evidence not meeting these criteria is irrelevant.
How significant is this winning advice? It is game changing. Those who arrived today thinking there was nothing for them to do, but move chairs, help clean up, and listen politely to those anxiously awaiting the next posting, can now understand that the real debate is not over. They are not excluded because the debate is not about U.S. federal government environmental policy. It is not about the most articulate person or team. It is not about who is the most persuasive, the most erudite apologetic, or the wittiest improvisational speaker. But it is about competition and cooperation. Who will cooperate with Jesus to allow him to give us a clean heart, wide arms, and a courageous view of community? Will we swallow our pride and serve all? The awards ceremony tonight establishes nothing of lasting value. The biggest winners of today may receive no medal, certificate, or applause. No, the one who desires to be first, will be last today and servant of all.
The rescuer on the bridge had a narrow view about the community that God loved and failed to serve when, by his standards, he was able to exclude the despondent man from his community. Jesus, on the other hand, challenges Christian homeschooling students and parents to open our arms to receive and to serve the least in our community. Who is ready for that competition?
