17th Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 21
Mark 9:38-50
"Are you Salt?"
38 John said to him, "Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us."
39 But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me.
40 For he that is not against us is for us.
41 ¶ For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward.
42 "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.
44
45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell.
46
47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,
48 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.
49 For every one will be salted with fire.
50 Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its saltness, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."RSV
Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ.
What kind of people does a church produce? Let me repeat that question, What kind of people does a church produce? That may sound like a strange question but in all reality that is the question which our gospel lesson asks in many different ways this morning. Does the church produce people who give a drink of cup of cold water to someone who is thirsty in Jesus’ name? Does the church produce people who lead others to sins? Does the church produce salt, pure and willing to preserve the goals and ideals of Jesus? Does the church produce people who practice what they preach? Does the church produce people of faith who are willing to put their faith into action in their own lives as well as the lives of others?
This lesson is asking us to look seriously at our conduct as members of the body of Christ, not only how we treat others, but also how we conduct our own individual lives in relationship to the teachings of Jesus and the commands of God as found in the 10 commandments.
To get a better understanding of what Jesus means in this text, I would like to look at four individuals,
"First a gal named Shirley. Shirley was a dedicated mother. Her children lacked nothing. If they were hungry, at the first sign of hunger, they were fed. If her children’s friend got a new toy, Shirley’s children got the same one.
They were the first at school when they got older to have their heir own car. They weren’t made to do anything, because once upon a time, Shirley’s father made her go to church. Shirley’s children don’t go to church, but they are good children, with good manners and good grades. They are good and bland--tasteless salt less. No faith, no belief in Christ. These children are good but selfish, looking out only for themselves.
Then there is Bill. Bill is retired now and as he says. He had it made. He worked hard all his life and as Bill says he is going to take it easy in retirement. Sit on the porch and rock in the rocker. Bill has been asked to do volunteer work for the Senior Citizen Center, but as he did with the people at the church, he told them to let the younger ones take their turn. He just wanted to rock and rock and rock. Bill lacks salt, too.
But Tom just the opposite of Bill. Tom is going to be somebody. He graduated early from high school. Got a good scholarship to college. He worked hard getting good grades. Now he is working hard for the company. They promised to make him rich and they are. But Tom lost something on the way up the corporate ladder, his wife and children. She left taking the children with her. He says she didn’t understand. But she says his job is an obsession. His children visit on every fourth weekend, for the afternoon. He really does love his job. Money is Tom’s way of keeping score concerning life. As far Tom is concerned, he is way ahead, running up a huge score. But Tom is salt less!!
Then there is Mage. Mage is the town gossip. She has just been part of a juicy and really slanderous gossip. But Mage has second thoughts about what she has done. She finds her pastor and asks if there is anything she can do to make amends. She says, "But Pastor, I will do anything to wipe the slate clear."
The pastor said , "Mage come here. In this basket are goose feathers. Let us go to the top of the bell tower." When they reached the top of the bell tower, the pastor pours the feathers into the wind and they scatter in every direction. "Now Mage," said the Pastor, "Now you go out and gather up all the feathers and bring them back to me and I will tell you what you can do to make amends for your lies."
The pastor returned to his desk and Mage ran out the door chasing the feathers. Many hours past, then the pastor heard a knocking at the door. It was Mage. She was crying and had only a few feathers in her basket. "I see what you mean, Pastor, I cannot undo what I have done."
"That is right, Mage," said the Pastor, "You cannot undo it, but from now on you can do good deeds and say good thing. While that will not undo what you have done, it will help to counteract the effect a little, and that will be the most that you can do. For all the rest, your lies, your spreading false gossip, you will have to trust God to forgive you. "
What kind of people does the church produce? I think all, it produces a Shirley, who is selfish, a Bill who is willing to let others do his duty, Tom who is only concerned about material things and a Mage who liked to talk about others.
But who does Jesus say out of these four will receive their reward? I think Mage, because she eventually saw herself as she really was and was willing to repent, to change her live, to try to live as Christ commands us to live.
Shirley, Bill and Tom didn’t see anything wrong with their lifestyles. They didn’t see how they had lost their saltiness, how they had lost what Jesus says is important for Christian living, love, kindness, faith, trust and belief. Shirley had a faith but she was too selfish, to self-centered to allow that faith to grow. So she didn’t pass it on to her children.
Bill saw the world now that he was retired as someone else’s. He didn’t have to be involved. He didn’t have to work, he didn’t have to care, or show kindness or compassion or love, "Let someone else do it." But does our life as a follower of Jesus ever end on this earth? Is there a retirement in Christian living?
What about Tom, money, fame, prestige were really his gods. They became so much his god that he forsook family, children and maybe his soul if he doesn’t repent and wake up.
But Mage, she was different. Somehow she felt she had done wrong. Somehow she felt guilty. Somehow she felt she had to make amends for the wrongs she had done. But she could never really take back those hurts, she could never take away the pain of her lies. She could never really undo all the misery she caused. However, she learned that by changing, by trying to do what was right, by being kind, compassionate, caring and loving, she could bring a measure of God’s grace into this world. And maybe in that way she could even the scale a little.
All through this lesson, Jesus is making the point that our lifestyles, our conduct, our attitude, our very way of life does make a difference as we live in faith. Jesus understands that we cannot be perfect, we will sin, but it is that attitude concerning sin which he is speaking about here. We are to be like Mage, willing to repent, willing to change, willing to say we are sorry, then try to live better. Jesus says this in some very harsh language when he says, "And if your hand causes you to sin, cut if off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off, it is better for you to enter life lame that with two feet to be thrown into hell." and he goes on and on.
But is Jesus really saying the church should be made up of maimed and lame people? I think not. But he is pointing out the seriousness of our sins, and he says we need to acknowledge these sins before Him and the Father so that we might receive forgiveness.
In Scotland many years ago, the farmers wanted to appease the evil spirits, so they left a corner in each field unplowed. They felt if they sacrificed this small part to these evil spirits, the remainder of the field would yield good crops. But what happened, the corner that was left to itself produced a lot of weeds, and those weeds scattered by the wind spread over the whole field and the whole field became full of weeds and the yield suffered.
So it is with our life in Christ. Jesus doesn’t want us to leave one part of our life empty so that sins can infect the rest of it. He wants us to do some thing about it. He wants us to get rid of the weeds, so that the whole field might be clean. Jesus doesn’t want one part of our life in the Devil’s hand, because eventually the devil will have our whole life. Jesus wants us to be realistic about life, to repent and change those areas which separate us from him, which drive a wedge between us and God.
This repentance happens each day when we are honest with ourselves and with God. Each day we come to him and ask him to forgive, to cleanse, to renew, to make right again. This happens for us in our daily prayer life. It happens here this morning as you come to his table to eat and to drink his body and blood given and shed for you. It happens each time you reconcile yourself with your neighbor when you are seeking forgiveness for a wrong from your neighbor and from God. Our lives are in a constant state of confessing, receiving forgiveness and the whole process is repeated again and again. Jesus is calling us from our compliance with sin, to a life that each day seeks God’s forgiveness for the wrongs that have been committed.
A professional piano player said, "If I miss a day of practice, I know it. If I miss two days, my friends know it. If I miss three days, my audience knows it. " He had to keep at it day in and day out. So with us in our life with Christ. We need to keep at it each day. Confessing, receiving forgiveness, loving our neighbor, worshiping Christ. Living in Christ is a day in and day out way of life for a Christian.
What kind of people does a church produce? I hope people who recognize the realty of life which sees the sin in our lives. They see the sin so that each day they need to confess, to repent, to receive forgiveness and the strength and courage to live in God’s everlasting grace.
Amen
Written by Pastor Tim Zingale September 25, 2006
