Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the mediations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, Oh God, our rock, our strength, and our redeemer. Amen.

On this day, in light of this text where Jesus shares his passion prediction for the second time and is still misunderstood by his beloved disciples, I am reminded of an episode of Grey’s Anatomy from 2014 which left a lasting impression on me. In that episode, a man is involved in a car accident and must decide whether he wants to remain on life-saving machinery or remove all supports and face the inevitable. His doctor, Cristina Yang, is required to ask him a series of questions as he considers this decision. I find these questions especially powerful. She asks, “Do you know who you are? Do you know what’s happened to you? Do you want to live this way?” These questions are helpful as we consider today's passage from Mark's gospel and the weight of this life of discipleship.

Here, we meet the disciples and Jesus after he has been transfigured on the mountain and then returned to heal a boy possessed by a demon. Surely the disciples are catching on that this is no ordinary teacher. Surely, they are witnessing these events and making the connections - like we would. I mean, wouldn't we? Would we not be smart enough with all of our technological advances to do a background check on Jesus before following him to ensure that he is credible? Would we not be wise enough to figure out his game plan and mind map it onto an app on our devices to share with others who are not as advanced and as wise as we are? Bless our hearts as we strive to be at the top of our Jesus-following game. If disciples received badges like the scouts, then we would be on our way to our discipleship, followship, and servant leadership badges! It's too bad that we would be working in the wrong direction if we worked solely to earn those badges.

We are not scouts working to earn a badge that signals how great we are. We are not top-performing students seeking the best grade in the class. We are followers of the one who led by example and stayed focused on the parameters of his purpose. Unlike the character in the television show, Jesus has not been in a life-altering accident but he has intentionally chosen a life-altering experience by choosing to become the Word made flesh. He has altered his very composition to be Emmanuel, God with us - fully human and fully divine. From the moment that he chose to become both fully human and fully divine, he modeled for us what it looks like to live contrary to one's privilege and position. The radical decision to be like us and to be with us distinguishes him from those in power who are more interested in distancing themselves and being as unlike the masses as possible.

In the first chapter of Mark, it is recorded that he hears a voice from heaven saying, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ (Mark 1:11 NRSV). Not only does he know who he is, but anyone who heard these words knows who he is. Jesus would be able to answer Dr. Yang's questions easily. He knows who he is and tries to share that with his disciples. He knows what has happened to him and, yes, he is committed to and wants to live this way. It seems that the difficult part of his certainty is getting the disciples to share that certainty about him and about themselves as well. What happens when we choose these questions as we reflect on our own journey? Perhaps we will come away with a better understanding of what is asked and expected of us as modern-day disciples.

The first question is deceptively simple. Do you know who you are? Well, of course we know who we are, don't we? We know our names, our birth dates (even if we change the year to something a little bit more palatable for our egos on occasion), we know how to show up for our jobs and how to function in social settings. The question that looms overhead is, "Do you know who you are as a follower of Jesus?' Do you know that this identity involves being a disrupter? Do you know that this identity means that you are not at liberty to go with the flow but, you are in the company of others who have also identified as such and who were also called to challenge the status quo? Do you know that this identity means rejecting much of what is popular, much of what is lucrative, and much of what appears to meet the standards of success?

When we say that we are followers of Jesus the Christ, we also proclaim that we do not subject ourselves to the world's rules of engagement. There are choices that we must make every day and those choices are the ones that serve as markers of our identity. Do we find ways to feed the hungry or do we prefer to secure our own seat at the table? Do we find ourselves walking with the marginalized in our society or do we prefer to center ourselves at all costs? Do we, like the disciples, argue about who is the greatest while working to "earn" our "top follower" badge or do we spend our time speaking words of encouragement to the downtrodden? Since actions speak louder than words, it seems reasonable to suggest that our discipleship is not marked by a badge, or a nametag or a lapel pin. Rather, it is marked by our ability to live in ways that closely resemble the life of the one who taught us by example. Jesus never flashed credentials to confirm his identity. He opted to live into his call and his identity through compassion, companionship and collaboration. What might we do this week that more closely resembles the identity of a follower of the one who came "to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor".

Now, let us consider the second question: Do you know what has happened to you? The behavior of the disciples gives us some perspective. They were called away from their lives and families, and there is no record of how they processed this major life change. Could it be that their failure to understand who Jesus was calling them to be was a trauma response to leaving everything familiar to them? They did not have the option to ease into the life of discipleship. They were all in with a very patient Jesus leading them. So, when we read with a bit of compassion, it does not come as a big surprise that they had so much trouble figuring it out.

Perhaps, for someone who has not had an experience that allows them to trust God, this feels like a setup. How can we agree to follow if we don't have a clear understanding of the terms? How can anyone be expected to engage in this lifestyle when the leader speaks of being handed over to be killed? Indeed, something must have happened to us to allow us to follow this strange teacher, but what? That is the question. Do you know what has happened to you? Do you know what happens to us when we decide to follow this teacher? It is possible that we find ourselves gifted with eyes that can see something more expansive than what is before us. We find ourselves, not alone in the work of repairing the world, but in good company as we do our part. It is possible that our eyes are opened to new possibilities that were once obscured by the limitations placed on us by the status quo. It is possible that we will no longer see a need for tools of oppression and separation because this expansive view will show us the benefit of seeing the value of every person and not just those who look like, live like, vote like, or love like "us". And believe me when I say, this may cause onlookers to ask, "what has happened to you?" We may need to have a more detailed answer than just to say - Jesus happened to me!

Perhaps we will say that we have seen justice in action and we want to participate. Perhaps we will say that we have seen love in action and we want to participate. Perhaps we will say that we have seen evidence of the beauty of the beloved community and we long to participate actively instead of passively. The answers are as varied as our circumstances but we are all invited to thoughtfully and prayerfully consider our answer and what it looks like to live into it.

The last of Dr. Yang's three questions is: Do you want to live this way? In the text, the disciples are arguing about who is the greatest and Jesus does not address this question as they expect but he does provide information for them to consider. We don't know whose house they have entered but there is a child in this house. We don't know whose child suddenly appears and is brought to the center but Jesus is consistent in his ability to bring those who have been rendered invisible to the center of our field of vision.

Jesus takes this child, quite possibly one of the most vulnerable humans in the house, and takes the child into his arms - creating a safe space for the child in this gathering of very important adults and Jesus tells his followers that whoever wants to be first must be servant of all. Can you imagine the tension that must have built in that room as he uttered those words? Can you imagine - not how the disciples heard the lesson that was being taught in that moment but how those who were servants - the unnamed, the invisible, the marginalized even in the text must have felt?

While the disciples may have thought that they were special because they had been chosen, called, and invited to follow this teacher, he makes it plain that it is not their proximity to him that counts. It is their willingness to be in proximity to others. I'm careful here to avoid the classic designation of "the least of these" because that still feeds off of our need to be "greater than" someone else.

Jesus says whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. This is what it means to live this way. It is a way of living that makes room for everyone and gives special consideration to those who have been overlooked, oppressed, forgotten, thrown away, or simply ignored. Both Dr. Yang and Jesus remind us that this is completely our choice. Do you want to live this way? Do we want to live a life where we are constantly rearranging notions of who is deserving of our care? Do we want to live our lives knowing that we will be swimming upstream in an effort to welcome those who fit the criteria of "one such child"? Are we willing to sacrifice our own position and privilege to become servants of all? On the television show, Dr. Yang imagined the possibilities that came with different answers to the questions. We are afforded the same opportunity. God presents us with an opportunity to consider these questions for ourselves and to imagine the possible outcomes. On this day, we sit with our teacher who asks us to do a self-assessment. On this day, we are reminded of the privilege of being God's beloved community and we are asked to do a brief check-in. Beloved, Do you know who you are? Beloved, Do you know what has happened to you? Beloved, Do you want to live this way? Let us consider what it means and what it costs to say yes. Then let us live! For the chance to reflect, recalibrate and remember who we are, we say, thanks be to God!