It seems as if scandals are breaking out all around us. Since scandal sells, not only will the media share the news, but the news gets amplified on social media. We eat it up because inquiring minds love juicy gossip. Unfortunately, scandalous news can create distrust and make us cynical about the way the world works. Cynicism also contributes to the growing courseness of our society. It seems that we’ve become numb to the way words and actions affect others.
When adults act without regard to the well-being others, they influence the way children behave. Sometimes adults forget that children are watching and listening to us. What they see and hear conveys certain messages about what is appropriate behavior. If they hear adults, especially politicians, belittle others, they will follow suit.
Over the last few weeks we’ve spent time in the Gospel of Mark. We’ve seen that Jesus’ disciples didn’t understand his mission. Since they envisioned Jesus leading them on a path to glory, they began to argue among themselves about who was the greatest. Since they couldn’t grasp what Jesus said about taking up their crosses and following him, they jockeyed for the best seats in the house.
In last week’s reading from Mark 9, Jesus told the disciples that if they welcomed the child he took in his arms, they welcomed him and the one who sent him. When Jesus said this, he had the most vulnerable and marginalized members of society in mind. Jesus was talking about the kinds of people he spoke of in Matthew 25. In that parable,, he spoke of God’s judgment being based on feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, welcoming the stranger, and visiting the prisoner.
Even after Jesus spoke about welcoming God by welcoming the vulnerable members of society, his disciples still focused on protecting their privileges and maintaining boundaries that excluded people from participating in God’s work in the world.
This morning’s reading from Mark 9 picks up the story with John approaching Jesus. He complains that someone from outside their group was casting out demons in Jesus’ name. While the disciples told the man to stop, they wanted Jesus to know about the man’s unauthorized activity. John and his colleagues wanted to protect their place in Jesus’ hierarchy, but Jesus turned the tables on them. He told his disciples that they didn’t need to stop people who were acting in his name because “whoever is not against us is for us.” In other words, Jesus wanted them to develop a welcoming spirit and not worry about boundaries and proper authorization.
Rather than focusing on who was properly authorized to act in his name, Jesus returned to his earlier message about how we can welcome God into our lives. He warned them against behaving in a way that put stumbling blocks in front of the “little ones” causing them to sin. While there are questions about who these “little ones” are, what Jesus is doing here is warning the disciples not to do anything that would scandalize vulnerable people causing them to sin.
Parents often learn the hard way that children not only watch and listen to them, but they love to imitate adult behavior. So be careful what you say and do in front of children because you don’t want to cause them to stumble. According to Jesus, it would be better if you tied a millstone around your neck and were thrown into the sea. Or if your hands of feet offend, then cut them off rather than enter the fires of hell with all their body parts intact.
This sounds rather drastic, but perhaps I can lessen the angst a bit by pointing out that Judaism didn’t permit self-mutilation. Besides, Jesus often used hyperbole to get across his point. Whatever is the case here, it’s clear that Mark wants us to take Jesus’ message about the nature of God’s realm seriously. He also wants us to consider carefully our witness in the world. That means making sure we understand the consequences of causing children, and those who might be easily influenced, to stumble.
Standing behind Mark’s report on Jesus’ conversation with his disciples is Mark’s belief that Jesus came into the world to proclaim and embody the realm of God. By doing this, the realm of God has collided with the realm of this world. For Mark the realm of this world is marked by the demonic, idolatry, scarcity, injustice, violence, and death, while God’s realm, which Jesus proclaims, is marked by the worship of God, along with abundance, health, justice, community, peace, and life itself. When Jesus talks about stumbling blocks or scandals, he reminds us that we live in the midst of a conflict zone. If we’re going to share in the fruit of God’s realm then we have choices to make.
The choice that Jesus puts before us has to do with the kind of witness we offer the world as the people of God. When the world looks at us, what does it see and hear? Do they see the love of God resonating in our lives or do they see something else, something that scandalizes them and maybe even causes them to sin?
One of the biggest questions church people ask has to do with why churches don’t grow like they once did. Most of us can remember a time when our churches were full of young families with children running around the buildings. We might have even been those children! So what has happened?
One of the answers involves the word scandal. In recent decades, the churches have been inundated with scandals, many of which involve the behavior of their clergy. While mainline denominations like the Presbyterians and the Disciples have instituted all kinds of trainings and accountability structures, the damage has been done. Too many people have been hurt by churches and they’re not open to our message.
Besides the church scandals, there is a general distrust of institutions. People don’t trust the government, including the judiciary. They don’t trust corporations or the entities that regulate them. So, it’s any wonder people don’t trust religious institutions. When it comes to my profession, we clergy are no longer counted among the most ethical and trustworthy of vocations.
I looked up the latest Gallup poll that ranks professions according to how people perceive them ethically and morally. Would you believe that only 32% of Americans put a very high level of trust in the clergy? We rank right behind chiropractors and right above labor union leaders. They’re the only profession that has seen an increase in trust. Fortunately, we’re not as far down the list as members of Congress who rank dead last at 6%. Still, to only get a 32% rating is not good. Now, if you want some good news, I can report that nurses rank number one, with 78% of Americans putting high trust in them.
What this means for us as church is that when it comes to our witness, we have a lot of work to do. That’s especially true when it comes to our witness among younger adults. Polling tells us that a majority of younger generations are disillusioned with what they see and hear from churches. So, the fastest-growing religious group in North America and Europe are the “Nones.” That is, people who no longer claim any religious affiliation. They may believe in God and even love Jesus, but they don’t believe churches have anything to offer them. One of the reasons for this, is that they’ve been scandalized by what they see and hear. Whether we think the criticism is fair or not isn’t the point. This is how we are perceived.
Overcoming this perception won’t be easy, but we can work on removing any stumbling blocks we’ve placed in front of the little ones. That will involve asking ourselves whether we are exhibiting the values of God’s realm or that of the world.
Our reading from Mark 9 ends with a somewhat obscure statement about being salt. After warning his disciples about the dangers of scandal when it comes to their witness, he tells them: “Salt is good; but if salt loses its saltiness, how will it become salty again? Maintain salt among yourselves and keep peace with each other.” In other words, be salty Christians!
When it comes to Jesus’ closing words, Harry Adams offers this helpful interpretation that connects this statement about salt with what he’d been trying to communicate to his disciples:
Jesus talked about the salt of the disciples, the qualities that would preserve and enhance their community. From all that Jesus said as he journeyed the way to Jerusalem with his disciples, it becomes clear that their saltiness involves being humble in their relationships with each other, giving of themselves for others, reaching out and accepting all the people around them. They are to “be at peace with one another.” [Feasting on the Word, B:4, p. 120].
So, as we get ready to go to the Table and share in the bread of life and the cup of salvation, may we embrace our calling to be salty people who are at peace with one another. If we do this, then we won’t place stumbling blocks before anyone and the world will know we are followers of Jesus because of our love for one another.
Preached by:
Dr. Robert D. Cornwall
Acting Supply Pastor
First Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)
Troy, MI
September 29, 2024
Pentecost 19B
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