Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22; James 5:13-20; Mark 9:38-50
Sept. 27, 2007 - 17th Pentecost
If you have gone up the steps across from the elevator recently you may have found it very dark. The stairwell lights are on a sensor and have not been working consistently. At times you may have noticed a rectangular box propping open the upstairs door so the light from the hallway could help you to see going down. This box was intended to be helpful, but actually it created another problem because if you didn't see it, you could easily trip and do a free fall all the way down the steps. This almost happened in fact. So now you know. A box is not a door stop.
A physical stumbling block is one thing, but in Mark's gospel Jesus talks about putting stumbling blocks in the way of those who believe in him. Stumbling blocks to Jesus can take many forms but the common denominator is that they cause us to trip spiritually and lead or repels us away from Christ. Jesus gives a very graphic warning about this. "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."(Mk 9:42)
By "little ones" Jesus means not only children, but anyone who is a new believer in Christ. And how do we put stumbling blocks in the way of 'babes' in Christ? The answer is by continuing to sin. And so 'If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; or if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off; or if your eye then tear it out; … for it is better to enter life crippled than to be whole and thrown into hell to the unquenchable fire.'(Mk 9:43-47)
If we read this literally, we should all be on crutches today with one hand, one foot and one eye, unless, of course, we have never sinned. Right? Obviously Jesus didn't mean it this way. He uses metaphors and hyperbole here to emphasize a point about being his disciple. Following Jesus must be in the core center of our living. Any hindrance to our relationship with God must be removed for everyone will be evaluated in terms of this relationship.
Obviously this has to do with more than final judgment. Because if those who claim to be in Christ are still doing the same things as before then they are a stumbling block for others. To be connected to God through Jesus establishes a quality of relationship with one another that transcends our natural inclinations and manifests God's peace instead of strife, jealousy and division.
"Have salt in yourselves," he says, "and be at peace with one another."(Mk 9:50)
Our relationship to God through Jesus is about being transformed in him. It's not only being forgiven for sin. It's living out of God's Love as intended from the beginning. Following Jesus means our lives should be different than they were before.
Now using a box like this as a door stopper might help to see going down a stairwell in the dark, provided you saw it and didn't trip. But regardless a door stopper doesn't fix the problem. You have to dig deeper. And this is the way it is living in Christ. Sometimes religion can be used as a door stopper too. It helps us to see better. But it does not automatically fix the problem of sin. We are still in the dark.
The teaching of Jesus about getting rid of the things that hinder our relationship with God comes just after a request from the disciples. They are upset because they have seen another guy casting out demons in the name of Jesus, but who is not part of their group. He's not one of them and so they ask Jesus to stop this man.
Now previous to this the disciples have argued among themselves about which of them was the greatest. They also have tried to cast out a demon on their own but were unable to do so. Later two of the disciples will ask Jesus to appoint them to sit one on his right and the other on his left when he comes into his glory. One suspects then from this context that they are jealous of this other man's success. They want salvation to be on their terms so they can have the glory.
In these desires the disciples are the same as those are who don't even know Christ yet. They are driven by the same impulses of jealousy, hostility, divisiveness and selfish ambition as anyone else. They have not been transformed by their relationship with Christ. We can stumble like this too and not even be conscious of it.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the President of Iran spoke this week at the United Nations. He has gained notoriety for a lot of things in recent years, but one of the worst is his denial that the holocaust against the Jews during WW II ever happened. With the evidence so overwhelming that 6 million Jews were exterminated by the Nazis it is unbelievable that a national leader could somehow convince himself that this is a hoax.
Yet, Ahmadinejad is not the only one who has this problem. I have heard sincere Christians, even good church people and have read letters to the editor in the State Journal Register which have said nearly the same thing. There is a long history of anti-Semitic prejudice within Christianity. Generations have been taught that Jews are greedy and selfish and cheaters and Christ killers. And this widespread prejudice has been used to good advantage by dictators like Hitler and now Ahmadinejad to gain power and control.
This is a stumbling block because if you have a prejudice against Jews in your heart then how can you love them as children of God? How can you love the way Jesus commanded? How can you even love Jesus because he was Jewish himself?
The same is true about racial prejudice. Again this has a long history within American Christianity. The Bible was used for a long time to justify slavery. "Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling" we read in Ephesians 6:5. Believing that slavery was ordained of God this gave people free license to think dark skinned people were inferior, morally corrupt, and unworthy. In the Constitution a slave was counted as only 3/5s of a person. How can you love in the way Jesus commanded with a prejudice like this in your heart?
These historic examples are very familiar to us, but it's important to understand that these are not benign, but are in fact 'stumbling blocks' to a genuine faith in Christ. They indicate that we have not really been transformed by the "love" of Christ so that we see one another from God's perspective rather than through the lens of our own culture and traditions. These end up leading us away from Jesus rather than to him. Race and anti-Semitism are not the only stumbling blocks either.
I remember the first Sunday "he" visited. He was a tall man with long hair, chains hanging around his neck and tattoos on his arms. He came to church with his wife and two children. At first glance you would think he was a member of Hell's Angels and he did have a motorcycle, a Harley no less. On the surface it would be easy to make a quick judgment and dismiss someone like this. But let me tell you once you got to know this fellow you discovered someone who had a very generous heart. He would do anything for you. He became a member of the church and was someone you could depend on when something had to be done.
Sure he had a troubled past and had done a lot of things wrong? Who of us are without sin? But he had been transformed in Christ in ways that many who were already Christian have not. Appearances can be deceiving. But as the scripture says: God does not look on the outward appearance but on the heart.
Perhaps this is why Jesus refused to stop the man casting out demons. He appreciated what the guy was doing even if he was doing it on his own. He was doing something good and Jesus honored that even if he was different, even if he had tattoos and long hair. Jesus had long hair.
We would get a lot further along together in this world if we could do the same thing, learn to accept someone for who they are and not as we think they are. Sometimes we can get stuck in thinking that everyone has to look like us in order to be good. Or think just like us or dress like us or act like us. We are quick to see what we don't like. But what if we focused instead on what we do like and especially the good someone may do even if we don't like the way they look? We would have better churches and a better world.
Now many are shy and slow to reach out to someone they have never met. Others may not be shy, but just don't care to meet someone new. Either way though these traits can be stumbling blocks to Christ. For if someone visits a church and leaves with a feeling that this was not a very friendly or welcoming fellowship then they have been repelled from Christ in that church rather than drawn to him.
One stumbling block we could all improve on Sundays then is simply to take responsibility to show hospitality to someone you do not know. Make the effort to introduce yourself and learn their name. Say something like: 'I'm glad to meet you.' Invite them for coffee and donuts. Invite them to your Sunday School class.
Jesus was more tolerant than his disciples because he believed there was more than one way to draw others to God. But his disciples and by extension his followers today sometimes get stuck on thinking there is only one way. Jesus established common ground with everyone regardless of who they were. And so did the Apostle Paul. In fact the man casting out demons on his own is kind of how Paul got started. He was not a member of the original group of disciples. He was called later and separately from the rest. For this reason there was some tension between the mission of the original followers of Jesus and the mission of Paul.
But Paul followed this same pattern of establishing common ground with those he was trying to reach. And so he was flexible in his approach. This is what he says in 1 Corinthians.
To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law so that I might win those outside the law.
These were the Gentiles in his day. For us these are the "unchurched." Or Hell's Angels with chains, tattoos and long hair. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.
(I Corinthians 9:20-23)
"Whoever is not against us is for us," Jesus says.
And he adds: "No one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me."(Mk 9:39)
Sometimes without even being conscious of it we can let petty jealousies and prejudices of one kind or another become stumbling blocks to Jesus. They may appear as harmless as this box. But they can cause great harm not only to us, but to others. Religion used as a door stop doesn't automatically fix the problem of sin. We are still in the dark until we are transformed by the Love of Christ and learn to walk in his light rather than our own.
Jesus says we are to be like "salt." It's a small ingredient with a distinctive taste. It was the main product used for preserving food in the ancient world. We are God's salt then. Our role is to help save and preserve life too with the distinctive flavor of God's Love. "Salt is good but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it again? And so have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." (Mk 9:50)