Sermon; Proper 21B; Mark 9:38-50

“Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he was not following us.” So says John to Jesus.

This first paragraph of today's gospel (which goes down to Jesus rewarding anyone who gives a disciple a cup of water) really should be paired with last week's gospel passage which talked about welcoming the children. A passage that is focused on welcoming is rightly followed by this passage of exclusion and Jesus saying, “Don't stop him.” This again points to Jesus' ever-widening circle of inclusion.

There is a lot in Scripture from which we can learn and which can speak to us; after all, it is called the living word of God. Everything from individual prayer life to corporate-worship to caring for the outcast to almost every aspect of our life is dealt with in Scripture. Some of it we have discarded. Some of it we have maintained. Some of it we have expanded. But not everyone is in the same place or holds the same views of Scripture. And that can make things somewhat complicated.

In the study of Mark led by Dcn. Sue we got a little sidetracked last week and started discussing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. If you don't know, that is the church in Jerusalem that tradition says was built in 326 over the sites of Jesus' crucifixion and burial. It has a long history, which I won't get into, but religious services are held there each day by the Roman Catholics, Eastern/Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Coptic, Ethiopian, and Syrian Orthodox Churches. In 1852 the sultan of the Ottoman Empire declared which Christian denominations would be allowed to have access and control over which parts of the church. This was done because, quite frankly, the groups couldn't play well together and brawls between various monks/priests would break out. And long before 1852, tensions between the various sects got so bad that in 1182 an agreement was made to give the church keys to a Muslim family for safekeeping. The Christians wouldn't trust their fellow Christians with the key to the church, so they asked a Muslim family to be in charge of it. And to this day, a Muslim father will hand the key down to his son who will hand it down to his son because they're the only ones everybody trusts.

I tell this story because this is a perfect example of what is going on in today's gospel.

Notice what John says to Jesus: “We saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following US.” He doesn't say, “because he wasn't following you,” but, “he wasn't following us.”

There is a sense of ownership in that statement. There is a sense of entitlement. We are in the right group. We get to decide who can participate. We will define proper behaviors/protocols.

This also made me think of my ordination. I do believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, and to contain all things necessary to salvation. But that doesn't mean that I believe all things in Scripture are necessary to salvation.

I also believe that the Episcopal church is a great institution. But that doesn't mean that I expect all Christians to operate the same way and/or believe the same things I do. I have to let the Roman Catholics, United Church of Christ, Church of the Brethren, the Methodists, and others operate as they see fit in their quest to follow Christ. Otherwise I will be just like John – upset that they aren't following US. Otherwise we may end up like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and spend as much time fighting with each other as we do following Christ.

We can spend so much time worried that people aren't following US that we neglect to see how they might be following Jesus. John made this mistake in today's gospel passage. The various denominations in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre have made this mistake over the centuries. Christians today and throughout history have spent more time worried about who is not following us that it's a wonder anything good gets done for Christ.

This can even happen within a congregation. One group of people is so convinced of their particular position that problems occur when it's perceived others aren't following us. Whether it's music, carpet, artwork, outreach, Sunday school, and on and on and on. The reality is that we need to quit trying to make others follow us and spend more time focused on how we can follow Christ.

This whole us/them thing has been with humans for so long that it's part of our DNA, and just because we are Christians doesn't meant it magically goes away. This particular sin of division, pride, and prejudice is such a persistent and lingering sin that we even have a prayer to address it. Turn to page 818 in the BCP and let us pray that prayer together:

O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior, the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us from godly union and concord; that, as there is but one Body and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Where it says, “may we be united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity,” it echoes Jesus statement that, “Whoever is not against us is for us.” We would do well to pray this prayer every day.

I don't need everyone to be members of Saint John's. I don't need everyone to worship the same way I do. I don't need everyone to participate in the same ministries or have the same understanding of Scripture.

What I need, what we all need, is to understand that “one holy bond” is not the same as universal conformity. The Methodists do their things, as do the Roman Catholics, Eastern/Greek Orthodox, Church of the Brethren, the Episcopalians, and others. Instead of pointing out what they are doing wrong, what if we all simply said, “They are doing a good thing for Christ.”

Granted, this doesn't always work. There are people like Pastor Rick Wiles who has said that vegan burgers are basically a Satanic plot to alter human DNA so people can't be born again. It's hard for me to find a good thing he's doing for Christ. But that may say as much about me as it does about him.

Following Christ through the narrow gate of love is hard work. Working to find the good is much more difficult than following the easy path of division and exclusion. This is why it was so easy for John to attempt to stop someone who wasn't part of the in-group, or to look for ways to exclude that other man.

But, like it or not, we are asked to look for the good rather than the things we don't like. Of course, this doesn't mean ignoring those things which are harmful, hurtful, or hateful. And I would argue that people who participate in harmful, hurtful, and hateful acts are not following Christ, no matter how much they claim they are. But beyond that, beyond anti-Christ behavior, Christ is asking us to look upon others with the eyes of charity so that we worry less about people following US, and celebrate more how they're following Christ.

If we can do that, we'll be better off in the long run.

Amen.