“A Grassroots Revolution!”

Karen Sloan 26/09/2021

Readings - Mark 9:38-50

The gospel reading today is one we might want to leave behind. A reading that can be misconstrued, if taken literally, but has so much to say to us if we don’t.  And I know we continue to think that perhaps we are too old and too tired to respond to the call being presented here.  But each day is a chance to get it right, as Jodie Mitchell sings, or at least to reframe how we operate in the world, even at 70, 80 or 90, or 60 in my case.

An overwhelming thought really, when many of our contemporaries seek the caravan for a long trip. When listening to the radio one day, pre Covid, mind you,  I heard an older couple being interviewed, who had spent 2 years travelling around Australia.  When asked why they did it, their reply was profound.  After retirement what else were they going to do!! What else, I could give them a few ideas.  But others choose, not to travel, but to hunker down and look after only their own. As if only their own are of value.

Jesus didn’t look after just his own, or only listen to his own.  As the late John Shelby Spong said,

“When any human group decides that they can define God, the outcome is always predictable. The “true faith,” once defined, must then be defended against all critics, and it must also then be forced upon all people—“for their own good, lest their souls be in jeopardy.”

 Rather

“The task of religion is not to turn us into proper believers; it is to deepen the personal within us, to embrace the power of life, to expand our consciousness, in order that we might see things that eyes do not normally see.”

In fact it is to see the other, to see God in the other, and to see that the other can act for God just as much as we can.

This acknowledgement, that the way of Jesus can be found as much outside the church as in the church, is the subject of Mark`s reading today.  At least the first part.

We initially find the disciples complaining to Jesus about some strangers, who are trying to claim they are healing in Jesus` name without being part of his inner circle. The disciples react with fear and jealousy and seem to have lost sight of the kingdom of God. Instead they are focussed on their own power and territory. Jesus rejects this insular approach, insisting that `he who is not against us is for us`.

God`s prophets will not always speak our language, pray our prayers or look like us, and they may be young or old. But they can be engaging in the same mission we are, a mission to stand beside the least in society, to stand up for  equality and compassion, economic justice and sharing, to service rather than domination, and to nonviolence and peace. The good news from Jesus is that even by giving a cup of water we can participate in this kingdom of liberation on earth. Bringing God’s kingdom into the light.

Yet often Christians think the opposite - `He who is not with us is against us`. Many forget that the Christian community is not an exclusive club and doesn`t have an exclusive right over the practice of justice and compassion or the presence of God.  God is everywhere. It is the message the disciples just couldn`t get. It is the message that Christians often distort, to our detriment, and to the detriment of others.

Point number one, and it is pointed!

The second part of the reading is quite different from the first. It echoes with images of intentional drowning, self mutilation and permanent residence in hell, surrounded by fire -  that are a little confronting.  Some believe they may have been independent sayings and drawn together by Mark in the story of Jesus` journey to Jerusalem, where he teaches about the radical cost of discipleship.

It shifts the focus to the community of faith and the responsibility we have to those most vulnerable in our midst. The writer starts with a wider view and the disciples, and then narrows it to us. If we can`t live the way of Jesus, how can we criticise those who follow the way outside our community!

A child is mentioned in this part of the story, but we shouldn’t think of it as innocent and cuddly. Rather as many scholars attest, children in the ancient world were often poor and marginalised. Dominic Crossan would say, `the silent nobodies`. Jesus is reminding us about our responsibilities.  We cannot receive him, until we first embrace the people this child represents, both inside and outside the community.

The reading then really turns very sour. The bad news becomes very bad for us, and in some ways reminds us of the things we hear in Sharia law, cutting off of the hands and feet if we have sinned. They may reflect a tradition in Mark that dealt with people in this way. We also get a picture of hell and of unending fire.   

Did Jesus really say that?  Well, scholars are not sure. What we do know, however, from research into the historical Jesus by Crossan is that Jesus was a nonviolent activist, in opposition to the violent empire of Rome, and that he preached love and forgiveness. We also know that as the gospels were being written, over time each one took the stories of the tradition and increased the rhetorical or verbal violence in them to make a point. Mind you I can’t imagine Mark’s story getting any more violent than this is.  The increase in verbal violence culminates in the most violent book of the bible, Revelation. Which is a surprise to many.

So what do we do with this second half tirade?  Well, we read over it and understand the violence metaphorically, but with a lot of uneasiness. However, that should not distract us from the message. Transforming society will need to start from the ground up if it is going to take root, and it starts with us, the community of faith. The vocation of justice and compassion and peacemaking must begin with us. And here the writer of Mark’ gospel makes it plain, Jesus is not pussy footing around! Get with the program!

At the end of the reading there is an image of salt. Bill Loader links salt with peace. Salt has integrity and wholeness. Being at peace with one another is being whole. He suggests that it is not so much that the salt ceases to be salt but that it becomes contaminated by additions over time, dirt, stones etc, so that it becomes useless.

If we look at others and label their witness as unacceptable because they don’t have the right credentials, they in turn will be looking at the salt we display. Jesus is saying it is our salt rather than some one else`s that needs attention.

This is so relevant for today when we live in a multicultural, multi-faith world, when the many ideas about fairness and justice our secular society is embracing are things that the church still pulls down or denies.  As though we are a club that has a hard time opening up.

Today, we can’t think we have all the answers. Or that we are the sole purveyors of God`s way in the world. Or that only people within the club are of value and so become insular.  Other faith traditions or people with no outward faith can equally reveal the kingdom of God to us all, just as they and we can distort the message. The choice is there. And has been over the centuries.

For just as we heard Jesus saying that his message can be carried by anyone with open hearts to hear and act, so it is also that violent and unjust acts have been done in his name. Jesus is non-violent, but half the bible is not. The book of revelations has been used to justify terrible acts of violence against people outside the Christian community when the context of the text is ignored. Or is taken literally!

That is our contaminated salt.

So how to conclude this most challenging of readings.

It is clear that a vocation of peacemaking and reconciliation and justice and compassion must begin within the household of faith, us. But it is not restricted to that. We have to raise our eyes outward to those around us answering the call. We can find the way for Jesus all around us if we look. God is not limited to those who prescribe a few words on a Sunday, but those who act in a life giving way every day.

So on this Sunday let’s begin a grassroots revolution that that doesn’t have an in group and an out group. But just a group trying to make the world and ourselves better.

Amen