The gift of the Spirit is given freely, not according to human expectations, but according to the generosity of God. Joshua wants Moses to stop Eldad and Medad from prophesying in the camp, when they were not with the others as the spirit was bestowed on them. Moses, so close to God’s mind in the matter, wishes everyone could possess the spirit of God and proclaim it to the nations.

The geography of today’s Gospel is significant. Jesus is completing his ministry in Galilee and beginning his journey to Jerusalem, where he will meet both death and resurrection. The prediction of his death placed here is the second of three in Mark’s Gospel, and as usual it is the occasion for an important teaching on the part of Jesus. Today that lesson is tied to the need for his disciples to embrace a ministry of service. A play on words in Aramaic would have linked the words “child” and “servant,” thus turning Jesus’ gesture of placing a child in their midst into an illustration of his understanding of himself as the Servant of the Lord.

From toddlerhood to old age, we grow in mastery of our own lives, our bodies, and our destiny. This mastery is hard won, and we don’t let go of autonomy easily. Much of this self-mastery involves the avoidance of pain or discomfort, so when we hear things like “take up your cross” and “lose your life,” we tend to resist the message.

When Jesus broke the bread on the night before he died, he told his disciples, “do this in memory of me” (Luke 22:19). Christians have been faithful to that solemn command. Our eucharistic remembering is not nostalgia, nor is it merely historical, recalling events and facts of long ago. In the liturgy, remembering is action. “Do this,” Jesus said. In the Eucharist, we remember by doing. And as we remember, the sacrifice of Jesus is renewed, truly made present, no longer then, but now.