Have you ever received one of those
offers in the mail that tells you that you can get a wonderful, one-of-a-kind
product absolutely for free . . . a product that you have been drooling for,
but just couldn’t allow yourself to spend that much money? You know what I am talking about. The letter tells you that the stupendous and
marvelous product is all yours . . . for free . . . all you have to do is to
jump through a few hoops. Jump through
the hoops and its yours . . . all yours.
Of course those hoops are pretty big hoops to jump through . . . some
are even flaming hoops. The product is
free if you do everything that it says in the fine print.
Unfortunately, few of us ever read the
fine print before we jump in with both feet.
The result? Well, we get tired .
. . we get frustrated . . . we get angry . . . and, then we finally throw up
our hands in disgust and call it quits.
Why? Because that free product is
not “free” . . . there are a ton of barriers blocking the way for us to get
it. A whole lot of stipulations. Lots of hoops. The company offering the product hopes that
we get frustrated and quit . . . usually long after they have gathered all the
information they want for us. They keep
their product, we get nothing.
This week we continue the conversation
that Jesus is having with his disciples.
Remember last week’s conversation . . . well, the pattern
continues. The disciples have been
informed about Jesus’ passion and resurrection . . . which they poo pooed. Then there is the conversation about who
would be the greatest . . . which Jesus corrects them and demonstrates with a
small child the correct way. But, the
disciples don’t get it . . . they don’t understand what it is that Jesus is attempting
to teach them . . . what it means to be a disciple. They appear, at least in the Gospel of Mark, to be clueless, confused
or even resistant to what Jesus is trying to teach.
For example, the disciples go into
major finger pointing when they complain to Jesus that there is a person out
there who is going around exorcising demons in Jesus’ name . . . but, they cry
out, he is not one of us. So the
disciples told him to knock it off.
Jesus tells them to knock it off.
He tells them: “Do not stop him. No one who does a miracle in my name can in
the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for
us.” Jesus does not care for
this behavior . . . this finger pointing and power playing . . . especially
from his disciples. Instead Jesus wants
them to pay attention to their own behavior.
Basically the disciples are telling
this individual that if he is not one of “them” then he cannot play the game .
. . he has to be on their “team”. To be
on their “team” he has to go through the same training that they have gone
through . . . pay the same prices . . . jump through the same hoops. If he is not willing to do all this, then he
cannot be on the “team”. If he is not on
the “team”, then he needs to stop performing the miracles that he is
performing. As far as the disciples are
concerned it is a cut and dry issue.
Now, if I was that guy—who already has
the power to do what the disciples are doing—I probably will not jump up and
down to join their “team”. He already
has the prize . . . he is already doing good works . . . already performing
miracles . . . and, though he is not one of the disciples, he gives the credit
to Jesus. But, the disciples insist that
he jump through the hoops. They place
stumbling blocks across the path . . . the path of faith.
The problem is not the guy doing the
miracles, the problem is the disciples.
Jesus recognizes this and he turns the table on the He warns them that
they are the ones in danger of doing harm.
Jesus points out that it is not those on the outside who are greatest
threat, but those who are on the inside.
Remember how it is when a person points a finger at another . . . there
are always fingers pointing back at the pointer. Jesus proposes to the disciples that maybe .
. . when they consider the situation . . . they are the stumbling blocks that
are getting in the way of the gospel . . . getting in the way of the “good
news”.
Do you remember all the issues that
the Apostle Paul dealt with in the early church? Remember all the arguments, fights, and schisms
. . . the sense of competition . . . that were going on as the faithful debated
over who could use Jesus’ name, who is right, who has authority? The early church had plenty of problems and
growing pains as they struggled with persecution, dealt with conflicts over
Jewish-Gentile relations, and all of the growing pains of being an infant body
of faith seeking an identity and faithful witness. The bottom line was that Christian groups
disagreed with one another, contested each other’s claims, and even sought to
quiet one another through censure or just plain kicking the offending parties
out.
Finger pointing and power plays have
no business or place in the message of faith that Jesus offers to all. In fact, Jesus warns that this behavior—these
stumbling blocks—can do more harm than good, especially upon those who are on
the outside looking in. There is no good
that comes from infighting and self-righteous proclamations about others. Thus it is that Jesus turns the focus not on
others, but ourselves . . . to our own behaviors, the ways that we speak and
live the “good news”, and the ways that we place stumbling blocks in the way of
that “good news”.
Jesus is talking about the danger that
his own followers can do. In verses 42
through 47 the Greek word—shandalon,
which is an obstacle that people trip over and is usually translated “stumbling
block”—is used in each verse. Here Jesus
is being clear . . . and blunt . . . that it is his own followers that can do
more harm and that it would be better for them to drown than to cause that harm
to the “little ones”.
The role of those who follow Jesus,
especially those who were the closest—the disciples, is a huge responsibility
thanks to their intimacy with Jesus.
They are looked upon as role models . . . people look to them to show
them the way, they follow their examples, and are susceptible to their words
and practices, and are probably quite vulnerable to their critiques and
conflicts. In other words, they are
quite impressionable. Thus it is that
the disciples—and any follower of Jesus—needs to not be careless in their
faith. They need congruency between the
words that they say and the actions that they take.
Jesus graphically describes these
stumbling blocks by using parts of the body—precious parts of the body . . .
hands, feet, and eyes. These are parts
of the body that we hold dear . . . parts that we think we need. With these images Jesus makes it clear that
stumbling blocks are not other people or things outside of us—they are a part
of us. These “stumbling blocks” might be
events, practices, rituals, “the way that we have always done things”, or our
own pet causes. When the things that we
hold dear and believe lead to abundant life instead become obstacles to others
seeking the faith, it leads to a fate worse than severing or maiming those body
parts—a death of unquenchable fire.
Jesus suggests that it is better to lose those body parts than to burn
in hell.
Once again, Jesus turns the tables . .
. and, considering the state of today’s “church”—that “church” being the
“church universal”—in our nation and society; one has to consider if we—the
“insiders”, have done more harm than good.
Remember the Apostle Paul and all the headaches he was dealing with
concerning all of those new church starts . . . remember all those issues he
was having to straighten out . . . all that finger pointing, posturing, and
power plays? The “church” hasn’t changed
a whole bunch since then when it comes to those issues . . . we are still doing
it.
I think that the number one reason
that people are not flocking to churches hinges on those people telling the
“church” that those who fill the pews are hypocrites. That they encounter more stumbling blocks
that keep them from being fully embraced into the faith than they fell
welcomed. That they see it as being “our
way or no way” when it comes to being a part of the “church”.
So, what are the stumbling blocks we
place in the way of those we encounter on our journey of faith? What parts of ourselves are we using that
creates an obstacle to keep others out?
What are we hanging onto that is more of a hindrance than a help to
others seeking a relationship with God?
It is easy to point fingers at others and blame them, it is more
difficult to look inward and recognize our own obstacles.
Jesus calls upon everyone to come into
an intimate relationship with God . . . to come as they have been created. In his words there are no hoops to jump
through, no obstacles to get around, and nothing to make one stumble. There is no fine print . . . no hidden
costs. It is pure grace, plain and
simple. The question becomes, why aren’t
more people stepping into this intimate relationship with God? Could it be . . . stumbling blocks of our own
design? We will never know until we
truly pray and discern our own lives of faith.
Amen.
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