September 26, 2021 – Pentecost +18B

“John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward. “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched. “For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” Mark 9:38-50

Too much salt—not enough salt. My wife and daughter and I like to watch cooking shows. Well, I can only watch them for so long. But, I am fascinated by the fact that in many of the decisions about the winners of a dish, the content or the veracity of the meal often comes down to just this: it either has too much salt, or too little salt. Either the cook has not “respected” the meal by adding enough salt, or the cook has “assaulted” the meal with too much salt. Now, I am not a salt person—so it makes me curious how one ingredient—one that I do not even like that much—how that one seasoning can make or break someone’s culinary experience. It is amazing to me how one neglected or over-used ingredient can make the difference in whether someone beats Bobby Flay. Of course, I am also curious about how something similar can happen in the church – how one salty encounter, one salty comment, one neglected handshake, or one salty tweet can become ground zero for a personal war—or mass Exodus.

Jesus says: “Everyone will be salted with Fire”.

What does that mean? I hope you are wondering what it means, because it sure should capture the imagination. Let’s look at the context for a minute – the context in which Jesus makes this statement. He has just commented on someone whom the disciples report was doing deeds of power in Jesus’ name – but he wasn’t “one of them”. The disciples wanted to shut him down—but Jesus says “Wait a minute—whoever is not against us—don’t you think they might be for us. Do not stop him.” Then he comments on those who will set up stumbling blocks in the way of people who might come to believe in Jesus. He makes that famous statement: “It is better to hang a great milestone around your neck and jump into the sea than to put up stumbling blocks in front of anyone’s faith.”

What are faith—affecting stumbling blocks? Well, I could be fairly safe to say that the tragedy that has happened in the Catholic Church has been a stumbling block to many in the faith, and many outside the faith. As such, our own personal behaviors can be stumbling blocks to people and their faith – and the decisions we make can become stumbling blocks. Therefore, if you realize your behavior is a stumbling block, perhaps you need to get to doing some discernment – and perhaps you need to scrape off those behaviors – as Frank Cross says in the movie “Scrooged” – “I am going to give you a little advice Claire, Scrape em off….if you want to save somebody, save yourself.” Or, if I may be so bold, we better scrape our sinful nature off – because we just do not know how our behaviors will affect others.

For the church to truly be a place where we feast on Christ, the Words of Christ, the sacraments, and the teachings of Christ, we must all seek the right balance of salt—about a pinch of rebuking, but not too much—a handful of Grace and love, but not too little—but always seeking to find that perfect balance. And yet, it will never be perfect. But, if we give ourselves over to the power of the Holy Spirit and the love, mercy and grace of Jesus, then together we will make our way along this journey of faith. And as James reminds us, when things get down, when we feel as if we have lost our saltiness, “The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” Because, as Merton says, the church is at once human and divine….so when we have lost our salt, when we are more imperfect than perfect, we need to continue to pray—to forgive—to offer praises—to sing songs of praise. And if we persevere, we will be just the right amount of preservative and saltiness the world needs. 

Pastor Dave