Embrace

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Embrace

Sacred   Acceptance

Cultivate   Humility   Service

Lord Uphold My Life

Love

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scriptures:   Mark 9:35 to 37

Jesus sat down and called the Twelve Apostles and said to them: "If you wish to be first, you should take the last place and be of service to everyone else."

Jesus then took a child and placed the child with them. He embraced the child and said: "If you receive even one child in My name, you are receiving Me. When you receive Me, you are receiving the One who sent me."

Psalm 54: 6b

The Lord upholds my life.

Reflection

The embrace of Jesus. How amazing is that! How good will that feel!

Jesus shows the Apostles what that embrace really means when He embraces the child. This is what Jesus has come for. This is what Jesus wants to give to each one of us. Jesus shows the Apostles that to follow Him it will not be about position, status, or power. The key ingredient is to serve others just as Jesus does.

You might look at this episode and say that Jesus should not be wasting His time with children. For Jesus that is just the point. When you embrace someone with love, it is never a waste of time.

Put yourself in the sandals of that young child. Would you ever forget that embrace?

Jesus points out that when you also embrace a child in the way Jesus did, you will be receiving Him. Jesus is telling us that He will come to us and He will lead us to the Father. 

This shows us how deeply He loves us. He wants to come to us. He wants to lead us to the Father. 

When we are not concerned about our position, we are simply free to help others and to embrace them. We know that it is not about us. It's always about what we can give to someone else.

We know that we can be of service because, as the psalmist tells us, the Lord upholds us. We will not be abandoned to be of service and to embrace others by ourselves. The Lord will guide us. 

Enjoy that embrace!

1. Have you ever felt the embrace of Jesus?

2. Why is power and position such a temptation for us?

3. If we focus on reaching out to children in our ministries, are we just wasting our time?

4. What do you feel as you contemplate Kathy's photo?

(Scripture adaptation, reflection, and questions by John J. McNamara)