Having Salt In Yourself
9-27-15 (Proper 21 / Ordinary 26 B, Semi-Continuous)
James 5:13-20; Mark 9:38-50
It’s amazing the kind of things people say when they’re talking about Christ. For example, as I was doing research for a paper in seminary, I discovered the website of a church in Oklahoma that begins with the statement - “You think you’re saved, but you’re not!” Of course, this piqued my curiosity, so my inner seminarian was eager to read further. I’m quoting now directly from the website: “All of the world religions (Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Atheism, Mormonism, Jehova’s Witnesses, Catholicism, Protestantism, Seventh Day Adventism, etc.) lead to nowhere but hell. Every single last person involved in them reject the truth of the Bible, and thus, the Truth of the Bible, God, will burn them forever in the lake of fire for hating Him so.” A paragraph or two later, it continues: “If you are involved with the kind of Christianity that views Protestantism, or Catholicism, or the Orthodox church, or the “church of Christ,” or Billy Graham, Rick Warren, Joel Osteen, James Dobson . . .” the list goes on and decries at least another 33 familiar names in modern and contemporary Christian literature. They say “If you view [these people], or any of the like (or any of the likes on “Christian” TV or radio) as godly, you are not saved.” Now, why does this church claim that following such forms of Christianity keep you from being saved? They answered, “because you are on the broad way.” This church is convinced that because Jesus says that “the way is narrow” and that “there are few who find it,” that all these Christians who have differing views on theology and Scripture are obviously false teachers dooming us all to hell. Their answer to what “really” saves a person is confusing, to say the least - but to sum it up, in order to be truly saved, a person needs to have “true faith” in Jesus Christ. This church says that true faith is a trust, hope and reliance upon God. It is relying upon him in everything.” This church says that faith needs to be in the true Jesus, as opposed to all these other false Jesus’s that they’ve already shot down. So if you believe in the right Jesus, you’re saved - right? Is anyone else as confused right now as I was while reading this whole website?
As I read through all these lists of people that this church claimed were wrong, I couldn’t help but compare it to the text from Mark today. Isn’t this a lot like what the disciples were concerned about when they came to Jesus about “the other guy?” It must have been concerning to the disciples to see someone else out there, casting out demons and such in the name of Jesus, who wasn’t “one of them.” What if he wasn’t doing it right? What if people were hearing about Jesus from someone who wasn’t part of Jesus’ own group? What gives this other guy the right to do things “in Jesus’ name” when there’s been no indication that he’s even been following Jesus in the first place?
Jesus says “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.” Jesus says - “Yeah. What if this guy does something in my name? What if people experience me from someone else?” Jesus reminds the disciples that it’s from his name that authority is given, and that it’s in his name that these things are done - not in the name of the disciples, the name of the church, the name of a particular group of people who have somehow managed to corner the market on God. The disciples were in danger of starting to think of themselves as some elite band, a group of people who were specially authorized through their connection to Christ to go out and do things. They missed the source of the power in their focus on who was using the power in the first place.
But it’s here that we need to pause and take a good, hard look at ourselves - it’s so easy to stand here before you and point out the shortcomings of the disciples, of this church in Oklahoma - but Jesus’ words are meant just as much for us as they are for them. Much as I may feel justified in criticizing this particular church, much as I may feel a properly righteous indignation I experience when I see groups like the Westboro Baptist church spewing messages of hate and picketing soldiers’ funerals in the name of Jesus Christ, I still feel a certain amount of conviction in Jesus’ words to the disciples. Because the second that we go about claiming with any certainty that Fred Phelps and his family aren’t Christians, or that this “true” church in Oklahoma isn’t true at all, or that Joel Osteen is a heretic who preaches a gospel of wealth and prosperity, we lump ourselves right alongside those same people that we try to put down. It’s a hard kind of catch-22 to find ourselves in, but as my parents were always quick to tell me - whenever you point a finger at someone, you have to remember that you have three pointing back at yourself.
So what are we to do with such a hard truth? How do we, as Christians in this particular church, who believe in a God of grace, of love, and of forgiveness as opposed to a God of vengeance, extreme prejudice, and violence - deal with the fact that these are both messages being preached in the name of Jesus Christ? Do I have to just step back and let those kinds of messages be preached? I think Jesus’ answer is yes... and no. Note that Jesus doesn’t tell his disciples that they have to agree with what this other person is saying or doing. Nor does Jesus say that we have to just accept these kinds of things. If we think he’s saying either of those, all we have to do is read the next few verses - Jesus is obviously quite serious about what is said and done in his name. His warning is clear: “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.” Sure, you can go and do all kinds of things in Jesus’ name - good, bad, or otherwise. But the things that are truly reflective of Christ, the “deeds of power” that Christ talks about - those are much more specific. When we go out and make a difference in Christ’s name, when we act as agents of peace, of compassion and of healing, we speak the truth about Christ and we are enabled to perform deeds of great power. But we need to temper that knowledge with the warning that the second that we start to think that we’re the ones with authority, that we have the right answers and not Christ, we risk being a stumbling block and bringing the full weight of that authority down on ourselves. We must be ever careful about using Jesus‘ name flippantly - it does have consequences. We lose our very identity when we assume that people have to come to us for the answers, that we get to authorize what is Christian and what is not. And in the same way, what we do as individuals and as community in Jesus’ name goes a long way to determine who we become as Christians. If we go out into the world hurting and condemning others, that will go a long way toward determining who we are as Christians. In the same way, if we follow Jesus’ words to “have salt in yourselves,” to “be at peace with one another,” if we follow the advice of James in his letter to pray in times of suffering, to sing songs of praise in times of joy, to support one another with prayer and action in times of sickness and weakness, and to rescue one another with prayer and supplication, it reflects the grace and love of our Lord and determines who we are as Christians. Jesus’ statement that “no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me” isn't so much a statement of some magical power as much as it is a statement that when we start to act in Jesus’ name, when we start to emulate Jesus in our lives, that very act is transformative. By acting in Jesus’ name, we can be sure that Jesus will work steadily to make us more and more into his image.
It’s a difficult truth that Christ draws many different kinds of people to himself, that Jesus saves the right-wing conservative just as much as he saves the left-wing liberal, but I thank God that Jesus doesn’t operate on the same level that we do - because it means that Jesus loves all of us, despite what we may think about each other. So knowing that Jesus loves us - I guess the question is: In Jesus’ name - what kind of Christian do you want to be? And how will you go about living out your identity in Christ so that you do not become a stumbling block to others? To God be the glory. Amen.
James 5:13-20; Mark 9:38-50
Having Salt In Yourself
It’s amazing the kind of things people say when they’re talking about Christ. For example, as I was doing research for a paper in seminary, I discovered the website of a church in Oklahoma that begins with the statement - “You think you’re saved, but you’re not!” Of course, this piqued my curiosity, so my inner seminarian was eager to read further. I’m quoting now directly from the website: “All of the world religions (Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Atheism, Mormonism, Jehova’s Witnesses, Catholicism, Protestantism, Seventh Day Adventism, etc.) lead to nowhere but hell. Every single last person involved in them reject the truth of the Bible, and thus, the Truth of the Bible, God, will burn them forever in the lake of fire for hating Him so.” A paragraph or two later, it continues: “If you are involved with the kind of Christianity that views Protestantism, or Catholicism, or the Orthodox church, or the “church of Christ,” or Billy Graham, Rick Warren, Joel Osteen, James Dobson . . .” the list goes on and decries at least another 33 familiar names in modern and contemporary Christian literature. They say “If you view [these people], or any of the like (or any of the likes on “Christian” TV or radio) as godly, you are not saved.” Now, why does this church claim that following such forms of Christianity keep you from being saved? They answered, “because you are on the broad way.” This church is convinced that because Jesus says that “the way is narrow” and that “there are few who find it,” that all these Christians who have differing views on theology and Scripture are obviously false teachers dooming us all to hell. Their answer to what “really” saves a person is confusing, to say the least - but to sum it up, in order to be truly saved, a person needs to have “true faith” in Jesus Christ. This church says that true faith is a trust, hope and reliance upon God. It is relying upon him in everything.” This church says that faith needs to be in the true Jesus, as opposed to all these other false Jesus’s that they’ve already shot down. So if you believe in the right Jesus, you’re saved - right? Is anyone else as confused right now as I was while reading this whole website?
As I read through all these lists of people that this church claimed were wrong, I couldn’t help but compare it to the text from Mark today. Isn’t this a lot like what the disciples were concerned about when they came to Jesus about “the other guy?” It must have been concerning to the disciples to see someone else out there, casting out demons and such in the name of Jesus, who wasn’t “one of them.” What if he wasn’t doing it right? What if people were hearing about Jesus from someone who wasn’t part of Jesus’ own group? What gives this other guy the right to do things “in Jesus’ name” when there’s been no indication that he’s even been following Jesus in the first place?
Jesus says “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.” Jesus says - “Yeah. What if this guy does something in my name? What if people experience me from someone else?” Jesus reminds the disciples that it’s from his name that authority is given, and that it’s in his name that these things are done - not in the name of the disciples, the name of the church, the name of a particular group of people who have somehow managed to corner the market on God. The disciples were in danger of starting to think of themselves as some elite band, a group of people who were specially authorized through their connection to Christ to go out and do things. They missed the source of the power in their focus on who was using the power in the first place.
But it’s here that we need to pause and take a good, hard look at ourselves - it’s so easy to stand here before you and point out the shortcomings of the disciples, of this church in Oklahoma - but Jesus’ words are meant just as much for us as they are for them. Much as I may feel justified in criticizing this particular church, much as I may feel a properly righteous indignation I experience when I see groups like the Westboro Baptist church spewing messages of hate and picketing soldiers’ funerals in the name of Jesus Christ, I still feel a certain amount of conviction in Jesus’ words to the disciples. Because the second that we go about claiming with any certainty that Fred Phelps and his family aren’t Christians, or that this “true” church in Oklahoma isn’t true at all, or that Joel Osteen is a heretic who preaches a gospel of wealth and prosperity, we lump ourselves right alongside those same people that we try to put down. It’s a hard kind of catch-22 to find ourselves in, but as my parents were always quick to tell me - whenever you point a finger at someone, you have to remember that you have three pointing back at yourself.
So what are we to do with such a hard truth? How do we, as Christians in this particular church, who believe in a God of grace, of love, and of forgiveness as opposed to a God of vengeance, extreme prejudice, and violence - deal with the fact that these are both messages being preached in the name of Jesus Christ? Do I have to just step back and let those kinds of messages be preached? I think Jesus’ answer is yes... and no. Note that Jesus doesn’t tell his disciples that they have to agree with what this other person is saying or doing. Nor does Jesus say that we have to just accept these kinds of things. If we think he’s saying either of those, all we have to do is read the next few verses - Jesus is obviously quite serious about what is said and done in his name. His warning is clear: “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.” Sure, you can go and do all kinds of things in Jesus’ name - good, bad, or otherwise. But the things that are truly reflective of Christ, the “deeds of power” that Christ talks about - those are much more specific. When we go out and make a difference in Christ’s name, when we act as agents of peace, of compassion and of healing, we speak the truth about Christ and we are enabled to perform deeds of great power. But we need to temper that knowledge with the warning that the second that we start to think that we’re the ones with authority, that we have the right answers and not Christ, we risk being a stumbling block and bringing the full weight of that authority down on ourselves. We must be ever careful about using Jesus‘ name flippantly - it does have consequences. We lose our very identity when we assume that people have to come to us for the answers, that we get to authorize what is Christian and what is not. And in the same way, what we do as individuals and as community in Jesus’ name goes a long way to determine who we become as Christians. If we go out into the world hurting and condemning others, that will go a long way toward determining who we are as Christians. In the same way, if we follow Jesus’ words to “have salt in yourselves,” to “be at peace with one another,” if we follow the advice of James in his letter to pray in times of suffering, to sing songs of praise in times of joy, to support one another with prayer and action in times of sickness and weakness, and to rescue one another with prayer and supplication, it reflects the grace and love of our Lord and determines who we are as Christians. Jesus’ statement that “no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me” isn't so much a statement of some magical power as much as it is a statement that when we start to act in Jesus’ name, when we start to emulate Jesus in our lives, that very act is transformative. By acting in Jesus’ name, we can be sure that Jesus will work steadily to make us more and more into his image.
It’s a difficult truth that Christ draws many different kinds of people to himself, that Jesus saves the right-wing conservative just as much as he saves the left-wing liberal, but I thank God that Jesus doesn’t operate on the same level that we do - because it means that Jesus loves all of us, despite what we may think about each other. So knowing that Jesus loves us - I guess the question is: In Jesus’ name - what kind of Christian do you want to be? And how will you go about living out your identity in Christ so that you do not become a stumbling block to others? To God be the glory. Amen.
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