Daily Devotion – September 20, 2021 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison
Mark 9:38-50
9:38 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.”
9:39 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.
9:40 Whoever is not against us is for us.
9:41 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.
9:42 “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.
9:43 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.
9:45 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.
9:47 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,
9:48 where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.
9:49 “For everyone will be salted with fire.
9:50 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.
This section of Mark is famous for Jesus’s teaching his disciples how strongly God feels about misleading the innocent, or placing stumbling blocks in their way. Jesus says that, no matter what is causing us to go down the path of stumbling into sin, it would be better to live life without that body part than to take away the safety and true shalom of another person.
Now, more than likely, we have each told a lie to someone in our lives – to spare their feelings, or maybe to get out of something without incurring consequences. And these little lies or misleadings generally have low risk to anyone. Or so we would want to tell ourselves. In truth, every lie erodes trust a little bit, and it takes a lot of time and energy and good will to build that trust back up.
But I am wondering now about when larger-scale misleading happens – when part of a culture tells a big lie in order to mis-lead others in the culture – lead them toward or away from a desired result? Jesus says we are not to mislead or place stumbling blocks in the way of others. In our very own culture people make comments that enflame others and persuade them not to be good to their neighbor or take care of their own health. Are these not stumbling blocks to a life of true shalom?
And what is the solution to such misleading? Love and listening that lead to security, wiping out fear, and even generosity. This is the long-term work of caring. Nothing compared to God’s eternal caring for each of us, but at least a drop in the bucket of caring. Whatever causes us to stumble into mis-leading that harms trust, put it away in favor of building up the neighbor in love.
Gracious God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for showing your mercy and care to each of us. Help us to do the same and reduce people’s need to bear false witness and to mislead one another. Amen.
