Tuesdays with Mark (9: 38-49)

What we have in the beginning of this piece of scripture is “turf.” It is a territorial war. A man is casting out demons in the name of Jesus and the disciples (the 12) come whining to Jesus that he is not one of “us.” Now the “us” they are talking about is themselves, one of the 12; they are not talking about the “us” as Jesus and the 12. They are trying to confine the “Jesus work” to what they do. They don’t want to share. It is a turf war; it is not about what Jesus is doing in and with and through them, but what they are doing.
How does Jesus respond to their complaint? He is not the least bit sympathetic. He says, “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. Who is not against us is for us.” In other words he is telling them to get over themselves, to learn how to share, to not care who gets the credit just as long as the work gets done.
What do turf battles lead to in the Body of Christ, or even in our lives for that matter? Factions. Confusion. Destruction. How do we move from turf to team?
Jesus then continues to say, “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.” By little ones Jesus means all of us; in other words, he is asking us to think about how we get in the way of any child of God living into love and hope and peace and faith. I asked the gentlemen in the Bible study about the stumbling blocks that we can put in someone else’s way. They responded by saying judgment and criticism and gossip and setting someone else up to lose. Are we acting like stumbling blocks or stepping-stones for those around us? Are we hindering or helping? Are we blocking or equipping? Are we disabling or enabling? Jesus is very fierce on this one.
And then he turns that fierceness on us: “If you 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.” What causes us to sin? What doesn’t? If we took Jesus literally here by cutting off our hands or cutting out our eyes or our tongue, we wouldn’t have anything left. So, how are we to interpret these words? Well, we must start by doing an inventory of those things in us, those proclivities and tendencies, those attitudes and prejudices that cause us or anyone else to stumble. In order to make this more concrete I then asked the men what they needed to cut off. Rather than listing their responses—which were all very honest and faithful—I would like you to ask yourself that very same question: What do you need to cut off for your own sake, for the sake of those around you, for the Kingdom’s sake, and for God’s sake, so that you can more fully and completely both follow Jesus yourself, and also help those around you to follow him and to know his love.