“Because You Bear the Name of Christ”

(Mark 9:38-50) 

 John 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.”  But 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.  Whoever is not against us is for us.  For 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.

“If any of you cause one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.  If your hand causes you to sin, 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.  And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell.  And if your eye causes you to sin, 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, where their worm never dies and the fire is never quenched.

“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.”

            I can’t believe I chose this text with all that talk about hell.  Darn’t!  It’s starting to sound too much like our book study, Holy Hell.  Which is great and all, but, I don’t know, do we want to talk about hell all the time?  The thing is, though, the topic is always lurking in the background of our Christian culture. 

So, I’m actually glad that this text gives me a chance to talk a little bit about hell.  It’s also a circumstance in which I can illustrate how references in the Bible to hell are often ways that language is used to emphasize, to add power to the point being made, to use hell as a symbol of the worst thing we can think of.  So, let’s take one of those sentences, unpack it and see what’s really going on here. 

As you heard, here’s Jesus talking.  “If your eye should cause you to sin, 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, where their worm never dies and the fire is never quenched.”  That is powerful language—and scary. (call on Rick to tell his humorous story) 

Now…let’s talk about sin (which is mentioned over and over here).  To sin is to put your faith in the wrong thing.  Anything that becomes the object of your faith, besides God, ought to be gotten rid of.  That’s what this is all about, really.  It is powerful language to show us just how miserable we will be if we, not only cause the little ones to go down the wrong road, but if we, ourselves, choose to live in that world in which we put anything in front of our faith in God.  The hell language is a metaphor for misery, for languishing in a life that has no meaning.

Had I been preaching each Sunday from the Gospel of Mark we would have heard the build-up to today’s lesson.  You would have heard the disciples arguing about who was the greatest, and, then, you would have witnessed Jesus teaching about how the first will be last and servant of all.  That is when Jesus took the little child in his arms and proclaimed that whoever welcomes that child, welcomes Jesus, and whoever welcomes Jesus welcomes the one who sent him.  This is Jesus putting everything into perspective.  This is Jesus setting us up for the conversation about sin and causing the little ones to go astray. 

Can you see how Jesus is trying to teach his followers God’s ways?  It would appear that those very followers are doing what we humans do, which is get competitive and focus ourselves, on that which is not God.  There is dissention and division, and Jesus is not havin’ it.  Hence we hear his very strong and scary language in this teaching.  But lest you think this is settled, stay tuned as we make our way further through Mark’s Gospel in the next few weeks. 

…But on this World Communion Sunday, let’s take a breath.  This observance began at a Presbyterian Church in 1933 as a way to celebrate one of the things that we Christians have in common, that is, the Last Supper.  Many Protestant denominations, with the exception of Lutherans and Episcopalians, observe World Communion Sunday on the first Sunday of October.  The prayer that Grant prayed in Spanish and our different loaves on the altar are ways to help us celebrate this day.  I like World Communion Sunday because it’s a chance to imagine how Christians across the world are taking the bread and drinking the cup just as we are.  We are to be together, to be one in the Spirit. 

Now, back to our text.  This, in contrast, is another example of the disciples pointing out divisions as well as causing them.  “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he was not following us.”  We could be accused of making the same case when we say things like, “Teacher, we saw someone celebrating communion in your name, and they didn’t say the prayer of consecration at the right time or they didn’t elevate the elements or do the hand motions correctly.”  Or “teacher, we saw someone giving communion to an unbaptized child.”  Or “we saw someone not holding people to their membership vows.” 

Do you see how this divides the Jesus House?  But Jesus’ answer really sorts this out.  “Don’t stop that person, for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me.  Whoever is not against us is for us.  Whoever gives a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.”

Christians of good will, Christians who truly try to live by Jesus’ example and instructions are our friends, our brothers and sisters in the faith.  We’re not going to split hairs about who is in with Jesus and who is not.  We’re not going to argue about who’s the best and who is not.  We’re not going to condemn anyone who is doing Jesus’ work in the world.

And yet, there is division among our Christian brothers and sisters.  And we know that much of this dissention is over and above what Jesus is talking about here.  This is not about differences in the way we structure our worship or the way we serve communion.  There is a deep divide within Christianity itself these days.  There is a “God Gap.”  There are folks within Christianity who are standing in the pulpit and telling people how to vote.  There are those who are insisting that it’s okay to muddy the waters between church and state.  There are those who are acting out the lie that excluding people is part of Jesus’ Gospel. 

If Jesus showed us anything during his short time on earth it was that he and his followers should be welcoming all people, not barring them from participating in what are our constitutional rights and privileges and doing this in order to win elections. 

Think of the story of the Good Samaritan when Jesus taught us through the parable that our neighbor is anyone in need or the story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector.  Jesus called him down from his perch in the tree and said, “I’m going to your house today.”  Or the story of the Samaritan woman at the well who had had a rather checkered past, yet Jesus engaged her in conversation and sent her back to witness to the Gospel story of love and inclusion.

As followers of Jesus, everything that we do and say needs to be welcoming and encouraging.  We Christians need to be working for economic equality so that no one is left behind while others are flourishing.  The Gospel should be liberating, not holding anyone back, not squashing people of color or gay people or women or anyone who is different from the white majority.  Beware of the ongoing struggle for the soul of America between inclusion of all and those who promote, either outwardly or in subtle ways, leaving people out in our nation and world.    Today, my friends, we come together under the banner of Christ, who has called each and every one of us to gather around Christ’s table, to eat and drink together.  Let us not split hairs over who calls themselves followers of Christ who may do things differently than us.  But if they are truly helping and embracing all people, if they are giving a drink of water in Jesus’ name, they are one of us.  Serving others, embracing all others–that’s what Jesus has called us to do.  Amen.