The 17th Sunday after Pentecost
Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29 • James 5:13-20 • Mark 9:38-50
"John said to [Jesus], "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us." But Jesus said, "Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 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. "If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched. For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."
Who gets in? Who gets out? Who determines who is in? Who has the authority to say who is out? All of us have a tribe, a family, a group of friends…a church…where we band together, where we have to make decisions about who gets in and who goes out.
High school is definitely one of those times when it is a big deal whether you are “in” or “out”. Which posse, which tribe one belongs seems as important as life and death. Mary knew this all too well—because she knew she no longer knew where she fit in. When her boyfriend Dean came out to her as being gay, Mary thought the best way to make sure he did not become excluded was to “convert” him back, and so they became sexually active. Mary knew Dean faced isolation if he came out at their Christian high school—complete isolation, complete loneliness. No more tribes for him any-more. So what should happen to Mary? She got pregnant. She couldn’t believe it! She was trying to be helpful and help Dean fit “in”, and now, she would be cast out just as much as he was. Where was God now? What should she do?
When two people at school found out about Mary being pregnant, two very different responses came out. Hillary Faye—popular, blonde, beautiful, the “perfect” Christian, a bible study leader—she prayed for Mary to repent from her “backsliding” ways, and confronted her to try and cast out the evil in her in Jesus’ name. Cassandra—piercings, tattoos and all, smoker, bad student—knew what it was like to not be “in.” Secretly in the bathroom, she would check in and talk with Mary about how she was feeling, and would visit her at home on the weekends—knowing no one was hanging out with her anymore.
Hillary could not believe that Cassandra this nobody was suddenly treating Mary as if she walked on air. She could not be hanging out with this person who was infecting this school with her sinfulness.
But Hillary did eventually come around to see: Mary had done something she regreted, but God was not far from her. God was right there in Mary’s womb. God drew near to her in that place in her where the pain and regret and fear were all tying her in knots. The love of Christ was not there in her being blameless or belonging to the right “in” group, that love was in the arms that gave Mary a hug; in the eyes that did not avoid her when she walked down the hall; and in the mouths that tried to speak to her with love.
Neither Hillar nor Cassandra were in charge of how they came to respond to Mary’s situation, as told in the film "Saved!" God moved in them, God poured out God’s Spirit in them to move them where God moves: not in setting up barriers, not in putting limits on where God is and where God isn’t. God stirred in them to see beyond being “in” or “out” , because they were all both “insiders” and “outsiders.” God stirred up God’s womb-ing blessing in Christ, to bear with and make lighter for Mary the weight of such a heavy load.
As we look at the church—who is “in”, and who is “out”? Who decides who is in charge? Who has authority to speak in situations like Mary’s? Where do we draw the line on who is “one of us” and who isn’t?
Jesus draws the line at his very self. Jesus is the authority who is in charge. We are not in charge—and thank goodness! Because of Jesus, our decisions about who is in and who is out go directly through him—not through our own ways; for left to ourselves we choose to separate who we deem to be “worthy” and “not worthy.” Jesus does not let even us get in the way of anyone coming to him and from doing deeds of power in his name. Jesus, who knows all of our hearts, blesses those who stumble through his wide embrace that wombs the whole world.
The Israelites in the wilderness thought they were in charge. Really, it was God. They thought they knew who could prophesy and who couldn’t. Eldad and Medad, they can’t prophesy, Joshua protests. The Israelites thought God owed it to them to feed them with something more tasty than manna, food more like what they had back in slavery. But God came down and lifted up the Spirit upon Eldad and Medad, and on the seventy elders. God raised them up to do what God could not do alone. God had the authority to bless all of these people with their gifts for ministry. Moses didn’t decide—God decided to gift the people with the Spirit, to bless them and equip them to share in the work of doing deeds of power in God’s name.
The disciples also wanted to be in charge. They wanted an agenda that was the virtual opposite of Jesus! They don’t want the power of Jesus’ healing extended to people who aren’t a true disciple like they are. The disciples after all, have earned their place, they believe—just as we believe we have, who have been following this Jesus in this place for so long. The disciples all expect to have prominence as followers of God’s very Son, and will have a place with him as he ascends to greater power. To all this, Jesus says, “Do not stop [those who cast out demons in my name who bring healing to others in my name]...Whoever is not against us is for us.” (Mark 9:39-40) It is not the disciples who have authority to say who can and cannot perform the work of Jesus; it’s Jesus who has the authority to put no barriers between himself and any who wish to join in doing powerful deeds that extend God’s healing wholeness to sinners. Jesus takes charge of the disciples not by making membership to the in-group the defining requirement for being a disciple. Following Jesus is more than just following the crowd, it’s about nothing stopping anyone from bearing the name of Jesus to share God’s generous, gracious mercy and forgiveness with all—whether they are “in” or “out”.
We do not direct our way as disciples—Jesus directs us. Jesus wants to give us the power to be bearers, rather than gatekeepers of his love for all—for backsliders, the broken ones…the ones bearing a cross. Jesus remakes the church by blessing not just the loyal few but by blessing anyone who “gives…a cup of water to drink” to the thirsty in Jesus’ name.
When we extend a hand of peace in Christ’s name to a stranger—Jesus has the authority to bless that deed of power as a sign that Jesus can bring us together in a way that nothing else can. When we pick up the phone or ring the doorbell of the lonely classmate or the forgotten neighbor in Christ’s name, Jesus has the authority to bless that deed of power as a sign that Jesus takes away any stones that keep us locked inside. And when we see someone express a spiritual gift of administration, artistry, evangelism, faith, hospitality, leadership, mercy, teaching, wisdom, writing, service….when we see such a gift and speak affirmation of that gift as a gift from God , we put Jesus in charge of the church—we put in charge Jesus who blesses everyone with gifts to share in the building up of the body of Christ!
Jesus is in the driver’s seat of the church and of our lives, and we are along for the ride. He is at work in us all, both in here, and out there. May we have the courage to follow wherever deeds of power done in his name may lead us. Amen.
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