Mtr Mary Trainor

“Whoever welcomes one such child in my name…” —Mark 9:37

Dear friend,

Welcome. It’s one of those words we say and hear often, especially in churches. But the idea of “welcome”—that is to say, invitation—seems to differ from person to person. Extremes can range from tepid, impersonal words in a formulaic mission statement to a wildly ecstatic father running open-armed down a road to greet an errant son.

One of the best customers of my family’s nursery business spent hours with us every week as she undertook a major overhaul of her back yard. Exotic shrubs. Colorful annuals. Labyrinth. Trees. Trellis. Pathways. Pond. Koi. Money was no object as she pursued her dream to have the most beautiful garden space in town. Nearly a year into the project—there were many changes of heart and mind—she announced that it was done.

We were almost as happy as she. My father congratulated her on her perseverance, then took the conversation to the next logical level. He asked amiably, “So when are we going to start re-doing the front yard?”

All merriment ceased. The woman’s face turned to stone as she said with great seriousness, “I don’t garden for the neighbors.”

The beauty, grace, and elegance of her yearlong project would be shared on rare occasion with a special few. But the people who drove past every day; the seniors who ambled by slowly, pausing to catch their breath; the schoolchildren shuffling along the sidewalk in front of this house would never see the “most beautiful garden space in town.”

“Whoever welcomes one such child in my name…”

In today’s Office Gospel from Mark (9:30-41) Jesus deals with disciples who worry over who is the greatest among them. The answer is not one they expect: To be the greatest you have to be the greatest servant, to be first, you must be last.

To make it clear, Jesus tells them the least powerful person in the culture of that time—a child—is the one to prioritize. Welcome that person as if you are welcoming God because, Jesus suggests, you are most likely to recognize God there.

The world then and the world now are pretty much the same. We often save our finest ware for people we want to impress, offer them the best favors in hope of some value accruing to us. But that is backward, Jesus tells us. The littlest and the least deserve the party, the wayward should receive the hugs of joy, the forgotten should be remembered, the powerless placed center-most within the circle. 

Welcome. In Jesus’ name, welcome. Not just a few. Not just the best. Not just the powerful. Not just the richest. But everyone who walks this Earth alongside of us. Offer the hospitality of the Greatest Host of all. 

And one thing more. Whatever beauty we can create or find in this life, share it widely. Garden for the neighbors.

Mtr. Mary