Mark 9:38-50 (NRSV)
Read Mark 9:38-50 on biblegateway.com
Verse 38John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us." Verse 39But 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. Verse 40Whoever is not against us is for us. Verse 41For 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.
Verse 42"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. Verse 43If 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. Verse 45And 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. Verse 47And 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, Verse 48where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.
Verse 49"For everyone will be salted with fire. Verse 50Salt 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."
Devotion
You have to hand it to the disciples. After all, they were only trying to preserve Jesus' good name. How often have we tried to preserve the good name of Jesus and in so doing only set up barriers causing others to fall?
Barriers are often erected with very good intentions. We wish to protect what we know. There is something comforting in a desire to preserve our heritage and traditions at a time when everything seems up for grabs. Jesus will have none of it and has harsh words about those who construct stumbling blocks that keep others away. This scares me, because I can easily identify with the disciples. I too want to protect the good name of Jesus.
But here is the thing. I’m a stumbling fool myself. The more I try to protect God’s good name the more it seems that I find myself stumbling—stumbling precisely over this Jesus. This Jesus who invites us to feed the hungry, love our enemies, and forgive our brothers and sisters over and over again. (Please Jesus you can't mean my sister do you? Now that’s just going too far!) Day by day I keep stumbling over Jesus and that's really my only hope. Because this Jesus is the only one who will pick me up again and put me back on the path of abundant life.
Prayer
Loving God, you have already given me a rich reward. I bear your name and am marked with the sign of the cross of Christ forever. Help me to live each day in that promise as you guide me along the path of abundant life. Amen.