Sermon 10/1/06
Jumbled - Mark 9:38-50
(view lectionary notes for this text)
Biblical scholars usually refer to a select handful of Jesus’ teachings as ‘difficult’ or ‘hard to understand.’ These are passages that don’t seem, to them, to fit with what Jesus usually says, or how he usually teaches, and therefore they require a bit careful attention in order to understand them and interpret them correctly. Such “difficult passages” include teachings like the one we talked about a couple weeks ago, where Jesus talks to the Syrophoenician woman and calls her a dog, or the one where Jesus talks about bringing not peace, but a sword, and suggests he came to turn family member against family member, where he tells the crowds they must hate their family members in order to his disciples. These are the ‘difficult’ passages, according to scholars. Personally, I find a great many of Jesus’ teachings difficult – if not to understand, then certainly difficult when it actually comes to putting them into practice! But today’s lesson falls into a different sort of category. Today, the gospel lesson from Mark gives us several snippets of teaching, apparently part of one conversation, one ‘teaching’ from Jesus, and they just don’t make sense to me – on their own they are ok. But when they are put together like this, I can’t immediately see how they relate.
Follow me through the text. First, we have the disciple John coming to Jesus apparently upset because someone else was casting out demons in Jesus’ name, someone who was *not* one of the twelve. Apparently, this bothered John and the others – they tried to stop the man because he wasn’t one of the inner circle. But Jesus tells them “whoever is not against us is for us,” and tell them to let the man continue in his work. Then, Jesus says, “For truly I tell you,” implying that what he says next will be a conclusion to what he has said so far. “Whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.” Next Jesus begins warning against putting stumbling blocks in front of any of “these little ones” – here I assume he is speaking about the child that still must be at the center of their circle, the child Jesus used as an example of who to welcome in our reading last week. He says that anyone that puts a stumbling block in front of a child would be better off with a great millstone hung around their neck, thrown into the sea. Then Jesus, still talking about stumbling, seems to shift gears a little, saying whoever has an eye or hand or foot that causes them to stumble in sin would be better to cut off these body parts in order to enter the kingdom of God than to end up going whole into hell. And finally, Jesus says, again, as if it relates smoothly, “For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” And so Jesus concludes the conversation. What a strange lesson! I find it very difficult to follow the logic through this text. What does one part have to do with the other? What’s the common thread? What’s the main point Jesus is getting at here?
Turning back to the beginning of our text, we see that the disciples are upset because someone else is casting out demons in Jesus’ name. Why, do you think, are they upset? If already, so early into Jesus’ ministry, and early into the disciples’ own outreach, if already, others are taking up the cause, taking the message of Christ, and using God’s power to heal, to free others from demons, wouldn’t this be a good thing? Shouldn’t they be happy to hear the effect that their message has had already? But instead of being happy about the obvious success of the message of the kingdom of God, they are upset and possessive – they want to control the message – control who spreads and how and who gets credit for it. So they try to stop this man, saying, “because he was not following us.”
Would we be any different than the disciples if we were in their place? Actually, I think we are in their place. I think the church today functions in much the same way as the disciples. Unfortunately, the church today is the center of a lot of fighting among its members – fighting among the various denominations, fighting among the various members within denominations. What is everyone fighting over? Our fighting may take different forms, but the main idea is usually the same – we believe we do things the right way, and that the others are doing things the wrong way. And because we believe we do it right and they do it wrong, we actually spend more energy trying to stop them from doing what they’re doing than we do just doing what we’re doing. In the long wrong, the church and Christianity as a whole doesn’t have a great public image. Right now we are struggling to remain relevant and important in people’s lives. But instead of functioning together as the body of Christ, we compete with each other, in congregations, denominations, and between them, and end up losing the interest in the process of those with whom we sought to share the gospel.
Jesus tells the disciples that even a small gesture like giving a cup of water is an act that is part of this kingdom of God – and so even a man casting out demons who is not one of their group – if he is doing it in the name of Christ – as an act of the kingdom – this man too – this act too – it is an act worthy of God’s reward. It may not be the way the disciples wanted it done, and it may not be done by who they wanted to do it. But frankly, Jesus indicates, it isn’t up to them to decide. In fact, he continues, they do more harm by criticizing than the other man does by casting out demons. He says that what they’re doing is putting stumbling blocks in the way of others in their journey of following Jesus. And Jesus says that putting stumbling blocks in another’s path is the greater evil. In fact, he feels so strongly about this that he says it is better for a person to throw themselves into the ocean with a millstone around their neck than to be the one who puts a stumbling block before another. Those are very strong words – an expression of hyperbole or exaggeration to be sure, but it lets us know exactly how Jesus feels.
We all make mistakes. We all sin. And God asks us to repent and again journey in God’s direction instead of our own. Our own sin is one thing. But when by our actions we lead others into sin – that’s another, more serious matter. When, by our actions, we keep others from following God, and prevent them from answering God’s call to them, Jesus tells us that this is a very serious thing. So, in the life of the church in the world, when we work against each other and not with each other, or at least in support of one another, we not only restrict our brothers and sisters in Christ from doing what God has called them to do, we also keep them from reaching people in need of God’s message of love.
When Jesus talks about the eyes and hands and feet the cause sin, I think he’s saying that when someone stumbles on a path, it’s smarter to remove the cause of the stumbling than to remove the person traveling, or to have the person change paths. The person is right, the path is right, it is only the source of the stumbling block that is getting in the way. We have to be more honest with ourselves. Where in our lives have we caused someone else to stumble? Where have our actions prevented someone from answering God’s call? We hope, I’m sure, never to be responsible for such a thing. But I’m ready to admit that sometimes I want to tell others they’re doing it wrong, going about ministry wrong, getting the details wrong, following God wrong. I’m tempted to tell them how to do it right, like I do. I’m tempted to put a stumbling block in their path, even though I wouldn’t want to call it that. But if what I do – if what you do – if what we do as a congregation, or denomination, or religion actually keeps someone from following God? Jesus says we better think seriously about the consequences of such actions.
Today we celebrate World Communion Sunday. All around the world Christians are partaking in this meal of bread and cup. And all around the world, how we do it is different. The theology – the explanations of how and why we do it are different. The method is different. The kind of bread, and what is actually in the cup – it is different all around the world. And we actually disagree, between traditions, of which way is best, most “right.” But today, we’re reminded to put aside those difference, and celebrate our common faith. There is ONE body of Christ, and we are all members of it. Today, we share in this holy meal as a reminder of that truth. Thanks be to God. Amen.
All sermons written by Rev. Beth Quick - please give credit for material used.