Mark 9:38-50 John said to Jesus, "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 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. If 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. And
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., And 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, 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."
Reflection
I spent twenty three years living in Northern New Mexico,
some of that time in horse and cattle country. As a transplanted city girl
there was something I never quite figured out. Why did some of the landowners
surround their acreas with electric fences while others did not? Was the land
and the livestock inside the electric fences more precious? Were the people
inside the electric fences more vulnerable? Were they keeping things in or were
they keeping things out?
When John and the disciples saw a stranger casting our
demons in Jesus’ name apparently they wanted to stretch an electric fence
around themselves and Jesus. Can you imagine a sign flapping on their buzzing
barbed wire? “Warning, keep out, you are treading on holy ground. If you are
not one of us you have no right to call upon Jesus’ name and cast out demons.” And
if we read the text hidden in John and the other disciples’ hearts it might be,
“Hay, who’s the guy stealing our thunder? Who does he think he is? Jesus gave
us the power to heal and cast out demons and he is not one of us. We are the
authorized exorcists. We have to stop him.”
But Jesus would have none of that. Can you imagine Jesus
shrugging and saying, “Tear down your electric fences. This stranger is casting
out demons and freeing God’s people. He is doing God’s work of tearing down fences and
removing stumbling blocks. Truly, he is no threat, he is not against us.”
Somehow John and the disciples have lost track. They are
possessed with preserving and protecting their special relationship with Jesus
and their unique access to power. (Can you hear echoes of them bickering over
who is greatest? Who will be on Jesus’ right and left side?) Their concern
about themselves has blinded them to the good the stranger is doing. Their
concern about their priority has become a stumbling block, which Jesus says is problematic and must be removed.
“If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off.” Jesus is
serious. There is no equivocation. “If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it
off.” John and the disciples must tear down their electric fences, let go of
their claims to special power and privilege or the consequences will be dire. If
they continue to see strangers as adversaries, competitors, or threats they
will not only be separating themselves from their neighbors they will also be separating
themselves from God. And the suffering they will bring upon themselves will be
endless.
So where is the good news in all of that? From the beginning
and for all time the land and all that is therein (people, trees, horses) is
valuable. There is no need to build fences and stake claim, no need to hide or to keep others out.
All we need to do is claim our inheritance and be our true self.
