Who is the “boss of me?”
Mark 9:30-37. I still remember the first time I heard the line “You’re not the boss of me” coming from my daughter’s mouth. Most of us are really not all that interested in anyone else being our boss; I know I chafe at bosses. The disciples are following Jesus along and we discover their conversation has revolved around who’s going to be the boss (after Jesus of course). Whoever will be first will be last? What’s Jesus talking about because I’ve always heard that whoever is first wins! I’ve been watching football a bit recently (maybe more than a bit) and you never see the team that loses or is in last place celebrating that; in fact, lose a couple of games and people want somebody’s head on a platter (usually the coach’s). Jesus wants us to model a whole other way of living, one that runs counter to everything we are taught and see in our everyday lives. How can we come to terms with this teaching? How can this be what we are supposed to do? Does he just mean last in “religious settings?” Those are the questions pressing on me as I begin conversing with the Bible this week.
