Sermon for September 26, 2021
GOSPEL: Mark 9:38-50
The gospel is announced.
The holy gospel according to Mark.
Glory to you, O Lord.
On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus teaches his disciples about ministry that involves service and sacrifice. His disciples are slow to realize that these words apply to them as well as to others.
38John 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.” 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.”
The gospel concludes:
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
I have encountered various people
who interpret the bible literally;
but I’ve yet to see it with this passage.
I have not yet met anyone who has
cut off their hand, foot or eye in the name of Jesus.
Maybe this is because
we know we cannot take this literally.
your hands and feet
don’t cause you to sin or stumble,
and neither do your eyes for that matter;
these are exaggerated symbols.
If you walk around your bedroom
and stub your toe on the bedpost;
you know it is not your toe’s fault:
you know it has something to do with
the klutz who walks on those toes.
Similarly, if you find yourself
looking at things you shouldn’t look at online;
you know,
the websites that get deleted from
your browser history,
That’s not your eye’s fault for looking,
it’s the person behind the eyes.
Sometimes, however,
stumbling might not be your fault.
Take the bedpost example.
You might stub your toe
if someone moves the furniture without telling you.
Husbands know this feeling well.
Most of the time, when you stumble,
you stumble by your own fault.
Sometimes, it is the words or actions of another
that lead you to stumble.
It’s curious to me that Jesus uses this word - stumble,
and stumbling block here,
especially considering Jesus doesn’t use this word
in Mark’s Gospel,
until in this story.
We might presume stumble to mean sin,
or to cause another to sin.
That’s close…
Jesus has plenty to say about sin -
and some translations use “sin”
instead of stumble in this story,
but I am convinced Jesus is talking about something
particular here.
So what does it mean to stumble?
Stumble is used often in the Old Testament,
as an image for when things go wrong.
For example, in Isaiah 3:
For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen,
because their speech and their deeds
are against the Lord,
defying his glorious presence.
Many occurrences are like this:
not a literal stumble,
but an image of downfall.
Take a step back -
literally stumbling in ancient times
is not like literally stumbling today.
I took a stumble a couple weeks ago:
We went boating with some extended family,
and had a blast tubing.
I made the mistake of pointing out to the driver,
my brother in law,
That I hadn’t been bounced off the tube yet.
High speeds and quick turns resulted in
my children watching their father
fly like a rock skipping across the water.
This stumble left my shoulder injured.
No big deal,
I can do rehab and physio.
I had a life-jacket on - I was not alone,
so I was safe after my stumble,
there was no imminent threat.
In ancient times,
if one stumbled while travelling,
they might injure themselves,
wounds and cuts would be very serious threats,
and like a horse that stumbles
in a chuck wagon race,
stumbling often lead to injury and death.
Stumbling means strong legs give way to wobbly knees,
to a loss of balance,
and that flailing
or reaching out for something to hold onto,
something to stabilize,
that can be dangerous to others,
who might get caught
in the chaos of the stumble.
Someone who stumbles and is injured
becomes vulnerable to attack,
and potential danger to those around them.
Interesting, the Greek word stumble here
is scandaliseh - the root for scandal
Stumble would be literally translated to mean
a trap for a live animal.
The animal stumbles into the trap,
and it leads to their demise.
So that’s stumble in the Old Testament.
a trap,
downfall,
a threat to survival,
a threat to others.
What then did Jesus mean by stumbling?
I believe there’s a clue in Matthew’s Gospel,
with Jesus’ first passion prediction,
or first passion teaching.
We’ve been talking through this story
for a few weeks now.
By way of review,
just before Jesus was transfigured on the mountain,
Jesus asked the disciples
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
followed by
“But who do you say that I AM?”
to which Peter makes the bold declaration,
the proclamation of the church,
the foundation for which
the church is built on
“You are the Messiah; the Son of the Living God”
Jesus then foretold his suffering, death and resurrection.
Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,
saying, “God forbid it, Lord!
This must never happen to you.
This is when
“Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!
You are a stumbling block to me;
for you are setting your mind
not on divine things but on human things.”
Peter was a stumbling block for Jesus
because Peter looked to human things
rather than focusing on divine things.
Peter was trying to preserve or attain
an earthly kingdom
while Jesus is talking about the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus’ preaching,
at least in Matthew and Mark’s Gospels,
can be summed by what Jesus
- and John the Baptist for that matter -
proclaimed from the beginning:
“The time is fulfilled,
for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near,
repent and believe in the Good News.”
Everything Jesus says and does
points us to the reality of
the Kingdom of Heaven,
the Kingdom of God in our midst.
Blessed are the poor in Spirit,
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed,
or like yeast in flour.
The Kingdom of Heaven is like
people in Jesus’ hometown being healed
even though they reject Jesus.
The Kingdom of Heaven is
an abundance of food for 5000
with only 5 loaves and two fish.
The Kingdom of Heaven is the Lordship of Jesus
covering the lands
and the seas
and the skies.
Our call in the Kingdom of Heaven
is to take up your cross and follow Jesus.
So what did Jesus mean by stumble?
I believe that stumbling, then,
is focusing, prioritizing the kingdom of this world,
preserving the kingdom of this world
at the expense of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Stumbling is to set your mind on human things
rather than divine things.
Stumbling places self preservation
above God’s self-giving love.
Remember,
Jesus is probably still holding
the little child in his arms,
a child who becomes an image
of the least of these,
an image of those that are down low
in the class system.
“if any of you put a stumbling block
before one of these little ones…” Jesus warns
“whoever welcomes one such child welcomes me,
and whoever welcomes me
welcomes the one who sent me.”
To stumble would be to send the little children away,
to stumble would be to
trap little ones into a certain way of thinking
that threatens their place God’s mission.
to stumble would be to prevent an exorcism
because they’re not in the same denomination.
Stumbling would be sending people away hungry
because you only have 5 loaves and 2 fish.
We stumble when we place barriers
in front of the Divine,
to restrict access to the Divine,
and that stumbling
can easily cause others to stumble.
In this time of pandemic,
Some say that government restrictions
are a stumbling block,
restricting access to the Divine.
Some say that not having restrictions
would be an even greater stumbling block.
God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path,
a light that helps us avoid the roots and rocks in the path
that might cause us to stumble.
Yet we struggle to discern a common image
of God’s will for the church and for us;
Sometimes we have trouble discerning
what is the kingdom of God
and what is the kingdom of this world.
The warning from Jesus is dire:
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.
Like you’re better off drowning
than hanging onto your life jacket.
This is difficult to hear.
Heed the warning.
Cling to grace.
Jesus hates predatory, tyrannical behaviour
that inhibits one’s freedom to relate with God.
Jesus hates behaviour with potential to hurt others.
Just ask the money changers from the temple,
Just ask the tempter.
Just ask the woman caught in adultery.
Jesus lifts up those children
who have stumbled because of another.
Indeed God’s ways are greater than our ways,
Gods Spirit will fall upon whomever God wants.
That’s our first reading from Numbers.
That’s this person exorcising demons in Jesus name.
We want things done our way,
we want God to operate within our own
denominational loyalty,
And we want God to do what
we want God to do,
but that’s not how it works.
We do not get to put God in a box.
We are invited to take up our cross and follow,
we are invited into discipleship,
to become more like Jesus
along with all those who are
gifted with the Holy Spirit.
Discipleship is hard.
being salted with the fire of the Holy Spirit
is going to burn:
but it is a purifying fire
burning off the chaff,
forming us into little Christs,
and I believe part of that fire,
part of that salt,
is burning off allegiance to the empire
and preserving allegiance to Christ
who ushers in the kingdom of God
in our midst.
Heed Jesus’ warnings.
Let the fire of the Spirit burn.
Cling to grace.
For the one who warns you about stumbling
- and causing others to stumble -
is the same One who holds the children in his arms,
who offers an abundance of bread,
who forgives recklessly
who gives you new life.
Know that Jesus holds you
Christ’s promises are sure.
Your death is not your end,
your stumbling is not your end,
your sin is not your end,
for with Jesus,
for the baptized,
in the Kingdom of Heaven
there is no end.
You will sin.
God will give you Jesus,
and through your baptism into Christ,
set you free from that trap of sin.
you will probably stumble on your journey,
and maybe even cause another to stumble.
But Jesus will pick you up.
May you heed Jesus’ warning,
and cling to grace.
May you set your mind, not on human things,
but on divine things.
May God’s kingdom come in and among us,
Thanks be to God. Amen.
