THEME:
These passages from Proverbs, James, and Mark each offer insights into loving and valuing those who are often overlooked or marginalised.
Isn’t it true how often the most important contributions come from those who are least visible. This sets the stage for exploring how the Bible calls us to recognise and honour these individuals.
Proverbs 31:10-31 – Valuing the Unseen
- Context: This passage is often celebrated for its depiction of the “woman of noble character.” However, it also serves as a broader call to recognise and value the often unseen and uncelebrated work of many in our communities.
- Key Points:
- Diligence and Generosity: Highlight how the woman provides for her family and the poor, working tirelessly behind the scenes (verses 15, 20).
- Wisdom and Kindness: Emphasize her wisdom and kindness, qualities that often go unnoticed but are crucial for a thriving community (verse 26).
- Fear of the Lord: Her actions are rooted in her reverence for God, reminding us that our service to others is an act of worship (verse 30).
Application: Encourage the congregation to look around and appreciate those who serve quietly and faithfully. Challenge them to express gratitude and support for these individuals, recognising their invaluable contributions.
James 3:1-12 – The Power of Words
- Context: James addresses the immense power of the tongue, urging believers to be mindful of their speech.
- Key Points:
- Responsibility of Teachers: Teachers and leaders have a significant influence and must use their words wisely (verses 1-2).
- Power of Speech: The tongue can cause great harm or great good, despite its small size (verses 5-6).
- Consistency in Speech: Our words should consistently reflect our faith and values, avoiding hypocrisy (verses 9-12).
Application: Challenge the congregation to use their words to build up rather than tear down. Encourage them to speak life and encouragement, especially to those who are vulnerable or marginalised. Share practical examples of how kind words can make a significant difference in someone’s life.
Mark 9:30-37 – Humility and Service
- Context: Jesus teaches his disciples about true greatness, using a child as an example.
- Key Points:
- Servant Leadership: True greatness comes from serving others, not seeking power or status (verse 35).
- Welcoming the Vulnerable: Jesus emphasises the importance of welcoming and valuing children, who represent the marginalised and powerless (verses 36-37).
Application: Encourage the congregation to adopt a posture of humility and service. Share stories of individuals or groups who have made a difference by serving the least among us. Challenge them to look for opportunities to serve those in need, whether through acts of kindness, support, or advocacy.
Connecting the Themes
- Valuing the Unseen: Recognise and appreciate the contributions of those who work quietly and faithfully.
- Mindful Speech: Use words to uplift and encourage, especially towards the vulnerable.
- Humility and Service: Embrace a servant-hearted approach, prioritising the needs of the marginalised.
JESUS PASSES THROUGH Galilee again but does not want anyone to know because his public ministry is coming to an end. He needs privacy to continue teaching his small band of disciples about the suffering and death that God requires of him and about what he requires of them. Success hinges on training these few, who will carry the gospel to the world, not on the ovations from dumbfounded crowds. When he makes his second prediction of his death and resurrection, the disciples keep silent. They do not comprehend what he is talking about, but they are afraid to ask him what it means (9:32). Either they are chary of being rebuked if they say anything, as Peter was earlier (8:33), or they prefer to live in a state of denial. They may not have wanted to understand the unpleasant reality staring Jesus in the face.
Fear, however, will increasingly control their reactions to the events Jesus predicts (14:50 – 52, 66 – 72; 16:8). Jesus adds a new detail here to his previous announcement of his suffering (8:31): He is “going to be handed over into the hands of men” (NIV, “betrayed into the hands of men”). The disciples should worry who it is who might betray him, but instead they spar with one another about who ranks the highest (9:33 – 34).
When they arrived in Capernaum, Jesus exposes their spat and their misunderstanding by asking them what they were discussing on the way. The question meets with an embarrassed silence; he has caught them in another dispute. They had argued among themselves over who forgot the loaves (8:16). They had argued with the teachers of the law when they failed to exorcise an unclean spirit (9:14). They will argue with successful exorcists who do not follow them (9:38). They will snort at a woman who displays extravagant devotion to Jesus and denounce it as a waste (14:4 – 5). This competitive spirit even taints their last supper with Jesus as Peter boasts that he will outdo all the other disciples in remaining faithful to Jesus (14:29). In this present passage the disciples are jockeying for position to be honored alongside their powerful liberator Messiah. The picture Mark presents has tragic-comic dimensions. Jesus walks ahead in silence on his way to his sacrificial death while his straggling disciples push and shove, trying to establish the order of the procession behind him.
The dispute opens the door for Jesus’ teaching on selfless service, and Mark notes its importance by relating that Jesus sits to teach and calls the Twelve. When he first spoke of his suffering, he told them that the one who tries to save his or her life will ultimately lose it, but the one who loses his or her life for his sake will save it (8:35). Now he presents them with another paradox: The one who wants to be first must become last of all and servant of all. The disciples still have visions of grandeur and do not fantasise about becoming servants, who are at everybody’s beck and call. They suffer from puffed-up ambition that will never be ready to take up a cross and follow a suffering servant Messiah.
To reinforce the lesson, Jesus places a little child in their midst and announces: “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me.” Jesus does not set up the child as a model to be imitated, for his culture had no romanticised notions about children. They were not regarded as especially obedient, trusting, simple, innocent, pure, unself-conscious, or humble. The point of comparison is the insignificance of the child on the honor scale. The child had no power, no status, and few rights. A child was dependent, vulnerable, entirely subject to the authority of the father; yet Jesus chooses such a one to represent those who are needy and lowly. If one wants to be great, one should shower attention on those who are regarded as insignificant, as Jesus himself has done. Jesus requires his “great” disciples to show humble service for the humble.
Jesus follows this up with another paradox: When his followers serve those without any status, they receive Jesus and the One who sent him. The greatest thing they can do is serve those who are forgotten and regarded as insignificant — those who have no influence, no titles, no priority, and no importance except to God. Mark pictures a community where no one is to be treated either as a kingpin or as a nonentity (see 1 Cor. 12:12 – 26). Realising that one is as small and slight as a child before God evokes repentance. Mark 9:30
Practical Steps
1. Acknowledge and Appreciate: Take time to recognise and thank those who often go unnoticed in your community.
2. Speak Life: Be intentional about using your words to encourage and build up others, especially those who are struggling.
3. Serve Humbly: Look for opportunities to serve those in need, whether through acts of kindness, support, or advocacy.
Conclusion
I invite you all to reflect on how you can embody these principles in your daily lives. I encourage you to pray for the strength and wisdom to love and serve those at the margins, following the example of Jesus.
I hope and pray that you will be inspired and challenged to live out your faith in practical, impactful ways. Amen!