Courage for Community

Rev. Kristi Denham
Congregational Church of Belmont
September 27, 2009

Every once in awhile I feel the need to take on some of the more difficult passages lurking in our scriptures. Today’s reading is a doozie! It can be divided into three parts. The first and last seem easily understood and wise. But the section in the middle, Mark 9:42-48, is over the top crazy!

But just because it’s crazy doesn’t mean we can’t wrestle some gift or blessing from its words. Like Jacob wrestled with his angel until he received his promise of blessing, I wrestled with this passage as if it were a messenger from God (and “messenger” is a translation of “angel”) until it offered me a blessing.

But first, let’s examine the first century world that Mark knew. The Gospel According to Mark was written shortly after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 C.E. The author (of whose name we can’t be sure) did not speak Aramaic or Hebrew and was not familiar with ancient Jewish custom or law. Scholars usually locate him in Syria or Italy and think he was a Gentile Christian. His Greek was not artistic or poetic so he was probably not a highly educated man.

The world he lived in was tenuous and chaotic. His church home was one of many newly formed house churches that were springing up all over the Roman Empire. Conflicts arose. The story of Jesus needed to be told. So Mark gave structure and form to the good news, the gospel. His was the first telling (at least as far as we know), the first full account of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Matthew, Luke and John all based their gospels on Mark. Did it happen just this way? We don’t know. The other gospel writers add many more stories to this briefest version of the tale. And they left some things out.

In this passage we find wisdom teachings that may or may not come directly from Jesus’ mouth. Other philosophers in the ancient world said similar things. For Mark these are teachings he feels will help his early church community to grow stronger and stay strong.

First, he answers the question: What do we do about people who say they follow Jesus, but aren’t with us? (“Us/Them” thinking has been around for a very long time!) Jesus’ answer, for Mark, is clear: “If they aren’t against us, they are for us.” Let people do what they can regardless of whether we are in the same camp or not. This is very helpful for those of us, as liberals, who are too sure we have the “right” way of seeing the world. I suppose it is good for our conservative brothers and sisters too. Remember, it is kindness and a cup of water given in the spirit of Love that is important. Whether we agree on specifics just isn’t essential.

The closing words of this passage, Mark 9:49-50, that tell us we are salted with fire, that we are meant to be the salt of the earth, spicy and true, is always a good reminder to live fully and creatively, offering our gifts to community so that God’s good will can be done in our midst.

But let’s get back to that middle section where we are told not to be a stumbling block to the “little ones.” And if a part betrays us we should cut it off. Yikes!

I see four possible responses:  First, we can throw it out. Second, we can take it literally. Third, we can try to find some psychological truth in it. And Fourth, we can examine it for symbolic meaning. Let’s take them one at a time.

First, if we throw this passage out altogether, we will be in good company. The Gospel According to Luke, which is clearly based on Mark, skips this passage altogether. And this would be my first choice as well.

Second, we can take it literally. Unfortunately, by the second century there were clearly those who chose this response. The theologian Origen, and many others, became “eunuchs for the kingdom of God.” Evidently that was the body part that gave them the most trouble.

By the early Middle Ages, excommunication had become a common means of removing unpopular individuals from the faith community. They were cut out of the body of  Christ. At a time when the church was the center of all political, economic and communal life, this punishment was particularly devastating. It meant you could not be married, nor your children be baptized. You could not work or participate in the life of the community in any way. You were ostracized from all social discourse.

Today there are those who resonate with a literal understanding of this passage because they are transgendered and feel that they were somehow born “wrong.” For them, the idea that some part of their body needs to be removed may make sense.

But for those who by accident of birth or life experience, are already blind or lame, this passage can only add insult to injury. God’s love is the first law and this passage must be put aside if it wounds in any way.

Our third possible interpretation of this passage is psychological (not common in first century civilization). Using a psychological understanding we might believe that there are character defects and personality traits that need to be rooted out or cut off. Although such an understanding might feel plausible, I have found that attempts to improve my nature by cutting off some character trait only creates more problems than it solves. Such qualities don’t magically disappear. They go underground only to surface later in bazaar and difficult ways.

Whatever qualities I possess that are real problems for me are best addressed first through clear eyed acceptance and then through gradual practice in changed behavior and plenty of prayer. Sometimes what I at first thought of as my negative traits have turned out , through creative exploration and guidance, to be strengths. The shadow is best healed by acceptance. Transformation, if needed, will follow in God’s time.

So cutting off parts of ourselves that cause us to sin does not make sense to me in psychological terms. Is there a symbolic meaning to this passage that might make sense of it for us?

Mark’s community was attempting to thrive in a world with very different values than its own. Money was a primary God of power. Power in any worldly form was considered more important than the spiritual and humanistic qualities taught by Jesus. Love and justice just didn’t hold a lot of significance in such a world of competition and conquest.

In a world like the first century Roman Empire some things were constantly challenging the new faith of the early Christians. And some of these things were just plain wrong and needed to be acknowledged as having no place in the community of the faithful.

It is amazing to me to see how much our 21st century world has in common with the time of the early church. Today the harsh realities of a competitive world ruled by the power of money and the worship of power is delivered right into our livingrooms every day by our televisions. There is a rudeness and meanness of spirit invading our homes and our lives that really needs to be stopped. We need to cut it out!

I’m in charge of the remote at home and I hate commercials so I have a habit of regularly flipping through all my way-too-many television channels. Children’s cartoons are full of mean, nasty people. Story lines divide the world into easy enemies and friends. Disney shows for teens use sarcasm and cruelty for laughs. News shows are vitriolic nightmares. And reality TV is appalling.

I blame it all on Jerry Springer! When watching human abusive behavior became entertainment we all lost. And we continue to lose as we are bombarded hourly with rude and violent programming.

Our children grow up to believe such behavior is funny and normative. If adults can use name calling and abuse to make a point, why are we surprised to see the escalation of bullying in our schools. Common decency is in desperate need of renewal.

This is not to say that poor behavior is new to our culture. Historians will assure us that over the top rude behavior goes all the way back, perhaps to the beginning of humanity itself. But television has made it seem normative rather than an aberration. This is a behavior we need to remove from our lives. We need to cut it off – cut it out!

I know that bullies and abusers are usually acting out of fear and a tendency to demonize the other to justify an absolute response. But is has got to stop.

We need to stop laughing, stop watching. The guilty pleasure in looking in on other people’s poor behavior buys ad time, sells the lie that we can accept this behavior. We can’t.

We need courage to build and maintain healthy communities. It took courage for each of us to walk into this church for the first time. Sometimes it took courage the second and third time as well. Would people be kind? Would we feel respected, and safe? In those moments we were the “little ones,” vulnerable, outsiders, wondering if we would be welcomed here. Our children continue to be the “little ones” who need to be assured and reassured that they are loved just as they are. One mean remark, one thoughtless comment, can devastate our little ones.

We do a pretty good job here of being sensitive to the importance of welcoming the stranger in our midst and of caring for our children. Mark’s gospel reminds us, as he reminded his community, we must live up to our higher standard in the law of love.

We need to remember that we are all one human family; that those who are not against us are for us.

We must be careful to be kind and especially thoughtful towards the “little ones” in our midst and “cut it out” if we have a tendency towards rude or abusive behaviors.

And we need to remember to be our own spicy real selves. We are salt for the earth. We bring flavor and preserve unity and compassion in ourselves and in others by being our own true selves.

It takes courage to stand up to the prevailing culture that laughs at others, uses name calling and rude behavior to influence public discourse by preventing meaningful dialogue.

It takes courage to stand up for children and for the oppressed who have no voice in a world defined by money and power.

It takes courage to reach out and stay connected with community, especially that first time, but also over and over again, to build bridges of understanding between ourselves and the “difficult” people in our midst and in our wider community.

It takes courage to trust that those who are not with us may not be against us.

It takes courage to truly be ourselves, to reveal ourselves to others, to be the salt of the earth we are created to be.

Community takes courage. Mark’s gospel attempted to help us see some of the challenges we will be facing. The first century church managed to survive and prosper. With courage, so will we.