“A Stepping Stone or Stumbling Block?” 2012

Romans 14:1-8 Mark 9:38-48

Romans 14:1-8

14Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. 2Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. 3Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. 4Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand. 5Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. 6Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God. 7We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. 8If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.

Mark 9:38-48

38John 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.” 39But 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. 40Whoever is not against us is for us. 41For 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. 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. 43If 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. 45And 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. 47And 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, 48where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

When I finally come to my end, some things I will have gotten right

and other decisions in life, I will have gotten wrong ---

-- but in either case,

it will be the grace of God that brings me home.

When I served a church along the North Carolina coast,

many of our visitors were people with weekend beach houses.

Since there weren’t any Quaker meetinghouses in our area,

a family of very faithful Quakers found their way to our church.

Eventually they moved into their beach house full time

and got very involved in the life of our congregation,

singing in the choir and participating in our activities.

They were deeply committed Christians, faithful to Scripture,

and certainly fit in with the Presbyterian Church.

I admired and respected their faith & dedication to God.

One evening they had Kathy and I over for a meal in their home.

We talked a lot about Quaker beliefs and being Presbyterian,

then Bill and Elaine asked about joining the church.

They explained that it was important for me to understand that

they were not rejecting their Quaker faith and traditions,

but had experienced the same commitment to Jesus Christ

and that our church seemed compatible with their faith.

I was delighted that they wanted to join our church family.

I also knew that Quakers stress the work of the Holy Spirit,

and seeing baptism as entirely spiritual, don’t use water.

Our Presbyterian Directory for worship allows some flexibility,

but I wasn’t sure about a baptism that didn’t involve water…

… I had never heard of a Presbyterian being dry-cleaned.

I knew the family well, the authenticity and depth of their faith,

and I was pretty sure God was OK with a waterless-baptism,

but I wasn’t as sure about the Presbyterian Church.

I asked about getting baptized with water, and they said, “no”,

for that would deny the validity of their Quaker baptism,

… and understandably, they weren’t willing to do that.

As it happened there was a Presbytery meeting the next day,

so I suggested I’d ask wiser and more experienced pastors,

and we agreed that we’d each pray and seek more guidance.

As it happened some very respected seminary professors,

and wiser experienced pastors I admired were at the meeting,

and I felt much relieved knowing that they would guide me.

When I described my waterless baptism – membership dilemma,

the professors agreed, that is was a fascinating question,

and the wiser and more experienced pastors all told me

that they had never heard of a Quaker wanting

to join a Presbyterian church before …

… and hoped I would let them know how I finally worked it out.

Back at home, I spent several hours in deep prayer and study,

and decided that it came to down to,

what it means to be a faith family & community of grace,

and focused on whether it was more likely that God

wanted me to exclude or God wanted me to welcome?

In Romans, Paul is addressing a similar issue and question.

As the early Church grew and spread beyond Jewish believers,

it became more complicated to separate faith from culture.

What does God actually require of us,

and what is really more a matter of religious tradition,

our religious taste, and comfortable familiarity?

Does the amount of water determine the validity of a baptism?

The two issues stirring things up among the Christians in Rome,

had to do with food restrictions and keeping Jewish Holy days,

which were seen very differently and were quite divisive

between the Jewish believers and Gentile believers.

Diet and Holy days had served to identify the Jewish community

as the people of God, separate from the rest of their culture.

Jesus was Jewish and lived as an observant Jew,

so why wouldn’t the faith community emerging from Judaism

maintain those same religious rituals and traditions?

As Christianity spread out into the gentile world,

this become both a cultural and theological concern.

Paul as a theologian recognized that we are saved by grace alone,

and that Jewish religious rituals are not relevant any more.

But Paul was also not willing to let that difference

split the church or destroy their unity in Christ.

Paul explains, that loving other Christians and valuing them

matters far more than what we eat or if we keep Holy days.

Salvation is all God’s grace, not anything that we do.

The critical truth is that we are one faith family

and that now we belong to God and not to ourselves.

Notice how forcefully Paul writes about this. vs. 4, 6b-8

Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. … Those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God. We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.

Paul’s point: we belong to God, and we are His servants.

Scripture, our conscience, Christian fellowship help guide us.

Question is, does it honor God as an expression of our faith?

- does it deepen our walk with the Lord?

and does it build-up the body of Christ, the Church?

… for anything less does not honor or glorify the Lord God.

Paul was explaining and insisting to the Christians in Rome,

that as those united by Christ’s death and resurrection,

by that grace, we are called to live with our differences

for the sake of God’s will and Christian community.

It is therefore, not our place to criticize God’s other servants,

because we are all God’s children saved only by God’s grace,

and we all share the same humble rank in God’s household.

Who are we to reject who or what the Lord has claimed and approved.

The Gospel lesson from Mark is also dealing with this same issue.

This is the same chapter and is still addressing the concern

with the disciples arguing about who is the greatest,

and who will be in charge making the decisions.

This is also the same chapter in which the disciples

were unable to cast out a demon and Jesus had to bail them out…

… which might possibly have something to do with vs. 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.”

“You’re not a fireman , how dare you put out that fire.”

“You’re not a lifeguard, how dare you save me from drowning.”

“You’re not one of us,

how dare you cast out a demon in the name of Jesus.”

But Jesus disagrees with John. He is willing for good to be done,

even by those who are not his recognized followers. vs. 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.

In that culture the phrase, in your name, or in my name

meant that the man was acknowledging the power of Jesus,

and submitting his deed to the authority of Jesus.

Though he wasn’t one of the 12 disciples,

he was doing a good deed as an expression of faith in Jesus,

which Jesus chose not to reject or oppose.

Then Jesus goes even further, vs. 41-42

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. 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.

Jesus is using rhetorical hyperbole to emphasize a point ---

- even something as minor as a cup of water to drink

is appreciated and will be rewarded by God …

… so don’t criticize the faith-efforts of others,

don’t cause one of my little-ones, a babe in Christ to stumble.

Our faith journey is a à

life-long process of spiritual development and discernment,

and not everyone has arrived at the same place…

… but since God is sovereign and in charge,

we’re called to trust God’s wisdom and power

to complete the working of God’s grace, will and purpose.

An efficiency expert concluded a lecture with a note of caution:

“You don’t want to try these techniques at home.”

“Why not?” asked someone from the back of the audience.

“I watched my wife’s routine at breakfast for years,” the expert explained. “She made lots of trips to the refrigerator, stove, table, and cabinets, often carrying just a single item at a time. ‘Honey,’ I suggested, ‘Why don’t you try carrying several things at once?’”

The person in the audience asked, “Did it save time?”

The expert replied, “Actually, yes. It used to take her 20 minutes to get breakfast ready. Now I do it in seven.”

Criticism is not an effective motivator,

it takes away our joy, and interferes with God’s grace.

We all know that,

we’ve seen it’s destructive power in the church and how à

it does terrible damage to our witness and ministry.

Jesus continues to speak in rhetorical hyperbole, vs. 43, 45, 47

If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; …

And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; …

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.

In Judaism such self-mutilation was strictly prohibited.

Jesus was making the point,

that of course you wouldn’t cut a body part off,

but that would be far better than a stumble.

The original Greek supports two possible translations:

either causing you to stumble,

or you causing someone else to stumble …

… and Jesus is opposed to either one.

The question is,

what does it mean for Jesus to dwell in us and among us,

and truly be, the sovereign Lord of our lives?

It means that we let God’s grace draw us nearer and deeper,

and allow God’s grace guide us in building up the body.

It is consciously and deliberately living

a life of faith that makes room for God’s gracious love.

The Session and congregation at the Presbyterian church

enthusiastically welcomed

the Quaker family into our membership,

and I resisted my inclination to bring a squirt gun.

They were a joyful blessing and wonderful addition to our family.

Our call is to focus on our dual goal –

- a closer and deeper walk with God,

and letting God’s gracious love build up His Church …

… which means trusting God

to bring all his people to where they need to be;

by keeping my ego, my ways and my need to control

from distracting, hindering or interfering

with God’s gracious love, will and purpose.

I’d like to share an encouraging letter along those same lines,

about how God’s grace and presence are making us a true home.

“I just want to let you know that for the past month I wanted to let you know what a blessing the church atmosphere has been to me. The genuine friendliness I have observed seems different than other years I have been a member. Of course the choir, children’s time speakers and special programs that are given so much detailed attention also bless me every week. … God is so good to me and I thank him for our church.”

That strikes me as a gracious, encouraging word of the Lord.