19th Sunday after Pentecost

Mark 9:38-50

How do you describe a life spent following Jesus? Often, we describe our faith by what we are not and what we do not believe. Like the disciples in the gospel, we are quick to name the people who aren’t like us, who don’t believe like us.

At the beginning of this morning’s gospel, Mark describes the suspicion and skepticism of the disciples when they see someone outside their own circle exorcising demons in the name of Jesus. Instead of celebrating the healing that is taking place, they become defensive and controlling, trying to expel the outsider and stop him from completing the good work that he has begun.

And Jesus rebukes them, using words that evoke images of abundance and life as well as those of damnation and suffering.

First Jesus says, “whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.” (Mark 9:41)

A ‘cup of water’ sounds insignificant,
until you are thirsty, footsore from traveling or hoarse from witnessing to God’s mighty acts in the world;
until you remember that Jesus promises “living water” and that cup of water becomes the very font where we remember “his own death and resurrection that set us free from the bondage of sin and death and open the way to everlasting life.”  Water is “a sign of the kingdom [of God] and of cleaning and rebirth.”[i]

As quick as we are to “other” people, Jesus is adamant that all who do works of power in His name are His followers, too. What matters is that they are bearing witness to God, carrying God’s abundant love and mercy into the world as servants of the Gospel.

Next, he tells his disciples, “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.” (Mark 9:42)

Jesus insists that we must not become obstacles to others believing in, and following, Jesus. It’s easy to laugh off his words with false humility and think none of us could have that kind of influence over another person, but how many times have you heard that someone left a faith community because of the hypocrisy or ugliness they encountered in other Christians? In addition to the impacts of diminishing institutional loyalty and general busy-ness, Christianity suffers when we elevate ourselves over others and when we value comfort or control more than compassion.

That heavy millstone is broken into pieces when it is struck by the faith we receive in Jesus Christ. In his essay “Freedom of a Christian”, Martin Luther writes that the freedom of faith in Christ Jesus lets us “be guided in all works… to serve and benefit others in all that [we do], considering nothing except the need and the advantage of [our] neighbor.” [ii]

In contrast to the disciples who had been arguing about who was the greatest among them, faith orients us to the world and those suffering in it.

Next, Jesus says, “…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, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.” (Mark 9:47-48)

Recalling the words of the prophet in Isaiah 66, when Jesus describes hell here, he is speaking “of Gehenna, the perpetually burning garbage dump outside [Jerusalem’s] city walls, as a picture of what life would be outside the embrace of the community of faith.”  Keeping up appearances, or maintaining a charade of self-importance, will have its own consequences because we will find ourselves separated from the very community of faith that gathers in the brokenhearted and all of us who need healing. [iii]

Jesus concludes, “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.” (Mark 9:49- 50)

In contrast to the fires of Gehenna, now Jesus speaks of fire as a purifier; for followers of Jesus, “the flames symbolize the resurrection of death to life [that we experience as Easter dawns] and the transformation of the community [at Pentecost] by the Spirit of the resurrection.”[iv]

Jesus also speaks of salt as a preservative, recognizing that discipleship requires perseverance. As theologian Gail Ramshaw writes, the Son of God does not go to the cross “to shield disciples from costly obedience, but rather to show [us] the way.”[v]

So, how do you live as disciples?

Do you experience the life-giving waters of baptism that invite us to be refreshed and renewed each day? Or do you carry the weight of faith, unable to break free, and unwilling to confront the sin and brokenness that binds us and weighs us down?

Are you suffering on the margins, separated from community, or finding strength and building endurance in the midst of life?

As we hear Jesus’ call to follow him and to live as disciples, may we learn from those first disciples and be empowered by the Holy Spirit to live free, whole and strong.

Let us pray…
Holy God,
We give you thanks for your abundant forgiveness,
That when we bicker about who’s the greatest and who belongs or deserves your love,
You patiently extend your grace to us again and invite us to turn away from our self-interest and carry your love into the world.
By your Spirit strengthen us in faith as followers of your Son Jesus.
Amen.

[i] Gail Ramshaw. Treasures Old and New: Images in the Lectionary (p. 402). Kindle Edition.
[ii] Martin Luther. “Freedom of a Christian.” Three Treatises. (p. 302).
[iii] Gail Ramshaw. Treasures Old and New: Images in the Lectionary (p. 166). Kindle Edition.
[iv] Gail Ramshaw. Treasures Old and New: Images in the Lectionary (p. 170). Kindle Edition.
[v] Lamar Williamson, Jr. “Mark.” Interpretation: A Bible Commentary. 172.