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

September 25, 2021 — Acts 22:22–23:11

“Paul looked directly at the council and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God to this day.” At that the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit there judging me according to the law, and in violation of the law you order me to be struck?” Those standing near him said, “Do you dare insult Godʼs high priest?” Paul replied, “I did not realize, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ʻYou must not speak evil about a ruler of your people.ʼ” Then when Paul noticed that part of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, he shouted out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection of the dead!” When he said this, an argument began between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. (For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, or angel, or spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.) There was a great commotion, and some experts in the law from the party of the Pharisees stood up and protested strongly, “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” When the argument became so great the commanding officer feared that they would tear Paul to pieces, he ordered the detachment to go down, take him away from them by force, and bring him into the barracks. The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Have courage, for just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” Acts 23:1-11

The Lord appears to Paul and says, “Keep up your courage!” What helps you “keep your courage?” How do you keep yourself moving forward when it seems like everyone and everything is against you? Max Lucado writes these words: “Do-it-yourself Christianity is not much encouragement to the done in and worn out. Self-sanctification holds little hope for the addict…(and I would add those who have made bad choices and bad decisions). At some point we need more than good advice; we need help. Somewhere on this journey home we realize that a fifty-fifty proposition is too little. We need more…We need help. Help from the inside out…Not near us. Not above us. Not around us. But in us. In the part of us we don’t even know. In the heart no one else has seen. In the hidden recesses of our being dwells, not an angel, not a philosophy, not a genie, but God.”

Paul’s strength comes in his relationship with Jesus. Though Paul showed a lot of spirit and strength when he persecuted Christians, Paul now preaches Christ crucified — the main difference is that his strength comes through the power of the Holy Spirit to believe in Jesus, not persecute in the name of Jesus. There is no other way Paul could have persevered through his shipwrecks, his beatings, his imprisonments, and other setbacks. Paul is a living example of the power of the Holy Spirit working in people.

Let Us Pray,

Lord Jesus, I pray today that your Spirit energizes me, enlightens me, and envelopes me in all ways every minute of today. Amen.

Pastor Dave