“Great Welcome, Part 2 ” – Sermon on Sept 30, 2012
Scripture Lessons: September 30, 2012
Numbers 11: The rabble among them had a strong craving; and the Israelites also wept again, and said, “If only we had meat to eat!We remember the fish we used to eat in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”
Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, all at the entrances of their tents. Then the Lord became very angry, and Moses was displeased. So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you treated your servant so badly? Why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? Did I conceive all this people? Did I give birth to them, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a sucking child,’ to the land that you promised on oath to their ancestors? Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they come weeping to me and say, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ I am not able to carry all this people alone, for they are too heavy for me.”
So the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tent of meeting, and have them take their place there with you.17I will come down and talk with you there; and I will take some of the spirit that is on you and put it on them; and they shall bear the burden of the people along with you so that you will not bear it all by yourself.”
So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord; and he gathered seventy elders of the people, and placed them all around the tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; and a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, “My lord Moses, stop them!” But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!”
Mark 9: 38-47: “Teacher,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name. We told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me. Anyone who is not against us is for us. What I’m about to tell you is true. Suppose someone gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to me. That one will certainly not go without a reward.
“What if someone leads one of these little ones who believe in me to sin? If he does, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It would be better for you to enter God’s kingdom with only one hand than to go into hell with two hands. In hell the fire never goes out. If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It would be better for you to enter God’s kingdom with only one foot than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. If your eye causes you to sin, poke it out. It would be better for you to enter God’s kingdom with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell.”
Sermon Great Welcome, Part 2 by Rev. Doreen Oughton
Last week we heard the reading from Mark in which Jesus held a child, and told the disciples that when they welcomed one such as this – one who was vulnerable and powerless and unproductive – they welcomed Jesus and God who sent him. I wondered about what it meant to actually be welcoming, whether to children or other vulnerable people, or anyone who may worry whether about their welcome in a church. I wondered whether just saying we are welcoming was enough to help people feel welcome. Doesn’t it involve being actively interested in a person’s life and thoughts, feelings and needs? Today’s readings highlight what I consider to be another way of being a truly welcoming community – sharing leadership and being open to changing “the way we’ve always done things.”
You might be interested to know that the Gospel passage Neil read comes immediately on the heels of last week’s reading. So no sooner does Jesus tell the disciples that they ought to welcome people as seemingly insignificant as a child as they would wish to welcome God, the disciple John expresses concern that some guy outside their circle is trying to get in on the Jesus action, driving demons out in Jesus’ name. Talk about not getting it! Jesus reiterates the message of welcome– welcome his work in my name. Be grateful for someone helping the movement, even it’s a gesture as simple as giving you a drink of water. Anyone who helps in the work of the kindom will find a reward.
When Jesus goes on to talk about the sin of leading “the little ones to sin,” it’s not entirely clear to me who or what he is speaking of. It seems such a dramatic shift from what he was just talking about. The version we heard read today says, “causes these little ones to sin,” but other translations say “causes these little ones to stumble,” or “puts a stumbling block before these little ones.” When he says “the little ones,” it is also not clear to me who he is speaking about. Is it the child he just held, or vulnerable ones like the child? Is it the outsider demon-caster, or people like him, perhaps new to the belief that they can do things in Jesus’ name? It would be nice to be more clear, since the consequences are pretty severe! Worse than having a heavy millstone thrown around your neck and being thrown into the sea! I’m guessing that since the apostles seem to have such trouble absorbing Jesus’ messages, he states things pretty strongly in an effort to get through to them. And perhaps it doesn’t matter whether Jesus was talking about the children or the “outsider.” The message is the same – it is a terrible thing to try to keep people out of the community. It is not the way of Jesus, it is not the way of God. It is not the way of the kindom. Isn’t that what it means to put a stumbling block before someone, to make efforts to keep them away? Isn’t Jesus warning those who think they are “insiders,” but are trying to keep others on the outside, that they will find themselves the “outsiders” of the kindom?
Now I just want to make a point here about being thrown into hell, as Jesus says this three times in his warning – better to be one-handed, one footed, or one-eyed in the kindom, that have your whole intact body be thrown into hell. We might hear this as a warning that we will suffer eternal damnation in the fires of hell if we try to keep others out of the kindom. We may conclude that others who have put stumbling blocks before us in our faith will be themselves forever on the outside of the kindom, forever burning in hell. But I don’t believe this is the case. Jesus and his followers did not understand hell as a place of eternal damnation. The word in the Greek manuscript interpreted as “hell” is “gehenna.” It refers to an actual place outside of ancient Jerusalem, and it was considered an accursed place. In the time of Jesus, it was like a huge dump, full of waste, even cadavers. There were fires burning constantly to consume all the waste. Dogs were there scavenging, fighting each other for scraps and gnashing their teeth. At some time before that, it had been a place where child sacrifice had been practiced. So when Jesus wanted a contrast to “the kingdom,” this was a good one. In God’s beloved community, one would find peace, harmony, beauty, justice. In contrast, those who act selfishly, who hurt others, who chose to separate themselves from God and God’s will, well, they will find themselves in a place of destruction, ugliness, and violence. But one is not cast there forever, as we understand “forever.” Just like right now, when we find ourselves in a hell of our own making, God will lead us out if we want. If a person then put stumbling blocks in front of others, followed their hand or foot or eye into sin and found themselves in Gehenna, God will likewise lead them out when they want, as long as they will follow, as long as they will do what it takes. So know that these comments of Jesus are not warnings about eternal damnation, but warnings about heading down a path that leads to a disgusting, horror-filled place. Who wants to go there?
As for what it means “to put a stumbling block” in front of the little ones, well perhaps that is something we must ponder for ourselves, both as individuals and as a church community. Does it refer to the times we avoid speaking the truth against injustice because we want to be liked, we want to avoid making waves, and so refuse to stand with the vulnerable. Does it refer to when we are so concerned with our own ease, with our own notions about how things ought to be done that we close our ears and minds to those who suggest something that might stretch us? Does it refer to our attachment to our creature comforts that causes us to close our eyes to the cost of them to others or to the earth?
In our reading from the Hebrew scripture, we have followers of Moses concerned about people stepping into his role – prophesying in God’s name. Moses is as unconcerned as Jesus was. He scolds them, “would that everyone be touched with God’s spirit and prophesy.” So Moses’ message is just the same as Jesus’. Don’t try to limit this community. Don’t decide who ought to be doing what. Don’t try to limit the Spirit of God to fall where it will, to call who it will. Be open to it. Be grateful for it.
I also wanted to include this reading because I just love, love, love the story of Moses’ exasperation, and his argument with God. He hears God’s people crying, and his heart goes out to them. They are sick of this manna, manna, manna, every day, every meal, year after year after year. They long for variety, for fruit and garlic, for fish and meat. Moses feels compelled to do something about it, but then he feels completely overwhelmed. How can he possibly get meat for all these hundreds of thousands of people he is leading? So he takes his frustration to God. Are these MY people, he says. Why would you treat me this way, burdening me like this. The scripture tells us that God was also angry, but I think not at Moses. God is angry about the complaining of his people. I came across a great reflection this week about this passage, by Rev. Bonnie Scott. She points out the mistake in Moses’ argument with God. God never burdened Moses with providing food for the Israelites. God was frustrated with the people because God had given them sufficient food, but they decided it wasn’t enough. And Moses listened to them, got distracted from his own mission, and took it upon himself to make sure they got what they wanted.
Isn’t this a great cautionary tale for us? How often do we let the complaints of others, the will of others, become louder for us than God’s call? How often, even at work, do we give more attention to the squeaky wheel than we do to the task that is crucial to the big picture work? How often do we get so caught up in managing our children’s little squabbles, wearing ourselves out so that we can love them from a place of peace and depth, from a place grounded in God’s love? Rev. Scott says, “It is so easy to trade the call that God puts on our lives for the demands of people we meet along the way. They ask, and we don’t know how to refuse.” The danger of burnout is high when we do that. Look how freaked out Moses is. But, there can be a blessing in burnout in that it is a clear message that we CANNOT take on the work of the kindom on our own. We need God, and we need other people. This becomes clear to us when we are exhausted and irritated or depressed and overwhelmed.
There is another danger in getting sidetracked from our call from God to engage in people-pleasing, and that is the danger of settling for dreams that are too small, that don’t further the kindom. Rev. Scott says, “Moses and Israel could only think of one thing – meat for tonight, but God dreamed of a whole Promised Land flowing with milk and honey.” We may feel deprived when we see nothing but manna, day after day, meal after meal. But we are asked to trust that God has provided enough, enough to get us to a promised land, a place and a time where every mouth is fed, when every slave is set free, when every tear is wiped away. For God, and maybe for us(?) nothing short of that will do. So yes, we need to welcome anyone we can to the work of building the beloved community, to the joy of welcoming God’s kindom come. May it be so.
