The Greatest

"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

On this Sunday, I invite us all to remember what it was like to be a child. What were you like? I was curious and creative, quite a tomboy who liked to play cops and robbers, war, and cowboys and Indians. I was the fourth out of five and the third of four girls. My older sisters seemed glamorous. I was just messy and busy.

Jesus held a child on his lap and asked the disciples to look at the child - he said that this child is the greatest in God kingdom, and those who receive the child are great in God's eyes. Those who welcome the young and the vulnerable, the awkward and the innocent, these are the ones who God prizes highly.

May we welcome the little ones today. And may we welcome again our authentic, true selves. The child that we truly are. The one that aches to be loved, held and blessed by God. May we offer our true selves to God today.