19th Sunday after Pentecost — September 30, 2018        

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22; James 5:13-20; Mark 9:38-50

Ordinary 26B
Proper 21

Esther, elders, unknown exorcists: Who has the authority to speak on behalf of God for the sake of God’s people?

All three texts this week revolve around the role of human beings in advocating, angling and agitating for God’s will to be done. Esther petitions the king to spare her people. James admonishes faith leaders to pray for the sick and suffering among them. Jesus tells the antsy disciples to let those outside the inner circle cast out demons in his name. The boundaries on who is commissioned for divine duty are porous, expansive and unexpected.

Everyone – those living in the palace, those gathering in humble house churches and strangers we encounter praying and prophesying on the street – will be enlisted into the service of the Lord. Those of us close to Jesus must not attempt to contain the Spirit. Disciples of Jesus Christ should, at the very least, stay out of the way and, at our very best, make straight a path in the wilderness for the coming of our God.

Jesus says, “Whoever is not against us if for us.” In a climate in which we are constantly evaluating who agrees with us, who aligns with our thinking, who checks off all the boxes of righteousness and rightness, these words of Jesus are no less radical that when he calls us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us or to sell all we have and lose our lives. Those who are not against us are for us. No one who does a deed of power in Jesus’ name will be able to speak evil of him. If someone even gives you a cup of water as you go about the work of the Lord, they will not lose their reward.

Jesus’ reward and regard come to those not necessarily in our pews or on our side; they come to those standing up to evil, providing for people’s basic needs and making a way for the wholeness God desires for all of creation. In other words: those on Jesus’ side. The Esthers who use their positions and privilege on behalf of the vulnerable and persecuted. The faith leaders who confess their own sin, forgive others and pray for the suffering. The outsiders who call on the name of Jesus to fell the demonic and hand out cups of water to the thirsty. Shouldn’t we rejoice in this truth? Why do we resist God’s choice and ability and will to work through whomever God chooses? Why do we put up barriers to God that God in Christ came to obliterate? Why do we choose stumbling blocks over saltiness?

I confess that I have been like Jesus’ disciples: anxious that orthodoxy was being breached, process circumvented, decency and order neglected. If there are not rules and requirements in this life of faith, how can a life of faith be meaningful, substantive or followed? Baptism before you get a seat at the Lord’s Table. Membership if you want to be married in the church. Secular music, movie clips and Ted Talks? Not in Sunday morning worship, thank you very much. Jesus, someone is casting out demons in your name, but he doesn’t follow us (or our norms, expectations, timing, dress code, methods)! But rest assured, we did our best to put a stop to it!

We expect Jesus to give us a pat on the back for keeping everything between the lines we paint, but Jesus says: “Wait a minute. Whoever is not against us is for us. You don’t get to choose who does my will. That’s God’s call. Stop putting stumbling blocks in the very places the Spirit is blazing the way.”

Jesus is serious about this admonition. Cut off your hand or foot. Put out your eye. Do whatever it takes to keep yourself from being a scandalous hinderance to the work of the Lord. Better to be maimed than thrown into the unquenchable fires of hell. Don’t lose your saltiness for the sake of the status quo. If you have access to the king, speak up for those being crushed by the empire. If you have been set apart to lead, be the first to confess your failings and forgive those of others. If you witness demons being felled, join the ones doing the slaying. If you see someone who is parched, withering or dying for relief, give them water to drink and offer the water of life that overflows. Rejoice when you are given a cup to slake your thirst. Make sure the rules are road signs that point the way, not barricades that trip you up and cause everyone else around you to fall.

I attended a panel discussion with three Christian authors and after their presentation, I asked: How do we welcome those not inside our churches (the number of whom is growing rapidly), while maintaining the structure, theology and doctrine that makes us distinct? One of the scholars, a historian, said, “We’ve had 2,000 years of orthodoxy in one form or another, so I’m not too worried about its sticking power. I’m more concerned with being flexible enough to reach those on the margins.” She put me in my place and I was grateful she did.

While I do believe tradition and doctrine – and, yes, orthodoxy – are important and we disciples should know our theology and be able to articulate it, I have come to believe that caring for little ones is far more important. Our challenge is to choose saltiness over stumbling blocks, prayer over pontificating, speaking up over personal safety, standing up to evil over circling the wagons and living water instead of dusty, well-trodden paths. Better to get rid of my own hand, foot or eye than put up barriers that prevent another from knowing the love, justice, grace, mercy and peace of Jesus Christ.

In his book “Incarnational Ministry: Being with the Church,” Samuels Wells writes, “God is bigger than you think, and you are a bigger part of what God has in mind than you currently imagine.” Just look at Esther and the elders and all of those combatting evil, casting out demons, passing out cups of water and shaking salt all over the earth.

This week:

1. What “causes you to stumble”? What does it mean to stumble in this passage from Mark?
2. When have you struggled with following policy, rules or tradition versus being open to a “stranger” casting out demons?
3. How do we discern between the new thing God is doing and maintaining religious practices? How does Scripture help us with this discernment?
4. Where do you have power and influence? How are you called to use your power and influence on behalf of those without such privilege?
5. Does your church practice what James instructs in chapter 5:13-20? When have you gathered to pray on behalf of a sick or suffering member?
6. Do you believe that whoever is not against us is for us? What does that look like in our daily lives?

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