Proper 21 B + Salty Together + 9.26.21

M. Campbell-Langdell

All Santos, Oxnard

(Esther 7:1–6, 9–10; 9:20–22; Psalm 124; James 5:13–20; Mark 9:38–50)

 

John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 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. Whoever is not against us is for us.”

Wow, these are hard words to fully process as a person of faith. As a Christian, I have learned that to follow Christ is my path. And as Christian who sees things from a justice-filtered lens, I have learned that I must have the strength of my convictions and share those with others, not so much for my benefit but for the benefit of others who may have heard a much more limited view of the gospel.
And it would be all too easy for me to judge the disciples in this passage from Mark and not see how I might be inclined to follow in their footsteps on the daily.

See, the disciples tried. They tried to cast out the demon that was in the boy with the unclean spirit earlier in Chapter 9. And Jesus said that that kind came out only through prayer. They were still growing in their spiritual strength to be able to cast out demons. Even seen through our modern lens of understanding that some of these demons were actually mental health issues or epilepsy, the fact remains that the disciples were still in training for healing the people who needed it.

And what happens now, but a stranger comes along and begins to cast out demons. And in Jesus’ name! This person is doing what the disciples could not accomplish themselves. And I relate. If they, who are the direct followers of Jesus cannot yet do this, how can this outsider be legit? Yet Jesus knows that there are more things in heaven and on earth, and sometimes God separately anoints those with special gifts before they are recognizable as allies- think of Paul’s story. He was someone who pursued the Christians, but God knew he would have the gifts to share the good news of Christ, and God recruited him even before any one of Jesus’ followers could recognize it. So Jesus says, whoever is not against us is for us. I would add here an assumption that I make that we must judge people by their fruits. If an individual or group is bearing fruits that show the presence of the Holy Spirit- if they are healing, feeding and generally increasing the love- then they are of God. We just don’t recognize them as other sheep yet.

Now this is sometimes hard for us as Episcopalians to understand because we see the effects of a less than loving brand of Christianity on those in our midst. Every time I go to the Pride festival and stand at the booth, there are a number who come by and share the pain that the church has inflicted upon them. And to those who spread hateful things, I hope they hear Christ’s warning here. To cause any of these little ones – and my little ones here we mean anyone who is on the margins, not just children- to stumble, is a great sin. Why? Because in careless words or even words we think are thoughtful, we can destroy a person’s faith. When we tell them God didn’t create them the way they are and that they need to change for God to love them, that is violence. That can break a person’s relationship with God. And that is one of the worst things we can do. Instead, whether we are on the progressive or more conservative side of things, we must look to others’ fruits. Even if a person does not live like you do, do they treat others with love and care? Do they make the world a better place? Not necessarily in every moment- after all, we none of us have to earn our place in the world in order to be worthy, but in the general shape of their life? If so, and if they are not actively harming others, then I think Christ would say whoever is not against us, is for us.

Why is this important? It is important because together we can do so much more. I was in a meeting this week of different people of faith planning our foul weather shelter alternative this year. Some people present acknowledged that their tradition does not officially ordain women, although we all discussed how even though the men are at the head of the church, women are still “the neck” of their leadership, to quote “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” As far as I know the other organization present probably would not like certain aspects of my identity. But the good news is I don’t have to be a leader in either of their churches, I just have to be a collaborator with their faithful people. And from there we can see how to work together to bear fruits of mercy in Oxnard. Because the power of people of faith working together is tremendous. And as I continue in ministry, the more I learn there are times to challenge each other and there are times to prayerfully acknowledge and set aside differences in order to work together on specific projects. Because the greatest evil would be to impede the good work we can do together, even while we are working out our theological differences.

So how do we keep our sense of self in the midst of this? We remain salty! Salt has many levels of meaning here. It evokes the sacrifice that was salted on the altar, and thus means we live our lives faithfully, salted by God for good works. It adds flavor, and we add flavor to the world- we bring our faithfulness into every situation whether overtly or more subtly- I am thinking for example of our teachers changing the world. They may never discuss God overtly but show faithfulness in how they serve their students. Lastly salt counteracts decay. We can see what is neglected or may be causing rot in our society and bring salt to that area, but always with great care not to hurt individuals but to call out actions that are harmful, just as our Border Patrol was called out for their methods of protecting the border this past week using horses and riding crops around the refugees.

The more I grow in faith, the more I realize that while this passage has individual consequences and we must be careful to include rather than exclude wherever possible, this passage also has consequences for community. We can be so much better together, respectfully working past differences and being Christ’s hands and feed in the world, bringing healing to those who need it most. Let us together be the Salt and Light that brings healing to the world. Amen.