The Power of Righteous Living

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

This morning's scripture lesson is somewhat unique because it seems to be a collection of fairly unrelated sayings of Jesus, put together by the writer of the gospel for the want of any better place to put them. No doubt, Mark had felt that these teachings of Jesus were important enough to be included in the gospel, but not quite long enough to get more than one or two sentences, each. The first of these is about a person who has been casting out demons in Jesus' name, even though the disciples do not know who he is. The second one is a word to those who would support the ministry of one of Christ's disciples. The third one is a warning to anyone who would lead a young Christian astray. The fourth one is a warning to us about our priorities – that when it comes down to a choice, it is far more important for us to be concerned about our spiritual well being than about our physical well being. And the last one is about how important it is for us to be Spiritually salty, or (in other words) flavored with God's Spirit.

This morning I would like to take a look at each of these teachings of Jesus, organizing them around three points – The first point being a word about ecumenism. The second point will be on our priorities in the face of God's warnings. And the third and final point will be on how important it is for us to be alive with God's Spirit, using our God given gifts, being spiritually salty, rather than being spiritually bland, as we live our lives in this world, today.

Indeed, when we talk about being for or against Christ, we may talk as the first disciples did: For in this morning's scripture lesson, the disciples told Jesus about a man they had encountered who was successfully performing miracles in Jesus' name. They had told him to stop dong because he was not one of them. But, upon hearing this, Jesus told his disciples that they were wrong; that they shouldn't have stopped him, for "No one who does a miracle in my

name," Jesus said, "can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us."

In other words, what was happening here was that the disciples had encountered a person who wasn't a member of their church who was doing something good in the name of Jesus. Somehow, these disciples believed that they, alone, had the patent or copyright on Jesus; that anyone else doing good things in Jesus' name were walking on their turf. But, Jesus them to relax; that the man wasn't doing anything bad; because "whoever is not against us is for us."

If anything, I believe that this scripture talks more about ecumenism than anything else. Many of us Christians sometimes get into the same kind of mentality as those disciples. For they actually believed that there was no church outside of their own fellowship; that Jesus wasn't disciple- ing any other persons but them. So, encountering a disciple of Jesus outside of their group was disturbing to them. And they wanted him to stop.

Christians are sometimes the same way, even with churches in their own denomination. Even in the United Methodist Church, for instance, a denomination that is known for its connectionalism, there are congregations that have become so isolated, so parochial, and so much an island unto themselves, that they no longer see themselves as part of a larger Body of Christ. Instead, they consider themselves to be THE Body of Christ. And, indeed, there are actually whole denominations that believe this about other denominations. The Jehovah's Witnesses, for example, believe that unless you are a Jehovah's Witness you cannot be saved. And there are a few other denominations that believe the same thing; that unless you're one of them you won't get to heaven.

But, clearly, this lesson from Mark tells us that if someone is doing good things in the name of Jesus then they certainly cannot be against Jesus. And, in fact, they are more than likely brothers or sisters of Jesus, just like we are if we're doing good things for Jesus. So, it is logical to assume that if anyone worships Jesus they must be related to us as a brother or sister of Christ. Certainly, our family is big! The church is big! – Bigger than our church building! Bigger than our fellowship of Christians! Bigger than The United Methodist Church! Bigger than Protestantism! Bigger than Protestantism and Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy combined! The Body of Christ is much bigger than we may ever know – because Christ is alive and active and working in this world, even in places where there may be no churches, at all.

And, so we need to remember and celebrate our connectedness as Christians! And, indeed, we will be doing that next Sunday as we observe World Communion Sunday, a day when Christians of many denominations the world over will join together in acknowledging Christ's presence among all who put their faith in and center their lives, not around buildings, not around a specific fellowship of Christians, not around a certain dogma, but around the Lord Jesus Christ.

But, the next thing that Jesus talks about in this morning's scripture lesson is about how important it is not to sin. Jesus told his disciples that they need to prioritize their lives in the face of God's warnings concerning the wrath to come. Essentially, he said that their concern for their spiritual future should far outweigh any concern they might have for their physical well being; that if their right hand caused them to sin, they should cut it off; that if their foot caused them to sin, they should cut it off; that if their eye caused them to sin, they should pluck it out.

Now, I hope that none of us here would take this passage literally. I would certainly be appalled, this morning, if someone suddenly reached up to their eye and gouged it out because they felt it had caused them to see something sinful! On the other hand, there are those doctors, social scientists, and criminologists who do make a strong case for surgically or chemically altering the bodies of sexual offenders. And even today in Saudi Arabia a person who is caught stealing is apt to have his or her right hand amputated by sword on a public square. So, perhaps, there may be some who do take Jesus' advice literally in more ways than we know.

But, more than anything, I believe what Jesus was trying to say was this: If it comes to doing something that is pleasurable to the flesh that may be wrong in the eyes of God, then don't do it for the sake of your eternal soul. Or, if you profess to be a Christian, and persons know you to be a Christian, and you are tempted to do something that is sinful, then resist the temptation – don't do it for the sake of your witness to Jesus Christ. Watch what you say, be careful about what you look at, be mindful about the things you touch, or about the things you put in your mouth, or into your body, or the places where you may go. For the benefits you may get, the physical enjoyment, the satisfaction you experience, may pale in comparison to the painful embarrassment and miserable sorrow of learning how your actions may have led others to go astray or otherwise ran counter to the glorious plans God has for your life.

But, then, I don't want anyone to misunderstand what I'm talking about here. There are many persons who believe that God's judgment comes to us only after we have died. That we will pay for our sins in the life to come. But, that's not necessarily true. In fact, most of us face the painful consequences of our sins long before we die. And, yet, there is something to remember here. Even in the midst of failure; even in the midst of judgment; even in the midst of paying for your mistakes; Jesus is there in all of God's love and all of God's grace. Even in the midst of the pain of failed discipleship, God is still there offering you the faith you need to persevere and to be victorious. To the very end, God's love for us is steadfast in spite of who we are.

And I think that it because God is such a graceful God that forgiven sinners like you and me can be some of the most interesting and most effective disciples of Jesus Christ. And that gets us to our third and final point in this morning's sermon – that we've got to be spiritually salty; that we need spiritual character, if we as disciples of Christ are going to make any difference in the world. And that spiritual saltiness and character comes by remembering and celebrating the difference Christ has made in your life.

Certainly, we who have Christ in our lives should be somehow different from those who don't. The things our mouths say, the places our feet take us, the things our hands touch, the things our eyes see, the things we spend our money on, the things we put in our body, our very lifestyles, should somehow set us apart from the rest of the world.

I'm reminded of the little Bible school song: "Be careful little eyes what you see. Be careful little eyes what you see. For the Father up above is looking down in love. Be careful little eyes what you see." And then the song goes from "be careful little eyes" to "little hands" and then to "little feet" and then to "little mouth."

The fact is that Christians do need to be concerned about these things. Otherwise, we're no different from anyone else. And Christ does make a difference – must make a difference – in the lives of those who have him in their heart.

And, yet, there is much in this world of ours that tells us not to be different, not to stick out, to blend in, to be bland and mild. I am, however, reminded of the words of John J. Worth who once said, "Live, my fellow Christians, so that your proud differences may be apparent to all and respected by all. Behold how you are numbered among the children of God, and your lot is among the saints." It was not that you might be mediocre, moral equals of the spiritually impoverished who have faint faith, scant hope, and frigid love, that so much was devised by heaven and sacrificed on earth in your behalf . . . . You are the sons and daughters of prayers and spiritual yearnings, the children of divine hopes as well as of human blood, sweat, and tears. Our children are not born of the will of the flesh alone, not only of human will; they are born of God. Christ did not suffer and die on the cross, the apostles did not preach and the saints did not suffer, Christians have not withstood persecutions through the centuries, in order that you might add the final outrage of annulling their sacrifices by accepting mere equality of dogmatic faith and moral worth with their detractors and their persecutors.

Has Christ made a difference in your life? Can that difference be detected by others? Can you feel the difference in your life? If you can, talk about it. Celebrate it. Get enthused about it. For that's exactly what God needs in his disciples, today.

Amen.