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Jesus' Fork in the Road

"Whoever welcomes one such child
 in my name welcomes me, 
and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me,
 but the one who sent me.” 

Yogi Berra, the brilliant baseball player, reportedly said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

Robert Frost’s poem "The Road Not Taken", describes making a decision when coming to a fork in the road.

Frost’s poem discusses emotions that come with facing decisions, and how choices can often lead regrets or wondering what could have happened differently.

Frost implies making a wrong, regrettable choice, is unchangeable, so we must choose wisely.

In Capernaum, Jesus is teaching about his death and resurrection when an argument develops among the disciples about position, status, and greatness.

The disciples haven’t’ paid attention to what Jesus taught and they watched, his vision for the needy.

Instead, they’re arguing about power and status as a benefit for being a disciple of Jesus.

Jesus hears this tells them God’s new kingdom is different.

Jesus reteaches his kingdom lessons by taking a child – a first century image of property – sets it among them, takes it I his arms and says, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”

Jesus’ road is treating the most marginalized with care and respect.

When we come to the fork in Jesus’ road, when we encounter the vulnerable, the ignored Jesus calls us to share his road of love.


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