Pentecost 18B (Lectionary 26)
September 26, 2021
Good Shepherd, Wells, MN
Mark 9.38-50
Last week, we reminded ourselves that we are on a journey with Jesus, just like the disciples are. Just as they were on the way to Jerusalem where Jesus will be betrayed, tried, crucified and resurrected, and Jesus was teaching them the way of discipleship, so have we been learning the way of Jesus. Jesus’ words these last few weeks, this week, and the weeks to come will continue to push our limits of ability to hear, like the disciples, because we are reminded that the way of Jesus is hard, which should not be surprising to us.
Also last week, we discovered that Jesus wants us to pay attention to voices that we might ordinarily miss or ignore. He uses the example of a child, reminding us to look for guidance at the margins of life. In a similar vein, in today’s Gospel reading Jesus reminds his followers, and us, to not be so arrogant as to believe that God can only work through us. He reminds us that we don’t somehow have it all figured out, that we are not the only bearers of truth. God can and does use other Christians, people of other faiths, and even those of no faith
But it’s the passage about cutting off body parts and going into hell that I’ve been pondering this week. Before I get to that, I want to say a little bit about Jesus’ use of hell and the other disturbing images in today’s reading. Long story short, nowhere in the Old Testament does it talk about hell, especially as a place of eternal torment. The term sheol actually refers to the place of the dead; that’s it. Those images of hell as a place of eternal punishment came into existence in the intertestamental period, the time between the Old and New Testaments, and got picked up by those religious leaders that Jesus has such a problem with, the Pharisees. More importantly, it’s important to know that a vast majority of the early church fathers denied this new doctrine. Rather, they favored universal salvation. However, like the Pharisees, the doctrine of hell as eternal torment was used by church leaders who wanted to control parishioners and used the threat of hell to do so.
So, why is Jesus using this language? I believe it’s to get our attention and say, “This is serious stuff.” And, if I may be a bit crass, Jesus is saying in today’s lesson, “Cut it out!” But, I’d like to go deeper into the text and play with the image of being maimed, cutting off body parts. To cut to the chase, if we took this text literally and were to cut off a body part every time we caused someone to stumble, we wouldn’t be able to walk, feed ourselves or see where we were going, among other things.
What do we do? The reality is that we need to recognize we are all spiritually maimed because, in fact, we cause others to stumble, but what we do and what we fail to do. We are walking wounded, having damaged ourselves as much as we have damaged others, even though we may look whole on the outside. When I was a young store manager I fired one of my sales ladies, Nadine, because I found she’d lied on her application. I used it as an excuse to do what I didn’t have the guts to do otherwise because I hadn’t been satisfied with her work. Though I was well within my rights to let her go, it was not the right thing to do, and certainly not a good witness for Christ. I’ve carried that wound with me for over 40 years and wish I could go back and change it. Maybe you have similar regrets.
Where does that leave us? Is there any good news? It’s helpful to me to remember that even Jesus enters heaven maimed. After the resurrection, when Jesus appears to the disciples in the upper room, he still has the scars of the crucifixion on his hands, feet, and side. So, through Jesus Christ and his grace, our scars are being redeemed and can be used for healing. I can’t go back and fix what I did to Nadine, but I can do better. Since then, whenever I’ve had to let someone go, I’ve made sure I’ve done everything in my power to help that person succeed and that letting them go is a last resort. But, I’m not the hero in this story; Jesus crucified and risen is.
The cup of water we can offer our thirsty world comes from a well of suffering, both ours and God’s. We who follow the way of Jesus know what it’s like to be thirsty, to find refreshment in God’s love and share that love with others. This is serious and important business, which is why Jesus tries to get our attention in these teachings. Jesus invites us to look around, perhaps find those who are already doing this work and join in with them. God be with you, fellow wounded healers on the road in this life as you bring refreshment to a thirsty, hurting world. Amen.
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