Mark 9:38-50
In the mid-1990s a husband and wife from Minnesota decided to go to Florida during a particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier. Because of hectic schedules, it was difficult to coordinate travelling together. So, the husband left Minneapolis and flew to Florida on Thursday, with the wife flying down the following day. The husband checked into the hotel and saw there was a computer room. The internet was a novelty, and nobody had cell phones yet, so he decided to send an e-mail to his wife. However, he accidentally left out one letter in her e-mail address, and without realizing his mistake, sent the e-mail.
Meanwhile, somewhere in Tennessee, a widow just returned home from her husband's funeral. He was a minister who had just died of a heart attack. The widow decided to check her e-mail since she was expecting messages from relatives and friends. After reading the first message, she screamed and fainted. Her son rushed into the room and saw the computer screen which read:
To my loving wife, I know you're surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now and we’re allowed to send e-mails to our loved ones. I've just arrived and am getting settled in. I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you then! P.S. It sure is hot down here!
And that’s the story of the email from hell. In the passage we just heard Jesus talks about hell. In fact, it’s the only time in the entire Gospel of Mark that hell is mentioned. Now the word translated “hell” is the Greek word Gehenna. Which was an actual place in Jesus’ time. It was a smoldering garbage dump southwest of Jerusalem. It was where child sacrifice had been practiced by ancient Canaanites, and where in Jesus’ time people threw away their garbage. It was rotting, stinking, and germ infested. Basically the creepiest, least desirable place you can imagine.
If we want to understand why Jesus uses this image, it’s important to notice the context surrounding what he says. In the verses preceding this passage, the disciples had been arguing about which one of them was the greatest. In verse 37 Jesus picks up a toddler and tells the disciples that “whoever welcomes such a child in my name welcomes me.” The very next verse is John saying, “Well what about this guy this we saw casting out demons in your name, we told him to stop because he’s not one of us.” You can almost imagine Jesus doing a face palm. He tells John, “Don’t worry about it, he’s doing good things, and whoever’s not against us is for us!”
Jesus can see that the disciples are very concerned with who’s in and who’s out. Who’s worthy and who’s unworthy. Who’s the greatest and who’s least. Clearly this mentality can lead us to wanna exclude those we perceive as less important. So Jesus has some stern words for disciples who think this way. Presumably he is still holding the little toddler and warns the disciples about putting up barriers and stumbling blocks for little ones like these. God cares so much about the children, the vulnerable, the excluded ones, that it’d be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a millstone around your neck than answer to God for hurting one of these little ones. It’d be better for your hand to be cut off or your eye to be gouged out!
This doesn’t mean God will inflict physical punishments, but it does mean that Jesus is serious when it comes to not putting up stumbling blocks for people. And in addition to these warnings about consequences, Jesus also offers some very encouraging words. He says that you don’t necessarily have to go around casting out demons and doing miraculous works in his name to gain a reward. Simply offering someone a cup of water is good enough. A small act of kindness, a smile, or a silent prayer for someone can go a long way. God sees those small acts of kindness and is very glad. Jesus juxtaposes the harsh consequences of treating others poorly with rewards for doing the most simple things to help someone.
Today as part of our fall ministry spotlights, we’re highlighting the healing ministries of this congregation. Fred told us about things like healing prayer, the prayer chain, prayer shawl ministry, grief support, visitation ministry, recovery groups, and centering prayer—all of which promote healing and wholeness. They are all ways we can participate in those small acts of healing that are like giving a glass of water to a thirsty soul.
The first reading we heard today from James describes the Christian call to prayer and healing. The call to help those who are suffering and sick. To be there for one another. To support one another and care for each other. I am happy to see the ways we do this as a congregation, both what we do for those in our church and for those in the surrounding community. There are a lot of ways we are involved in healing and care ministries here. And Jesus assures us that even if it seems small and simple, it is important. Important to those we care for, and important to God.
It’s not just powerful acts of healing like casting out demons that please God. It is also sharing with those in need or offering someone a smile. It is being on the prayer chain or being mindful and engaged while we pray the Prayers of Intercession every Sunday. It is the genuine concern we have for those in our church when they lose a loved one. It is the way we come together to support grieving friends and show up for others in their time of need. In all these ways Christ works through us to bring his healing to the world. Never underestimate the power of God working through you.
And we do these things, not because we’re trying to earn God’s grace or favor, but because we’ve already been touched by God’s love and grace so much that we want God’s healing power to flow through us to help others. As Lutherans we know that it’s not a requirement that we do small acts of kindness in order to earn God’s reward or to avoid the consequence of hell. This text can certainly be interpreted that way, and the book of James is renowned for emphasizing works over grace. And sometimes it can be good to wrestle with that tension. But at the end of the day we know from the rest of scripture, that what Jesus is saying here isn’t about earning your way out of hell. He’s teaching his followers that real discipleship isn’t about being concerned with rewards and punishments. It’s about being so transformed that our concerns shift from ourselves to others. So that instead of trying to be the greatest, our concern is to welcome the excluded, offer healing to those who are suffering, and do small acts of kindness for the little ones. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is being saved by grace and manifesting the grace and love of God in our lives. Manifesting God’s healing by the way we reach out to heal. By the way we pray for one another. By the way we share the healing love of Christ with those in this community and beyond. Let us give thanks to God for the healing we have in Christ, and let us dedicate our lives to sharing God’s healing with the world.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Pastor Brian | September 29, 2024 | 19th Sunday after Pentecost
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