Mark 9:38-50

38John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us." 39But Jesus said, "Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40Whoever is not against us is for us. 41For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.

42"If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. 43If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. 47And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, 48where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

49"For everyone will be salted with fire. 50Salt 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."  THIS IS HOLY WISDOM, HOLY WORD.  THANKS BE TO GOD.

About You

          In the first chapter of his book, The Road to Character, New York Times columnist David Brooks bemoans what he calls, “the gospel of self-trust,” which he finds pervasive in our culture.[1]  I wish he had termed it “the gospel of self-absorption” for that’s what he’s really talking about.  We all know people who truly need to be encouraged to trust themselves, particularly young girls.  Brooks’ work isn’t perfect.  He, like the rest of us at times, confuses his cultural preferences with ultimate truths, but nevertheless he has something important to say to us.  In a world in which we are told our job is to be great and we get to greatness solely on our own merits, Brooks says we do not travel alone, and the journey we are on is larger than ourselves.  In so many words, he says, “It’s not all about you.”  

          To Brooks, then, the gospel of self-trust is no gospel at all.  Life is not a quest to gather as much acclaim for one’s self or one’s group as possible.  Respect or dignity yes, self-aggrandizement no.  Jesus, who lifted up the downtrodden also spoke a warning to those who wanted to make it all about them.  In the story we heard today, one of his students comes to him and says, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him…” Now that’s interesting.  Why one earth would they try and stop him from casting out demons!?  The disciples answer that sentence in their next breath “…because he was not following us” (Mark 9:28). 

          Maybe more than acclaim, what the disciples seem to be seeking here is control.  They are thrown by others doing what they have decided is their work alone, to which Jesus responds, “Whoever is not against us is for us” (v. 40).  It’s a critical teaching moment.  As one commentator put it, “The disciples’ misunderstanding provides the occasion for Jesus to define true greatness in his movement as the humble service of others (9:35), to urge the disciples to find Jesus and his Father in the most apparently insignificant people (9:37), and to remind the disciples that they cannot confine Jesus’ power to their own group (9:39-40).”[2]  The moment Jesus’ followers descend into tribalism, Jesus calls them to something greater.

A classmate in seminary was once ranting about some televangelist he’d seen, and we can understand why, so many of them hucksters, pedaling self-serving messages to great fortune.  The response from the faculty member in the room, our World Christianity professor, was surprising however.  “Why are you so sure the Holy Spirit can’t work, even through him?  Maybe a seed will be planted in someone that will take root and grow.”  In other words, why are you so sure God can only work through you and your way?  Religion, like so many institutions has sought to exert control from the top down.  The problem is that’s not how Spirit works. 

Spirit works in and through all sorts of situations, through institutions and around them, through powerful people and through powerless people.  Once you attempt to control that, by definition, you limit it.  Good leaders know this.  A good leader may establish a strong culture, but the best ones make room and opportunity for gifts of those in their charge to arise.  A good leader may help establish shared norms and values, but she or he does not hold them so tightly that it inhibits creativity and innovation.  You could say a good leader knows how to make just the right space for the Spirit to do its work, even if they never use that language.

          The Spirit does work, though I fear we’ve lost the ability to recognize or trust it.  I’ve just started this little book by episcopal priest Gray Temple called, When God Happens.  The presumption, of course, is that God does happen, God is active.  Temple says we’ve been so conditioned by a limited image of what that’s supposed to look, feel like, that we’ve learned not to recognize God for ourselves.[3] 

          How can we judge then what is of God, and what is not, what is of ego or other motivation?  Institutions have risen up around these matters for a reason, no only out of a thirst for power.  We’ve all seen what damage can be done in the name of God by a rogue believer touting exclusive access to the voice of God.  Yes, here Jesus gives his disciples a decidedly simple answer:  “whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ,” is with you.  In other words, if they recognize that you are about the greater work of Christ, this new reality breaking into the world, subverting power and lifting up humble service and they offer hospitality to you, then they are not your enemies; they are your allies.  The world will supply plenty of enemies, why manufacture your own?  Remember this is bigger than you.  It’s not about you. 

          And, it’s about you.  It’s not about you in the sense of controlling others; it is about you in the sense of learning to control yourself, exercising discipline, and I should ourselves.  Look at how the passage continues:  “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off…if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off…if your eye cause you to stumble, tear it out” (v.43-47).  That last one is particularly prescient for us.  In a moment in which we are struggling to awaken to the reality of sexual violence and misconduct, we still hear people say, “Well, did you see what she was wearing?  She shouldn’t dress like that.”  Jesus says, if looking at her, or him, causes you to stumble, cut your eye out.  It’s a you problem. 

          If the first half of the passage reminds us of the importance of recognizing our potential allies, the second half helps us remember the work we need to do in order to be good allies.  Both presume we need one another, and our success is predicated on our ability to be in relationship. 

          When I was a youth pastor, I once attended a high school graduation that left me feeling more and more uneasy with each passing moment, or more accurately each successive speaker.  I try not to be hard on students, youth.  They’re young.  They’re still growing, and they’re likely simply displaying what we have taught them.  In that moment, though, I shuddered at what we had taught them.  Each speech could be summarized as follows:  I’m great.  Look how great I am.  I got this great all by myself.  Imagine how great I am going to go on to be.  No mention of mentors.  No thanks, even obligatory, to teachers or parents or even peers if I recall correctly.  I know there’s a developmental stage where we think we are the center of everything, but I sat there stunned, wondering if that stage now lasted in perpetuity.

          Then came time for the distinguished alumnus to speak, and they truly had done great things.  I must have wondered what he was going to say about greatness.  By any measure, he had gone on to a great life.  Then, without any references to the speeches that came before, or hint of snark in his voice, he proceeded to give the most eloquent, humble accounting of his life, giving primary recognition to those who had helped them along the way, lifting up the graces experienced, acknowledging the sheer luck opportunities seemed to involve at times, and all of it was rooted in relationship.  Of all the things that had been important, good things such as studying or attending good schools, hard work, trying to be all he could be, what had been most determinative of his path, most important and most deserving of gratitude, were the relationships he had been fortunate enough to have and to nurture.  He had many unearned allies and had never forgotten it.  That was a gospel worth recognizing…

          …which makes sense because that distinguished alumnus was David Brooks.  The road to character like the road to the kingdom of heaven is not traveled alone, so let us practice recognizing and becoming good travel partners.  Amen.

 38John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us." 39But Jesus said, "Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40Whoever is not against us is for us. 41For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.

42"If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. 43If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. 47And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, 48where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

49"For everyone will be salted with fire. 50Salt 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." 

 [1] David Brooks, The Road to Character (New York:  Random House, 2015), 7.

[2] John R. Donohue and Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Mark, Sacra Pagina vol. 2 (Collegeville:  The Liturgical Press, 2002), 290.

[3] Gray Temple, When God Happens  (New York:  Church Publishing Incorporated, 2001), 2.