They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house,
he began to ask them,
“What were you arguing about on the way?”
But they remained silent.
For they had been discussing among themselves on the way
who was the greatest.
Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
“If anyone wishes to be first,
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”
Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me.”
—Mark 9:30-37
Those who receive the seed receive the harvest,
and with the sowing enter in the feast.
Those who receive the Son receive the Father;
Christ gives to them the Spirit of his peace.
Who plants the acorn will receive the forest
and all the birds that nestle in its shade.
Within the seed there lives the morning chorus,
and with it all the music ever made.
Then if you would receive the risen savior,
receive the child he sends you, in his name,
and as a child receives a parent's caring,
you have no need but in his arms to stay.
For all the world's great love is in your loving,
and each beloved bears the face of God.
Your every good work brings the kingdom coming,
each seed a harvest hidden in the sod.
Acorn By Alias 0591 from the Netherlands – Acorn, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74284721
Kate Bluett 