But What About Them?

Reflections on Mark 9:38-50

“But what about them?” That’s the question that John asked Jesus, and people in the church have always asked. So and so is ministering in Christ’s name, but he isn’t one of us. Do they have the right? Do they have the authority? Are they leading others astray? Are they competing with us for the same person?
I confess, I’ve been a part of that. I have my own prejudice against certain ministers of whom I question their integrity who are ministering to a lot more people than I am. Perhaps you have done the same thing. It is a subtle form of religious bigotry, to either dismiss or actively undermine others who are ministering in Christ’s name who do not fit with our theology, tradition, or way of doing things.
We have to avoid and abhor this sort of attitude toward other Christians, pastors, and churches who minister in Christ’s name but who don’t belong with us. First of all, to be in ministry at all is a challenging thing. It gets Satan’s attention. The Evil One never stops seeking to undermine and disrupt ministry. Why should we assist the devil by piling on? We need to encourage anyone who is trying to minister to others in the name of Christ, not help the devil by running them down or discouraging them.
We must also avoid this attitude because it does not build up the body of Christ but tears it apart. The hand cannot say to the eye, “I have no need of you.” The church, to be whole and healthy, needs everyone who is seeking to serve God and minister to others. How does dismissing or trying to prevent or undermine the ministry of another person or church help build up the body of Christ?
Finally, we must avoid this attitude because the truth is no one can minister in Christ’s name without the grace of God working through that person. If people are being ministered to, are drawing closer to God and maturing in Christ as the result of someone’s efforts, for us to dismiss or oppose that person is equivalent to opposing God. And that is a losing proposition.
So, when Jesus was confronted with one of his disciples revealing a bigoted attitude toward someone who was ministering in Christ’s name but wasn’t “one of them,” Jesus is very magnanimous by saying, “Whoever is not against us, is for us.” In other words, if a person is not explicitly an enemy of God, then they should be treated as a friend. Jesus does not say this other person is correct in all matters. Jesus is not saying the disciples have to take this person in as “one of their own.” Jesus didn’t say, “Go and be like them or do what they are doing.” Jesus is simply saying, “Leave them be, and be grateful that people are being healed.”
Jesus then goes on to talk about being careful that one does not cause a person who is weak or young in the faith to stumble. Jesus refocuses the disciples’ judging spirit in a different direction, not on “others,” but on themselves. And Jesus makes it very clear, as we saw last week, that He takes very seriously the care of those who are young, or vulnerable. Like last week, Jesus said that when you welcome a little child, you welcome Him, and the One who sent Him. This week, Jesus says that a person that causes a little one to stumble should desire to have a millstone tied around their neck and be thrown into the sea, because what God is going to do to that person is much worse than that. This should get the attention of all of us. Jesus makes it very clear, He is less concerned about who is authorized to minister in His name and more concerned that people who are weak in faith do not lose their faith.
And one way people who are not grounded in their faith can lose their faith is when they see disciples, committed Christians, casting aspersions on other Christians. Divisiveness is a scandal. A new Christian is not going to understand all the nuances of doctrinal differences and reasons why some Christians do things this way and some another way. They aren’t going to know why there are all these different denominations or ways churches are organized. What they see is that Christ changes lives through people. And if they see someone, or some church, where people are coming to Christ, a new Christian is not going to get hung up over that, but are going to naturally give thanks to God. But when they see other Christians run down or dismiss another church or another person just because they aren’t “one of us”, that causes the new Christian to be confused. “How can this person or this church be wrong if people are coming to Christ?” And that confusion may cause someone new in the faith to lose their faith. And when that happens, where will God’s anger be directed?
A healthy community safe for those who are weak or new in faith is a community where there is love and charity for all, and where there is a spirit of support and encouragement for the ministry of other churches. A healthy community is one that is secure in its own identity, heritage, traditions, and understandings of God, and feels no need to run down other churches in order to feel secure about itself. A healthy community is one that appreciates and celebrates the church of Christ that is diverse, and yet united by one Spirit, one Creed, one Eucharist. A healthy community can say about others, “Yes, we are not a part of that church, they are not one of us, we have our ways, they have theirs, but we are all ministering in the name of Christ, and God is working through them like God is working through us. Glory to God!” This is a healthy attitude that Christ desires for His Church.
For those within the church who do not hold this attitude and try to infect a community of faith with a spirit of divisiveness and religious bigotry, Jesus instructs: “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off, for it is better to enter the kingdom maimed than have both hands and go to eternal punishment.” This is a teaching about internal discipline. We are not to judge others who are not a part of our fellowship, but we must hold each other accountable and cut off those who would seek to poison our fellowship, not out of hatred or animosity, but for the sake of the community, and especially for those who are weak in faith.
Consider, you discover that one of your eyes is diseased. To keep that diseased eye in your body would lead you to a painful death. But to have that diseased eye removed would allow you to live well for many more years. Although it is painful and not a pleasing thing to do, because you would want both of your eyes, but for the sake of your whole body, you must have the diseased eye removed. It is of this spirit that we watch over one another in love and, if need be, cut off those among us who are harming the whole body. What a difficult thing. It is an action that requires much discernment and hesitancy. By God’s grace let it never be. But Christ is clear. A healthy community is critical for the protection of those who are weak in faith. Rigorous internal discipline must be there, and we all must make every effort to build one another up.
It is a difficult struggle. God knows this. And it is a battle to maintain a healthy community of faith because the Adversary never tires in disrupting our fellowship. God is gracious, and full of mercy. God can heal every wound if we turn to Him in repentance and humility. May the Holy Spirit continue to work among us and within our hearts, that we might grow in our love for God, and for all whom God loves, that there would be increasingly among us a spirit of unity in the bond of peace, for the sake of the least of these and for the glory of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.