I. Theme – Healing and protection involving our work and inspiration from God
“Jesus Welcomes the Children” – Maha (1973)
“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
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
Old Testament – Numbers 11:4-6,10-16,24-29
Psalm – Psalm 19:7-14 Page 606-607, BCP
Epistle – James 5:13-20
Gospel – Mark 9:38-50
Today’s readings illustrate how God can choose unexpected people to do God’s work. The readings focus on healing and protection. Neither of these entirely comes from God, but involve our agency as well as divine creativity and care.
In Numbers Eldad and Medad, though not participating in Moses’ official “commissioning,” receive the same Spirit of prophecy as the seventy elders. James suggests practical guidelines for those who wish to do God’s work. Today’s gospel reading relates how Jesus, like Moses, endorses the work of those who, though not part of his “in-group,” still bring healing in God’s name.
Readers may squirm with embarrassment at the first words out of John’s mouth in today’s gospel. He brands himself a bigot with his snooty concern: those other guys are doing good! Translated to today’s terminology, it sounds all too familiar: someone of another age group/church/parish/gender/ethnic group/system of belief is threatening our monopoly on ministry. It is especially ironic in view of the fact that the disciples themselves had just failed at exorcism (Mark 9:14-19).
The passage has particular meaning as we enter an era when people are united more by common concerns than by religious labels. Could it mean more to be a committed Christian or a faithful human being than to be a good Catholic, Episcopalian or Lutheran ? If our brothers and sisters in synagogues or mosques make inroads on a social problem that plagues us all, we cheer for them, rather than jealously wishing we’d achieved that success.
As if we weren’t already squirming enough, Jesus directs a word to those who might consider themselves more educated or advanced in faith than others. He reserves his grimmest punishment for those who take advantage of the childlike. The next time we are tempted to poke fun at the simple beliefs of others, we might remember Gehenna: the smelly, smoldering garbage dump outside Jerusalem. Our little joke or ploy might buy us a one-way ticket to the place where maggots chew on offal. Is it really worth it?
II. Summary
Old Testament – Numbers 11:4-6,10-16,24-29
This setting is Moses in the desert. This reading focuses on the Lord’s aid to Moses with his heavy responsibilities.
The company led out of Egypt on the exodus journey seems to have included both Israelites and also some others, perhaps Egyptians who feared Israel’s God or assorted wanderers—a mixed crowd (Exodus 12:38) who start the grumbling.
Moses hears the complaints of the people in not having enough to eat (particularly meat) and he throws it back on God.
Moses’ boldness in his protests to God are striking. He feels defeated by the people’s unreasonable demands. He complains about God’s unreasonable demands of him, and God honors Moses’ feelings and calls 70 community leaders (elders) to help carry the burden.
However, such a manifestation of God’s Spirit cannot be confined or controlled by humans—thus, when two men, Eldad and Medad, not of the 70 and not present at the tent, also prophesy, Moses acknowledges them, despite the complaints of Joshua. This ties in with the Gospel reading that God’s work cannot be monopolized.
Psalm – Psalm 19:7-14 Page 606-607, BCP
The psalmist celebrates God’s revelation, expressed universally in creation and specifically in the law. Pagan nations acclaimed the divinity of certain elements in nature (sun, moon, fire, etc.). Here the psalmist counters those claims by boasting that all of nature declares the glory of Israel’s God, who is the Creator of all things. Then the psalmist praises Yahweh’s perfect law.
Psalm 19:7-14 sings of staying true to God’s ways, even asking God to “clear me from hidden faults.” When we seek God’s guidance in our lives, we have a desire to bring our whole lives into alignment with God’s vision, even seeking to bring into light the places where we have been selfish, the places we have justified our own ways. When we know God’s love, we desire to live fully into God’s ways.
Epistle – James 5:13-20
James 5:13-20 ends this month-long focus on James. This reading provides gives us a pattern for healing and wholeness. First, healing begins with a life of prayer: prayer about all things, positive and negative. Every occasion of life is an opportunity for prayer. Prayer must be both private and communal. It builds on the individual’s relationship with the lord and it intensifies the individual’s relationships with others
Pray in good fortune and pray in times of sickness. If you are ill, seek the support of a healing community that will anoint, lay hands on you, and pray for you. Christian communities need to lift up certain persons to be healing companions. These healing companions pray for those in need and trust God’s providence in all the seasons of living and dying.
James notes the importance of confession in the healing process. He is not trying to add to persons’ guilt or to identify sin and sickness, but rather assert that guilt, alienation, regret, shame, and unforgiveness can contribute to disease as personal, pastoral, and medical experience indicate. Feelings of guilt have been identified with illness, while joy enhances the immune system.
Community and religious involvement have been found to be factors in well-being. Conversely, alienation, fear, and guilt may be factors in depressing our overall well-being. God wants us to be well and invites us to create healing circles, whose prayers contribute healing energy and create a field of force that supports vulnerable people and enables God to have greater impact in our lives.
The letter closes with an encouragement to believers to be their brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. James recognizes that it is entirely possible to “wander from the truth” (v. 19). The language of “wandering” recalls the sheep who goes astray; Christians are called to shepherd one another, guide, nurture and lead people back to the faith, helping each other renew and strengthen their relationship with God, but not by judging and condemning.
Gospel – Mark 9:30-37
There are 3 paragraphs in the Gospel. This reading comes from a passage that consists of a series of Jesus’ sayings on a variety of subjects. They do not follow a logical sequence but are grouped by the occurrence of a catchword, thus allowing easier memorization of the material for oral transmission.
A. The first section (9:37-41) has John trying to stop a healer casting out demons but one who was not following Jesus. The incident of the unauthorized exorcist echoes the story of Eldad and Medad (Numbers 11:26-29). The disciples were jealous of their special relationship with Jesus.
John’s concern over encountering another casting out demons in the name of Jesus seems reasonable. There has been some very intentional training of the disciples by Jesus. The desire to protect the integrity of this training by John seems like a great thing to do. But again, Jesus reverses expectations. It can be seen as a way for John to increase power and status by exercising a monopoly over it.
Jesus seems to have no desire to put a stop to this rough healer. He does, however, put a stop to the disciples attempt to control the ministry of Jesus. Jesus acknowledges that a relationship with him comes through sharing his work and appealing to his authority.
Jesus does not dwell on the dismissal too long, but gives three reasons why the disciples should not get in the way of those who are doing ministry in the name of Jesus:
1) “… for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.”
2) “Whoever is not against us is for us.”
3) “ 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.”
The first two seem reasonable and the third one has the power of an “amen” statement . Jesus’ ministry and the new social reality called the kingdom of God is inclusive. Jesus supports this inclusivity by putting a stop to a monopoly on his teachings and ministry to just the disciples he is training. Jesus challenges their behavior: if anyone is healing in my name, support them. Other healers are welcome even if their words and techniques differ from ours.
This passage is especially relevant to our time in which people practice multiple spiritualities and techniques – liturgical laying on of hands and reiki healing touch; social action motivated by Jesus’ ministry and Zen meditation; chemotherapy and Tai Chi; worship and yoga
This passage can be seen in a larger context. In a world of ecumenical and interfaith dialogue, we have much more in common when we work together against the struggles of the world such as hatred, intolerance, poverty, war, and unequal education. We ought to be working with others, or at least blessing the work of others instead of trying to compete and/or condemn
B. The next section (9:42-49) is linked to the previous one by the phrase “one of these little ones” (v. 42) and is held together by the word used for sin, literally “stumble or scandalize.” The second paragraph deals with problems within a community, stumbling blocks.
The first verse of this section (9:42) addresses the situation of being an occasion of sin to other believers, especially new or weak disciples. The rest of the section concerns occasions of sin in one’s self.
The phrase “put a stumbling block before” goes back to the Greek word to scandalize. This is technical term in Mark for rejection of the kingdom message (6:3) or desertion of the way (14:27,29).
All too often we are the cause. Jesus further warns against causing others to sin, placing stumbling blocks in front of those new to the faith. All too often, we want people to conform to us, instead of to the way of God. Instead of worrying about the faults of others, we need to be concerned about ourselves and what we do to harm another’s relationship with God and with others
There is the other alternative that should be considered for this paragraph where someone is his/her own is causing problems within the community . One way to encounter this story is to use the metaphor of the body for the community of faith. This makes the next sayings more approachable.
The call to cut off one’s hand or foot, or pluck out one’s eye, could be a metaphor for dealing with those who cause scandal. “Understood more metaphorically, Mark’s exhortations call for the expulsion (but not execution) of the informer/apostate, for the sake of the whole body
C. The last paragraph deals with salt and its properties. One writer Ched Myers suggests that to have salt is to be at peace. In the Old Testament salt is a symbol of the covenant. One of the clearest text is Leviticus 2:13 B: “do not let the salt of the covenant of your God be lacking from your cereal offering.” In Numbers 18:19 and everlasting covenant is called a “covenant of salt” (see also 2 Chronicles 13:5). The background of this idea probably lies in the sharing of salt in a meal (Ezra 4:14). To share salt with someone is to share fellowship with him, to be in covenant with him
In light of arguing about superiority of the disciples against others who may do the job differently to problems of strife in community. Mark is calling his disciples to renew their relationships, to “have salt” with one another. We need to be the salt of the earth, giving all things flavor, blessing instead of cursing, encouraging growth instead of breaking down.
III. Articles for this week in WorkingPreacher:
Old Testament – Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29
Psalm – Psalm 19:7-14
Epistle – James 5:13-20
Gospel – Mark 9:38-50
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