‘It’s a whole body thing…’
September 29, 2024
Scripture: Mark 9:38-50
As I shared last week, Jesus was quick to make the disciples aware that he knew of their veiled intentions, and that they sometimes misunderstood some of the basic underlying principles of what he was trying so hard to teach them. Taking a young child and holding her up before them all, Jesus had told them that whoever welcomed one such as that small, little, insignificant one in his name also welcomed Jesus himself…and not only Jesus but the Father who had sent him.
Numerous times of late, Jesus had demonstrated that the way to God’s will was to be found in humble service towards others. He had shown them that holy living was truly all about a gracious God and one’s relationship with that God, and not, as they had supposed, about anyone’s individual abilities or talents. Jesus tried hard to share that they were a part of something much bigger than what they could see or what they knew…that they were a part of a team working together to witness the love of God to the world…a team who were given the unimaginable task of bringing about the full realization of the ‘Kingdom of God’ which Jesus had so often said was close at hand.
It was not that the disciples themselves were great or even anything special…but rather that, together, in union with God’s love and graciousness, they could be a part of life-changing, world-redeeming activities. And somehow…even after being gently chastised for thinking too highly of themselves once again…the disciples still managed to find another way to show just how much more they still had to learn.
It seems that in their travels about town when Jesus was not with them, they had witnessed someone else healing another who was in need of deliverance from troubling spirits. John, who was one of those who had seen this other ‘healer’ in action brought the matter to Jesus’ attention. It seems that he was quite concerned that whoever it was that was doing this holy work was not one of ‘them’…was not a ‘card-carrying’ follower of Jesus.
‘Jesus’, John said, ‘We saw someone performing healings in your name, and we tried to stop him for he was not a part of our group!’ Jesus replied, ‘Do not try to stop him, because no one who performs a miracle in my name will be able soon afterward to say evil things about me. For whoever is not against us is for us. I assure you that anyone who gives you even a drink of water because you belong to me will certainly receive a reward.’
Continuing on Jesus said, ‘On the other hand, if one of you gives one of these simple, childlike believers a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of their simple trust, you’ll soon wish you hadn’t. You’d be better off dropped in the middle of the lake with a large millstone tied around your neck.
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter the fullness of life maimed than to have two hands and remain truly lifeless in a world without God. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to never know the true depth of God’s love for you. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to see only that which is not of God and not of loving and holy relationship.’
This is the jist of our reading from Mark’s gospel today. And it is important to note that today’s reading, with John piping up about the ‘unwelcome healer’ followed immediately on our reading from last week where we saw Jesus teaching that the disciples needed to be so open as to willingly welcome even ‘insignificant’ little children in his name (Insignificant in the eyes of the disciples that is). In other words, it is as though the disciples still hadn’t heard a word of what Jesus had been trying to teach them regarding how he expected his disciples to act.
He had just told them that it was not at all about who was the greatest in the world’s eyes, but rather who was the most willing to serve…who was willing to reach out to the lesser people…the broken and the cast-offs. For he was in fact asking them to imitate him. And yet John…one of those closest to Jesus…the one who in his own gospel referred to himself as ‘the beloved’, started right in to complain that there were others who were seemingly riding on Jesus’ coat tails and performing healings in his name…how dare they presume to be as important as those who actually had the privilege of walking next to Jesus and of being within his inner circle?
The word in the Greek that is translated as ‘sin’ is ‘hamartia’, and it is found throughout the New Testament. The actual meaning of the word ‘hamartia’ is, ‘to miss the mark’…’to miss the mark’. Therefore whenever we find this word, the one saying it is actually making a judgment that someone or something has ‘missed the mark’…something is just a bit off. And it seems that Jesus was having a hard time over the last several weeks’ with actually having his disciples ‘hit the mark’ consistently. It seemed as though they were always just a ‘half bubble off plumb’ with their persistent pursuit of individual greatness. Their inability to prayerfully heal the young boy, their inability to listen and to understand the very clear teachings of Jesus, and their petty jealousy of an outsider who was doing the work of God without them…and without what they obviously felt had to be their official approval, showed that indeed they were ‘missing the mark’, missing the point of Jesus’ teachings.
Little things, little misunderstandings, little petty and ultimately unimportant things in the larger scheme were keeping the disciples from realizing the fullness of holy relationship offered to them by Jesus. Somehow, every time they drew close to Jesus and witnessed just how incredible and powerful his love was, they immediately turned away and back towards the world, leaving their lessons completely behind.
It is also important to realize that Jesus was once again speaking in a parable in our reading today…speaking in such a way to shock them into getting his point across. Perhaps he was getting just a little bit exasperated by their inability to grasp what he was trying so hard to teach them, leading him to use such strong language in his lesson…but in any case he never intended for them to take him literally regarding what he told them about hands, feet, and eyes, but rather was speaking figuratively. He never would have advocated that someone really submit voluntarily to self-mutilation for that would automatically exclude them from the larger fellowship and bar them from entering the Temple. Rather he was saying their habit of consistently ‘missing the mark’ needed to change.
In selecting the hand, foot, and eye, Jesus was saying that your whole body, your whole self was subject to and symbolic of the ability or tendency to make mistakes and to become distracted or unfocused.
First off, the ‘hand’ is symbolic of all that we do. All our work, our creative acts, our ways of reaching out towards another, or on the other hand perhaps pushing someone or something away. Jesus chose the ‘hand’ because it is such an integral part of our physical interaction with the world. So, if your hand…if the things you do, are causing you to ‘miss the mark’ and causing you to be separated from the awareness of or experience of God’s love, or are preventing you from using your physical ability to extend love or compassion towards another in need, then you need to realize that and make a change. Missing the mark in what we do for God is no way to live in fullness or in joy.
‘Feet’ are the next image Jesus chose to speak of. When he speaks of ‘feet’ he is saying that the ways we move throughout the world may also be subject to distraction and lack of focus. The places we choose to go, the ways we walk, the things we willingly walk into, or those things we tend to cross over to the other side of the road to avoid all have to deal with the ways in which we move about through the world…either at the impulse of the Spirit of God, or in response to the whim of our own desires or wants. We choose each day where we will go, and which route we will use to get there. We can choose to walk in the way of openness and self-sacrifice in service to the Spirit, or we can choose to walk in our own way, satisfying only ourselves and not paying attention to the misfortunes or needs of another. The choice is ours, and if we are honest, we do make it every day.
And then lastly in his little parable Jesus talks of the ‘eyes’. ‘Eyes’…long called the ‘window of the soul. For it is our eyes that ‘see’ the world all around us. They are the first filter, the first interpreter of what we are a part of, of what we are in the middle of, and what we are not a part of. The eyes are not perfect, for truly we can see things incorrectly and not understand them as they actually are, and in truth we are capable of making decisions to do things based on incorrect information. We can either focus on and ‘see’ the world and the many temptations that cloud our vision at every turn, or we can look for the Christ in everyone…on the face of our brother or sister…in the look of gratitude on the face of one lying by the roadside…or one we helped even though we had no time, energy, or inclination…or even just the beauty of a sunset as it works its way out in ever increasing wonder and glory.
The hand, the foot, and the eye…all of these together are meant to represent the whole of our outwardly lived experience. So, as Jesus taught, if any one of them causes us to ‘miss the mark’…if any one of them causes us to turn our eyes away from him and the life-sustaining relationship found there, then we need to carefully re-consider them and find a way to change our ways. For in order to be effective disciples of our Lord we need to focus on spending as much time as possible being whole and undistracted, both for those in need around us, as well as to hear and receive into our hearts the grace of God’s Spirit as it seeks to guide and to disciple us.
When Jesus says in our passage, ‘If your hand, your foot, or your eye causes you to ‘miss the mark’’…causes you to be, or to do less than is required of you as a disciple of Christ, then you need to look at whatever it is that is causing that separation from God and do something about it.
Each day Jesus asks anew…‘will you bless me this day with your hands? In all you do to make a difference in a world so in need of a willing or a helping hand, will you reach out for me? Will you reach out in love and touch another for my sake? Will you bless me this day with your hands’?
Each day Jesus asks anew…‘will you bless me this day with your feet? Will you go wherever I send you and do so with a glad and willing heart? Will you walk even in paths filled with shadow in order to accomplish that for which I sent you? Will you follow me wherever I go, and will you commit to walk in my ways? Will you bless me this day with your feet’?
Each day Jesus asks anew…‘will you bless me this day with your eyes? Will you keep your eyes wide open to the wonders I have placed all about you? Will you look for every opportunity to share my love with those in need? Will you look for my face in the face of another, will you live as though you truly believe that every other person you see is also created in my image of love? Will you bless me this day with your eyes’?
“Missing the mark’ is not the end of the world. If it was there would have been no disciples left before the resurrection! Rather, ‘missing the mark’ or ‘sin’ serves as a wakeup call to recommit, to try harder to live within the will of the Father, and to be willing channels of God’s grace to others.
The Spirit does not stand there just waiting for you to make yet another mistake in order to castigate you and lash out with punishment…rather the Spirit is always offering corrective advice every step of the way, counseling us on how best to serve our God of love, even as we serve one another.
Bless the Lord in all you do, wherever you go, and in all you see…for they truly are a mark worth hitting…
…amen
