It's All About Service
So Jesus is walking from one town to another and for some reason the disciples are behind him and not walking with him. Maybe they're planning his surprise birthday party, in hopes someone will soon invent Christmas.
Anyway, they get to the town and Jesus knows what they were talking about, of course because he's Jesus, and he calls them out, saying, "Why are you obsessed with personal ambition and achievement, that's not what this is about!"
John mutters under his breath, "You mean I don't get to run a church church the size of a football stadium, ride in private jets, and roll around in all that tax-free cash?"
Peter elbows him in the ribs, just as Jesus asks a bunch of little kids to come over and sit there with them,
How convenient! We don't know if they're card carrying, free range children, Junior members of a street gang, or divinely placed there to be Jesus's perfect object lesson!
Which is when Jesus says, "Look at these Little people, they're totally dependent on others, for food, toilet paper, and Legos - It's this kind of dependence that you need if you're going to follow me!"
Still perplexed, John says, "What, no parsonage, clothing expense account, or parking spot with my name on it?"
Once again, he gets the elbow from Peter, which actually could be for you and me too, because how much time do we waste obsessing about our own personal gain, and forgetting that our own happiness is directly related to how much we care about others?
Yes, the disciples will get this one day, and hopefully you and me too!
