Mark 9.38-50, James 5.13-20 & Numbers 11.4-6, 10-16,
24-29
The God we know will never be known better by any attempt
to confine, restrict or keep to him or her to ourselves. Jesus reinforces this
view through Mark’s account today. In essence his message is that our behaviour
should do nothing that restricts our own faith, the faith of others or those
who may give faith to others.
Each of today’s
readings, in their own way, remind us that God is a liberating God who doesn’t
want his people trapped in suffering, either physically or in our minds.
Though in our gospel reading today we hear Jesus speak of
hell originally he would have used the word Gehenna which would have held
horror for those hearing him. It was the valley outside Jerusalem where the
Romans burnt bodies and where Jerusalem’s rubbish was also burnt, smouldering
as a symbol of death, suffering and filth. Some will choose to understand Jesus words as a literal indication of what
lays ahead for many but the context speaks more loudly of Jesus saying ‘don’t
lead lives that are empty, trashy, sinful, fit only for the waste disposal,
more akin to us saying ‘don’t live life in the gutter’.
The teachers and political
campaigners among you, not to mention anxious parents, will know that there is
a time for knowledge to be imparted in a calm routine manner and there is a
time when dramatic effect is needed to urgently make a point that sticks in the
mind. Jesus’ reference to Gehenna and cutting off body parts clearly falls in
the latter category.
Who hearing his words could want a rubbish life for them
or their friends and family, fit only for the sad stenching place they went out
of their way to avoid?
Similarly Jesus did not want to encourage people to self
harm, it’s important to contrast chopping off body parts with Jesus entire
mission to bring healing and wholeness in every way. He is using the horrific
image of self-mutilation to stress how very important it is not to ignore our
failings that might lead us into sin and also obscure Christ from others.
Personally I’d rather he hadn’t used this example but maybe the fact that we
are forced to wrestle with it is the point.
It’s essential we are clear that even though we can
sometimes feel full of self-loathing the answer is not to inflict further pain
on ourselves, but to seek healing. James letter goes on to point out that this
can be achieved by wise counsel, loving support and prayer. Jesus’ stark
message was that the habits, customs and weaknesses which are at the root of a
problem keeping us from wholeness with God need to be identified, faced up to
and then urgently dealt with, cut them out of our lives. A clean break with sinful
ways is what Jesus wanted as a result not a clean break with our body parts.
It seems likely that at least part of Jesus address to
the disciples is an angry response to John’s whingeing that people outside our group
‘have been casting out demons in your name.’ Jesus confronts the insularity of
this view disappointed at this lack of understanding, he wants the disciples to
know that this is not some exclusive club with special rights to play with
God’s power but that God’s love and power for good are there for all. The
message for people to understand was that this is not something to be dabbled
in like witchcraft it is a holistic way of life with God involved in every
aspect. There is no part time Christianity, nor is it a faith where we can pick
and choose the parts we like and ignore the aspects we find more challenging.
The disciple’s behaviour reveals our human weakness to
fear those who are different from us and, for this reason, to insist on a level
of conformity which can manifest itself in such limited thinking, such tiny expectations.
This in turn limits our expectations of God and our ability to recognise him at
work in others.
I admit that I had to look twice, read the livery on the
side of a mini bus which identified it as belonging to the local church, and
then at the driver, a distinguished looking Sikh man with full turban and
beard. Does Jesus look at this and think ‘at last they seem to be getting it’?
I expect he’s grateful for someone willing to drive through the appalling south
London traffic and happy that the people can get where they need to go. And, unless
the driver had nicked the bus, with all the relaxed looking passengers in it, it
seems that the people running the church were chilled about this as well. This
is good isn’t it? A tiny example of collaboration that makes the kingdom of
God, as each of us understand it, a little more real to others.
In Numbers we heard again of attempts to control God and
keep him for only a pre-approved group, in this case the elders Moses gathered
in the tent. An unnamed young man and Moses assistant Joshua were complaining
that Eldad and Medad were prophesying in the camp. Moses responds by teaching
them that he doesn’t control what God chooses to do but wouldn’t it be
wonderful if his spirit fell upon all his people. The more evidence of the
Spirit at work the better as far as he is concerned.
It seems pretty clear that people have always whinged,
whined and complained. Aussie friends of mine used to say that we Brits are
famous for it when visiting their country, making a fuss about little things
like a snake in the garden, unbearable humidity or a red back spider under the
toilet seat. They claimed that they could always tell when a plane load of
Brits had arrived because the whining noise didn’t stop when the engines were
switched off!
Perhaps the next time we feel like complaining about a
situation we should consider the impact on the person who is doing their best
to run something, provide for or facilitate others. Maybe their generous
efforts are a result of the Spirit at work only for our complaining to come
along and smother it.
I’ve certainly seen many volunteers running scouts,
football clubs or clubs for the elderly at great personal sacrifice only to be
the recipient of whingeing and complaining that they are not doing things right
or how others expect them to be done. Of course the natural reaction might be
an impolite reply and who could blame them? ‘If you think you can do better you
are welcome to have a go’ seems a fair response. Certainly I’ve seen a
volunteer football referee taking abuse from parents on the touchline walk up
to them and offer his shirt and whistle, needless to say the loud mouth people
shrunk back from taking responsibility.
So it seems reasonable that Moses has had enough. Perhaps,
in the way that people ask ‘What have the Romans ever done for us’ the rhetorical
question the Israelites have here is ‘what has God, through Moses, ever done
for us? Well one or two things come to mind, surely the people haven’t
forgotten that he led them out of slavery, that God protected them and they
have seen the waters of the sea part just for them, water has sprung forth from
rock and food has been provided in the desert. So rather lot of incredible
things it seems, yet all they remember is the delicious food that had been
available to them in Egypt, glossing over the fact that they were enslaved.
Selective nostalgia remembers all the lovely food as being available for free
conveniently forgetting that the true cost of this was slavery and hard labour.
I suppose that as soon as our immediate needs are met we
often simply think of the next thing that will make our life more pleasant
without stopping to be truly grateful for what we have. Mind you it made me
hungry hearing of cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic, I guess the
ingredients would have made their daily meals a lot tastier. But the point of
the passage is not about the culinary options available, it’s about recognising
our blessings and about discovering liberation in God’s love. The people who
sit back and expect to be provided for without any contribution to their
community might no longer be physically enslaved but neither have they found
true freedom. That’s why the 70 elders are given a share of responsibility from
then onwards, freedom to criticise also means freedom to take responsibility,
it’s time for the Israelites to understand the need to be active participants
in the relationship with God.
This is highlighted further by James as he encourages
shared times of joy as well as support for each other when our faith is tested
and prayer for each other that recognises the real potential for God to work
through any one of us. In doing this we move closer to the freedom that God
wants for us and share in Christ’s healing mission.
I finish where I started. Our readings remind us that we
need to be Christians called to an active faith reliant on God’s grace, followers
of Jesus who allow God to be free in our minds, open to meeting with her in
unexpected ways, places and people. Where we can we must open doors, clear
obstacles and make God’s love available to others, encouraging each other
through life’s challenging times but also recognising and celebrating the gifts
we are blessed with. If we can do these things we are taking steps towards the
liberation and healing available to us in Christ.
Kevin Bright
30
September 2018
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