The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, September 28th, 2009

The Rev. Dr. Katharine C. Black, preaching
Esther 7:1-6,9-10; 9:20-22
Psalm 124
James 5:13-20
Mark 9:38-50

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. AMEN.

"Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will, by no means, lose the reward." The disciples were upset and whining that someone else was casting out demons in Jesus' name, although not following us." They were complaining that other people weren't like them, and being authentic followers. The others' way wasn't as special, as good, as brand-named, as just like us, or actually one of us, to count. This is a variation of the only way to be a follower of Christ is my way. Unless you are a real -here we fill in the blank with our own pet personal favorite discipleship group, one excluding other groups, and including us as right-actioned, right-discipled, and truly special in Jesus' eyes. Disciples to be right must be like me, just like me. In all eras, in all groups, in an eternity of people, we want to say that my team is better than your team. It's particularly prevalent among religious groups, but schools, organizations of many kinds, and other affinity groups, are as prone to this attitude. We know the best, rightest, most authentic, most whatever, and that's what makes my group, not only best, but surely better than your group. It gets old, that insecure over-bearing confidence, and Jesus apparently found it a tedious attitude as well.

Jesus articulates a pretty low bar. "For no one who does a deed of power in my name soon after will be able to speak evil against us." Then the weak criterion for being "one of us" - "whoever is not against us is for us." These are not super-committed folk, but people not committed to Jesus and his vision for the realm of God, not followers, but not active opponents of Jesus' way. And how much do they have to do, to be counted- a cup of water, not much, not expensive in time or money, just a little something.

Then there are these dire things that could happen to anyone who gets in the way of the weakest of people who might be trying to follow. It's a horrific list, unless it is dark humor and exaggerated. What could happen to us if we get in the way? It'd be better to have a stone around our necks and be dropped in the ocean. It'd be so much better if we get in the way, to cut off our offending hand than be flung into hellfire. It'd be better to cut off a foot and be lame than to get in the way. It'd be better to rip out and eye and be half blind, than to be tormented in hell forever by flames and eternal worms. It'd all be disgusting, but so much better than to be a sinner, to get it wrong, and to be an obstacle to anyone else, even the weakest and least.

I can see the headlines now, "Jesus for hand/foot chopping and eye ripping. Be a real Christian, pop out your eye here." Maybe not, but isn't that what he says?

Who does get in the way of the least, the little ones? Who is apt to sin? Well, actually, each of us, and I'm pretty sure, all of us. "Every one will be salted with fire." That means something like "everyone will be larded with, or interleaved with, or doused with fire, or temptations. Everyone, everything ordinary, will be exposed to; will be challenged by hard challenges. Then Jesus shrugs to say, "have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another." Just be regular, be ordinary, and get along with others.

This whole passage sounds to me like either wry Jewish humor, or exasperated mocking vividness to say to the guys, "Just stop. We're not going to talk about who among you is the greatest. We're not going to push out people who do our work but aren't in our group. C'mon, be at peace with one another." If it gets old and wearying for us, it was discouraging and very old for Jesus.

Repeatedly the disciples want to be assured that they are in the most in-group, AND that others aren't. We know these religious arguments. They are among the biggest turn-offs to any, each, and all religions. You can't be an authentic "one of us" if you eat meat on Fridays, if you ever eat pork or shellfish, if you drink alcohol, if you don't cover your shoulders or head when you pray, or if you're married or -here we may each pick our own favorite rules of being in and more important, rules of being out. We've all wanted guarantees of being in, almost as much as we're eager to have there be guarantees for those who are out.

For some groups, it may be ok to pick groups to be in and out based on some narrow selection criteria. I have a friend who only plays scrabble with those who can spell at least as well as she can, or it's not much fun for her. Fine. Some people will only compete with those they know they can beat, while some only compete with those who will stretch them. Obviously political correctness has made even the concept of in-groups and out-ones, somewhere between a risk and a joke. I had a friend who was interviewing for the SEC years ago. He was sent around the country to interview for young recruits, and every year the criteria for selection grew narrower. He used to say in exasperation that he was to interview for "one-legged Aleuts." My friend was not making a disparaging remark about the fitness for Securities work about people differently-abled by having only one leg, and he was surely not casting aspersions on the fitness of Aleuts or people of Aleutian descent. He was conveying weariness at the foolishness of trying to find the most in-group, but everyone will be salted with fire, so be at peace with one another. Jesus here gets pretty exaggerated and exasperated in the worry of "what'll happen if any of us turns out to get in someone else's way." Will we? Sure. Will each of us? Sure, Will all of us? Sure. Are we supposed to then protect ourselves from that risk of being an obstacle to a weak follower, a timid believer trying to be on Christ's path by ripping out an eye, or off  a hand or foot or whatever? C'mon. We are indeed fortunate that there are not orders of Sisters of the One Eyed All-Seer or Holy Brothers of the Most Lame. Aside from food regulations prohibiting foods that are a risk in a particular place, what foods going in or clothes have to do with discipleship is still unclear to me. Conservation and eating green and local make sense to me for other reasons. It may well be that eating beef eats not only the beef, but also the food that would otherwise feed many people, so my eating one unit of beef causes there to be many fewer units of some food for many others is indeed a persuasive thought. If everyone had enough to eat, there would be no other reason not to eat meat other than we might not want to eat creatures. That argument can soon wander into silliness if we then can't eat grains either and so must eat spun sunbeams or raindrops.

Jesus is talking about who can follow in his work and how they'll do. Everyone is welcome, and we'll all be limited by our humanity. If the way of being in or out is shown in comic ways, and if they don't get fierce or dangerous, then it's probably just a reflection of human nature. When the considerations of in and out cause limits or prohibitions on the other, then they're risky.

Jesus exaggerated in his taking on this topic. It's not easy in our time or any time to take some of the concerns about "fitness for ministry" seriously. Here's what Jesus longs for us to get to: the ministry, the work, the call to service for others, community making, and aiming for the realm of God. Esther's perseverance and risks for her people are one sort of service. She prayed in her own way and she challenged the opposing political authorities. The psalmist prayed that if God hadn't helped them in their troubles, they'd have been out of luck, but "Our help is in the name of the Lord." The letter of James reminds people that if they're suffering, they should pray, and if they're cheerful, they should give thanks and praise. These are all useful, familiar, standard modes of both prayer and discipleship. Each of them describes a way to do, rather than saying if you do this, you're in, or if you don't do this, you're out.

Yesterday we had a call to clean up the parish spaces and called to our neighbors to join us in their own cleaning out. That they didn't hear our invitation may say something about people not understanding our invitation, it being a beautiful day to be out and about, or a myriad of other possibilities. None of them is the less for not being with us. The people who did come, and some of them must be very stiff this morning, because look at that dumpster outside and consider how much carrying was done by those who came. A neighbor joined us just to work, Dignity and St. John's people slaved for hours, and then managed to keep out of the way of S/S's Bread. Who was doing ministry? The people serving the hungry, or the people carrying out used equipment and old stuff, the people making decisions, the people sorting, tidying, and doing miraculous reorganizing? Or the people who, full of joy, came to be blessed in their union and stepped around the dumpster to kneel at the altar of Our Lady of Peace. While I might like to give the work I did do here as the most worthy, and the work others here did was next most worthy, and least worthy those not here, I'd guess we all have salt in ourselves, and will have, so let's be at peace with one another and neither rank our work for God for us to be the greatest or least, nor the most worthy of being real disciples or not. Maybe the person who ordered and paid for the pizza, and urged everyone to stop working for a bit and sit down, was the most worthy, but maybe even awarding that gold star is not in my job description. There's plenty of work for all, and all did plenty of work, each of us our own work. There's that comfortingly low bar, "Whoever is not against us, is for us". Is that not a worthy model for us? There are days that simply not being against the mission of God is all we can muster, but if that's enough, we're all ok, all the time, and eternally. Jesus is dark and biting in his weariness with this whole topic, rather than being either the plaster Jesus, or the good shepherd Jesus. Apparently, even he wearied of religious factionalism, carping, and trying to appropriate him exclusively to one team. We can sympathize, but then be comforted that we are doing it right enough and that he'll count that in all of us, forever. Good News.

© Katharine C. Black 27 September 2009