“What were you arguing about on the way?” (Mark 9:33).
One of the great mysteries of the disciples' relationship to Jesus was why it took them so long to figure out what following him was going to entail.
From the middle of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus could not have been more explicit about the suffering and rejection that lay ahead for him in Jerusalem. After three separate statements about his coming execution, Jesus still found his disciples quarreling among themselves about who would be first when he entered his glory.
Jesus embraces a child to show his disciples the simplicity, innocence and trust they will need to continue their journey with him. Only a childlike openness and willingness to learn will enable them to finish the course Jesus himself will complete and invite them to endure. They will misunderstand his meaning right up to the cross and even the resurrection.
American folksinger Emmylou Harris sings a story song about this misunderstanding called “Jerusalem Tomorrow” in which a failed traveling preacher, who has been bilking the crowds with his own “ministry” of fake healings and storytelling, signs up with Jesus after realizing he is different.
Jesus tells him he will get "paid off down the line," and he decides to follow. The song ends with “We're headed to Jerusalem tomorrow.”
We all know the shock the man is in for. Jesus is no huckster or short-term flash of glory, but the Holy One of God who will save the world by sacrificing himself. All of his disciples will share in the paradox. Lent reminds us that we, too, are on the way with Jesus. The road to Jerusalem will strip us of our agendas and illusions about personal glory. But it will also be the path to true joy in this life and the fullness of life to come.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua-gFRYDs9Q
