Sermon - Mark 9:38-52 – Salted and Singed
PREACHER: Pastor Paul Cannon
PREACHER: Pastor Paul Cannon
Good Morning!
I want to start by asking you all a question that I want you to consider as you go throughout your day and that question is “Is Jesus on your side?” And I ask that question because in our story today, the disciples keep trying to get Jesus to play on their team. They want Jesus on their side.
Last week, we heard the disciples were arguing with themselves about who was going to be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven – who would get to sit the closest to Jesus when they took their heavenly thrones. And Jesus responded with a line that might be familiar to many of you. He said “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” The disciples come looking for the best way to find glory and Jesus responds that God’s glory can only be found on the other side of the line – the lowest of places in the world. The least glorious.
Our story today is sort of part two of this conversation. The disciples come up to Jesus with a problem. They encountered a man on the road who was preaching and driving out demons in Jesus name, but this man – whoever he was – was not one of them! Now, we don’t know much about this outside preacher, but I think we can safely assume a few things about him. (1) He doesn’t seem like somebody the disciples know very well and (2) It’s clear that they don’t trust him.
He was an outsider to the group – not a true disciple at all. So the “real” disciples ordered him to stop immediately! He clearly wasn’t properly credentialed to be performing exorcisms; he hadn’t been vetted; he probably went to one of those heathen churches like Willow Creek instead of the Bethany Lutheran! Ha!
The disciples draw a line in the sand here, with the true followers on one side and this rogue preacher on the other. So they return to Jesus, feeling pretty darn good about themselves– maybe looking for a pat on the back from their Lord and Savior – and instead, they get scolded again. “Do not stop him!” Jesus said, “No one can use my name to do something good and powerful and in the next breath cut me down. If he’s not an enemy, he’s an ally.”
So much for the disciple’s line because Jesus – as was his custom – puts himself on the other side of it. So I’ll go back to my original question. Is Jesus on your side?
I think that when we try to make distinctions between each other – when we draw our lines in the sand, when we place all too convenient labels on people – Jesus usually puts himself on the opposite side that we want him to be.
My first year out of college I had an opportunity to learn this first hand. I had signed up for a year of volunteer work through an organization called Lutheran Volunteer Corps, and my placement for the year was in a Minneapolis inner city church called Redeemer Lutheran. And there, I helped run an after school program for kids in the neighborhood.
I was often in charge of leading games right away, and on one particular day we were running around in a field behind the church. And because we were doing so much running around, I took my wallet out of my pocket and set it on the ground somewhere. Now – a quick disclaimer – leaving your wallet out in the middle of a field in the heart of the city is a bad idea! (Who knew?) It’s quite likely that somebody will take it. So I don’t recommend it!
I want to start by asking you all a question that I want you to consider as you go throughout your day and that question is “Is Jesus on your side?” And I ask that question because in our story today, the disciples keep trying to get Jesus to play on their team. They want Jesus on their side.
Last week, we heard the disciples were arguing with themselves about who was going to be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven – who would get to sit the closest to Jesus when they took their heavenly thrones. And Jesus responded with a line that might be familiar to many of you. He said “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” The disciples come looking for the best way to find glory and Jesus responds that God’s glory can only be found on the other side of the line – the lowest of places in the world. The least glorious.
Our story today is sort of part two of this conversation. The disciples come up to Jesus with a problem. They encountered a man on the road who was preaching and driving out demons in Jesus name, but this man – whoever he was – was not one of them! Now, we don’t know much about this outside preacher, but I think we can safely assume a few things about him. (1) He doesn’t seem like somebody the disciples know very well and (2) It’s clear that they don’t trust him.
He was an outsider to the group – not a true disciple at all. So the “real” disciples ordered him to stop immediately! He clearly wasn’t properly credentialed to be performing exorcisms; he hadn’t been vetted; he probably went to one of those heathen churches like Willow Creek instead of the Bethany Lutheran! Ha!
The disciples draw a line in the sand here, with the true followers on one side and this rogue preacher on the other. So they return to Jesus, feeling pretty darn good about themselves– maybe looking for a pat on the back from their Lord and Savior – and instead, they get scolded again. “Do not stop him!” Jesus said, “No one can use my name to do something good and powerful and in the next breath cut me down. If he’s not an enemy, he’s an ally.”
So much for the disciple’s line because Jesus – as was his custom – puts himself on the other side of it. So I’ll go back to my original question. Is Jesus on your side?
I think that when we try to make distinctions between each other – when we draw our lines in the sand, when we place all too convenient labels on people – Jesus usually puts himself on the opposite side that we want him to be.
My first year out of college I had an opportunity to learn this first hand. I had signed up for a year of volunteer work through an organization called Lutheran Volunteer Corps, and my placement for the year was in a Minneapolis inner city church called Redeemer Lutheran. And there, I helped run an after school program for kids in the neighborhood.
I was often in charge of leading games right away, and on one particular day we were running around in a field behind the church. And because we were doing so much running around, I took my wallet out of my pocket and set it on the ground somewhere. Now – a quick disclaimer – leaving your wallet out in the middle of a field in the heart of the city is a bad idea! (Who knew?) It’s quite likely that somebody will take it. So I don’t recommend it!
But I did it anyways, and then proceeded to make the regrettable mistake of forgetting to pick up my wallet before we walked the kids back inside. It took me a good 5 or 10 minutes of being inside the building with the kids before I realized my mistake. And as soon as I figured it out, I raced back outside – all in a panic – to search the place where I had left my valuables.
I finally reached the spot where my wallet had been – only to find that it was gone. My heart sunk. If you’ve ever lost your wallet you know the feeling of sheer desperation, which in my case was compounded by the embarrassment of sheer stupidity. So I searched the area desperately – high and low – until I noticed a man with a shopping cart in the alley near the dumpster. And something told me that this man had stolen my wallet.
Now, another disclaimer: It’s also not a good idea to approach people who you think might have stolen your wallet and ask for it back. This usually will not end well. So I don’t know exactly what possessed me to take this approach, but I did. And as I got closer, I noticed that he did indeed have a wallet in his hands. And it was indeed my wallet.
As I approached I noticed something odd. This man was taking the credit cards out of my wallet, he wasn’t putting them in his pocket. He was simply taking them out and going through them – placing each one in the dumpster as he went. And finally, when I got close enough, I tensed up, ready for anything that might happen next, I cleared my throat, and said, “Ahem. Excuse me. Sir. I think that’s my wallet you have there.”
The man turned to me, startled, and looking embarrassed, he immediately started gathering up all the cards he had placed in the dumpster – all the while muttering to me incoherently. And after he had collected all the cards and put them back in their place, he handed the wallet back to me.
I started to turn and walk away indignantly from this thief, And as I did this, he held his hand in the air as if it say “Wait a second! Don’t go yet!” He walked over to his shopping cart and he started rummaging around in there trying to find something. And out of his cart, he pulled out a wood carving of two hands that were folded together in prayer.
Now, I couldn’t understand a word the man was saying, because he was incoherent and mumbling – but I think I understood this. I think the man was saying “I didn’t mean you any harm. See here how I pray? I am a man of God.” I must have given the man a puzzled look then as I smiled at him, and said “thank you,” and turned and walked away.
As I think back on it now, not only did this man without a home not steal my wallet –it seems to me that he actually saved it from falling into somebody else’s hands. The irony of course, is that I had labeled him not only as homeless, but also as a thief. And when I did that, I had drawn my own line in the sand – with me on one side – and the homeless “thief” on the other. So it should come as no surprise to you now that I also encountered Jesus on the other side of that line.
Unfortunately, it’s in our human nature to always want to put ourselves above others – above our neighbors – on the wrong side of God. The good news however, when you find yourself in this situation, Jesus isn’t going to leave you hanging there on the “wrong” side. Nor does he try to convince you to join the other team either. The work of God is quite the opposite of either of these things. The work of God is to break down those barriers that separate us.
Jesus concludes this sermon today, by talking about heaven, hell and sin using a bunch of metaphors that I don’t really have time to unpack. But at the very end of his sermon, he starts talking about salt – which is a metaphor for preservation – and fire – which is another metaphor for life and death. And so he’s actually going to use these metaphors to talk finally, about how God will go about preserving our lives. And as I read what Jesus says here, I want you to note how he doesn’t go about trying to say who’s in and who’s out, but instead talks about what God is going to do with all of us.
Jesus concludes, “For everyone, (every-one!) will be salted with fire.” Notice that Jesus doesn’t pick a side as if to declare them the winning team, but that everyone needs God to preserve them. And he goes on finally to say, “Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” That is to say, preserve each other. Don’t tare each other down. Build one another up. Work together for God’s purposes. Black/white; rich/poor; sinners/saints; republicans/democrats; gay/straight; man/woman; homeless/homebound, God has preserved us, and charges us to work for each other – not against one another.
Brothers and sisters if you find that Jesus does not appear to be on your side, it’s only because our God has no boundaries. And through his death and resurrection, we also have the same gift – the means to live lives of salt and fire – the means to live our lives preserved in God’s grace and free to love without restriction.
I want to leave you today with a poem that I encountered as I was preparing for this sermon. Thinking about salt and fire, it seemed appropriate to share with you all. A Methodist Pastor named Jan Richardson wrote it about the Gospel text we read today. It’s Called “Blessing of Salt and Fire.”
I finally reached the spot where my wallet had been – only to find that it was gone. My heart sunk. If you’ve ever lost your wallet you know the feeling of sheer desperation, which in my case was compounded by the embarrassment of sheer stupidity. So I searched the area desperately – high and low – until I noticed a man with a shopping cart in the alley near the dumpster. And something told me that this man had stolen my wallet.
Now, another disclaimer: It’s also not a good idea to approach people who you think might have stolen your wallet and ask for it back. This usually will not end well. So I don’t know exactly what possessed me to take this approach, but I did. And as I got closer, I noticed that he did indeed have a wallet in his hands. And it was indeed my wallet.
As I approached I noticed something odd. This man was taking the credit cards out of my wallet, he wasn’t putting them in his pocket. He was simply taking them out and going through them – placing each one in the dumpster as he went. And finally, when I got close enough, I tensed up, ready for anything that might happen next, I cleared my throat, and said, “Ahem. Excuse me. Sir. I think that’s my wallet you have there.”
The man turned to me, startled, and looking embarrassed, he immediately started gathering up all the cards he had placed in the dumpster – all the while muttering to me incoherently. And after he had collected all the cards and put them back in their place, he handed the wallet back to me.
I started to turn and walk away indignantly from this thief, And as I did this, he held his hand in the air as if it say “Wait a second! Don’t go yet!” He walked over to his shopping cart and he started rummaging around in there trying to find something. And out of his cart, he pulled out a wood carving of two hands that were folded together in prayer.
Now, I couldn’t understand a word the man was saying, because he was incoherent and mumbling – but I think I understood this. I think the man was saying “I didn’t mean you any harm. See here how I pray? I am a man of God.” I must have given the man a puzzled look then as I smiled at him, and said “thank you,” and turned and walked away.
As I think back on it now, not only did this man without a home not steal my wallet –it seems to me that he actually saved it from falling into somebody else’s hands. The irony of course, is that I had labeled him not only as homeless, but also as a thief. And when I did that, I had drawn my own line in the sand – with me on one side – and the homeless “thief” on the other. So it should come as no surprise to you now that I also encountered Jesus on the other side of that line.
Unfortunately, it’s in our human nature to always want to put ourselves above others – above our neighbors – on the wrong side of God. The good news however, when you find yourself in this situation, Jesus isn’t going to leave you hanging there on the “wrong” side. Nor does he try to convince you to join the other team either. The work of God is quite the opposite of either of these things. The work of God is to break down those barriers that separate us.
Jesus concludes this sermon today, by talking about heaven, hell and sin using a bunch of metaphors that I don’t really have time to unpack. But at the very end of his sermon, he starts talking about salt – which is a metaphor for preservation – and fire – which is another metaphor for life and death. And so he’s actually going to use these metaphors to talk finally, about how God will go about preserving our lives. And as I read what Jesus says here, I want you to note how he doesn’t go about trying to say who’s in and who’s out, but instead talks about what God is going to do with all of us.
Jesus concludes, “For everyone, (every-one!) will be salted with fire.” Notice that Jesus doesn’t pick a side as if to declare them the winning team, but that everyone needs God to preserve them. And he goes on finally to say, “Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” That is to say, preserve each other. Don’t tare each other down. Build one another up. Work together for God’s purposes. Black/white; rich/poor; sinners/saints; republicans/democrats; gay/straight; man/woman; homeless/homebound, God has preserved us, and charges us to work for each other – not against one another.
Brothers and sisters if you find that Jesus does not appear to be on your side, it’s only because our God has no boundaries. And through his death and resurrection, we also have the same gift – the means to live lives of salt and fire – the means to live our lives preserved in God’s grace and free to love without restriction.
I want to leave you today with a poem that I encountered as I was preparing for this sermon. Thinking about salt and fire, it seemed appropriate to share with you all. A Methodist Pastor named Jan Richardson wrote it about the Gospel text we read today. It’s Called “Blessing of Salt and Fire.”
Blessing of Salt and Fire
And so, in this season,
may we give ourselves
to the fire
that shows us
what is elemental
and sacramental,
that reveals what remains
after all that does not have
substance or savor
falls away.
And so, in this season,
may we give ourselves
to the fire
that shows us
what is elemental
and sacramental,
that reveals what remains
after all that does not have
substance or savor
falls away.
May we turn
our eyes
our ears
our hands
to the beauty
for which we were formed
and bear with grace
the patterns
that blossom upon us
who live salted
and singed
Amen.
our eyes
our ears
our hands
to the beauty
for which we were formed
and bear with grace
the patterns
that blossom upon us
who live salted
and singed
Amen.
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