Sermon: September 29, 2024

“Those Not Against Us Are For Us” | Mark 9:38-50

In the process of being a ministry candidate I was required to be interviewed in several different settings. Starting in the local church—to the district—and on to the conference level. I can remember my conference level interview like it was this past week. We were at the Perry Methodist Church, and I was taken upstairs to a small room where I had a conversation with Rev. Marsha Cochran (Gene’s sister), and Rev. James Swanson who later became Bishop James Swanson. Toward the end of our conversation Bishop Swanson asked to give me some advice which I was more than prepared to receive. He said, “Preach the lectionary.” And that’s what I have done for most of my career.

I may have said this to you before, but I preach the lectionary for a few different reasons. First, it helps me to stay organized, to be able to plan in advance what I’m going to be preaching about and to keep me somewhat focused. And probably more important, it makes me preach about topics that most preachers never touch on. One of those topics is in our text this morning beginning at verse 42 about causing someone to stumble.

The people who Jesus refers to as “these little ones” could be the child we saw last Sunday that Jesus had brought into their circle—or it may not be children at all—maybe even the man John and the others stopped from driving out demons. It’s possible they were the humble, without wealth or position or learning—those who had accepted Christ’s teaching, to whom spiritual understanding and faith have come.

The next section about cutting off our body parts which cause us to sin can be a bit confusing. No, I don’t think that Jesus is literally telling us to cut off our foot—our hand—or gauge out our eyes. If Jesus really meant this, we’d all be a bunch of strange looking jokers. This, I believe, is what is referred to as hyperbole—something Jesus used a lot of. Hyperbole is a figure of speech that exaggerates to make a point. But one thing is clear—sometimes we must cut our selves off from the things and the people who cause it.

Our passage, here used for the first time in Mark introduces us to the stern warning that those who drift down the wrong road are heading for the rubbish heap: “Gehenna.” Gehenna was the place or torment (the unquenchable fire). It originally referred to the Valley of Hinnom, just south of the walls of Jerusalem. Here the Israelites in the time of Manasseh had offered their children to the heathen idol, Molech (Jeremiah 7:31).

Later, Josiah desecrated the place (2 Kings 23:10) and it became the city dump where the garbage and refuse was taken. Its continually burning fires became a fit symbol or hell.

Now, when you read this passage in your Bible you may notice the absence of verses 44 and 46. You may see the numbers in brackets but no printed verse. These verses weren’t found in important manuscripts of the New Testament because they are identical to verse 48: “Where the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.”

To be salted with fire may mean that everyone who enters hell will suffer its fire—or—it may mean that every Christian in this life can expect to undergo the fire of suffering and purification.

The potter using fire to complete his clay jars
The use of controlled burns in the forest and on pastures
The use of fire to cauterize

Jesus was speaking to some men who knew all about salt. The majority of them were fishermen who knew the importance of salt in their line of work. Every day they would have salted down their catch to preserve it so they could transport it to the markets in the city where they would sell it. If their fish was spoiled, it was of no value to them.

The salt that Jesus was referring to was the work of discipleship—the allegiance to Jesus and to the gospel. He was warning the disciples that by their selfishness and self-seeking they were in danger of becoming savorless salt.
When the disciple loses his or her saltness—when they lose the good news of the kingdom out of their message and out of their life—they are of no earthly use.
Christians who have lost their Christian flavor cannot perform their function as a preserving force in the world. And unless we have the salt of the Christian gospel we won’t be at peace—either in the church or the world at large.

“Teacher, said John, we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” That’s how our text this morning starts. Jesus has just finished explaining to the disciples about humility (our lesson last week)—about how there would be no need for the first or last in the kingdom—how we are all equal in the eyes of God.

More concerned with their group’s position then about helping free those troubled by demons, the disciples were jealous of a man who healed in Jesus’ name. We do the same thing today when we refuse to participate in worthy causes because (1) they are not affiliated with our denomination, (2) they do not involve the kind of peace with whom we feel most comfortable, (3) they don’t do things the way we are used to, or (4) our efforts won’t receive enough recognition.
Those who share a common faith in Christ should cooperate. People don’t have to be just like us to be following Jesus with us.

Mark from Wisconsin reported in his local newspaper this most ironic story: He stopped by a pet store one day to look for a bird. As he entered the store, he noticed a strange rustling noise coming from the back. In the back of the store was a large cage with a sign underneath it advertising “Sacred Doves of Peace.” And in the cage were two white doves…beating each other to a pulp. Is that the way of our world? Is it the way of the church as well?

There was a small rural church one time that had a major dispute about where the pies should be placed in the kitchen prior to serving them for the annual turkey supper. One woman actually left the church community because several newcomers to the church had convinced the rest of the women working in the kitchen that it would be more efficient to put the pies on the counter beside the sink instead of the counter next to the refrigerator. “It’s not the right way to do it,” she said. “We’ve never done it that way before, and I am not going to be part of doing it that way now. I won’t have any part of that kind of thing. Those new people are going to ruin this church. They don’t know anything. They aren’t even from around here.” Sound familiar?

When seen in its larger context—there is some humor—if not irony—in the fact that the disciples are trying to prevent this alien exorcist from doing what they have just failed to do (Mark 9:18—“I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not”). The apostolic defensiveness suggests an element of embarrassment that an untrained and unauthorized stranger accomplishes what they have failed to accomplish.

It’s obvious that John is telling Jesus this because in some way the disciples expected to be congratulated—as if they had done something right. “Good for you!” they expected, “After all, we can’t let this Kingdom of God business get out of hand and just have anybody doing it.” How little they understood where Jesus’ teachings would soon take them.

History would soon replace the Priest in the Holy of Holies with the priesthood of all believers. The disciples, it would seem, wanted to protect their turf, to maintain control, but Jesus had a better way. They wanted to be the facilitators not manipulators of a new kingdom. If others come along with gifts and talents do not hinder them. In Jesus’ words, “Whoever is not against us is for us.” The modern parallel would be that of opposing someone who labored in Christ’s name just because they were from a different sect or denomination.

When I served in the old Americus District, which seems like many moons ago, I was asked to serve on a District Task Force for Evangelism. Our main objective was looking at and comparing ten-year demographic studies of our district and the health of our churches. What areas were growing and why—the makeup of the population—the yearly income—and growth or loss in the local churches. We were determining areas that needed work—the possibility of starting new churches in our district—and what churches we could learn from because of their success. The main questions we were looking at were: Are we winning people to Christ—are we making disciples—and in doing so are we only looking for and inviting people who look and think like us? Isn’t this the very same thing the disciples were doing in our text for this morning?

What Jesus is saying is that rather than rebuke those who do not follow us—who don’t look or think like us—that we should treat them with kindness. Jesus is reminding them that God remembers even small acts of kindness extended to believers because they are believers. That even in the giving of a simple cup of water that person will not lose their reward, and that reward is God’s approval.

When I started going on mission trips, I was disappointed that we couldn’t just build a house in three days. Many of the trips I went on it seemed like we really didn’t accomplish anything. And then finally, someone set me straight. You see, it’s one thing to simply write a check—and don’t get me wrong—check writing is something that mission work requires (players—prayers—and payers). But when people see warm bodies—when they see people who have given up their long weekend or vacation time or comfy bed to help someone in need it touches them in a special way.

After that much needed advice I spent an entire afternoon on one of my trips just sitting on a five-gallon bucket listening to a lady tell me about the day the waters from Hurricane Hugo overtook her home and her family. She didn’t need me to drive a nail or paint a wall or carry shingles—she just wanted someone to listen to her story and in some way empathize with her—to cry with her.

Giving a cup of cold water to a person or community in need is the same as making an offering to God. In contrast, harming others or failing to care for them is a sin, even if they are the unimportant people in the eyes of the world.

Wesleyan Three General Rules:

(1) Do no harm, 

(2) Do good, 

(3) Stay in love with God.

The genuine attempt to help another person is more important than the person who offers the help. Jesus is not interested in who gets the credit. Jesus is rather more focused on the recipient. When we are motivated to help others based on what we can get out of it—we will often be dissatisfied or disappointed. Christians must not withdraw from the world but engage with it wisely. When we lose our desire to “salt” the earth—flavor the earth with the love and message of God, we become ineffective for Him.

“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

Thanks be to God!