Tripped Up 11 March 2008

Mark 9:42-50
Tuesday, 11 March 2008

I have had occasion to think again today of how blessed and favored I generally have been. God has marvelously opened doors and made ways for me all of my life. Although I have had occasion to stumble along the way, I haven't had many circumstances in which I felt that others intentionally placed a stumbling block in my way. I may have tripped up, but not because someone else stuck out a foot.

In the text, Jesus turns the spotlight onto the disciples as individuals. Watch out, he says, lest your own intrinsic parts - your own hands, feet, and eyes - become potential culprits in an incident of stumbling all the way the hell. Not only must the disciples tread carefully around the "least of these" or face the wrath of a God who loves "the least", they must also examine themselves to make sure that their own character conforms to the "salty" flavor that befits Jesus' followers. Worthless indeed is the salt that has lost its flavor. Jesus concludes, Act like salt and get along with one another.

This is a timely message as we prepare for Holy Week. Even when we see ourselves as a part of the inner group of Jesus' followers, we must always be on guard lest we either cause others to stumble or, more likely, we allow an occasion of stumbling to persist in ourselves. I think the big point that Jesus makes here is that our ability to walk without tripping up does not happen by accident. It comes as a result both of God's grace and of our vigilance. And we should know, further, that when we trip we ourselves can become a stumbling block that causes someone else to fall.

Sing, "Grace Greater than All our Sin"

Let us pray:
Here we are again, Lord, forced to examine ourselves and confront the reality that we are most often the culprits in our own downfall. While devilment abounds in the world around us, it is usually our own hands, feet, and eyes that lead us to destruction. Again, we know that we stand in the need of your grace. Forgive our sins. And while you are remaking us, please preserve those who look to us for guidance from the pitfalls our failings may create for them. Make us salty again as we learn to live at peace with one another. We pray, through our Crucified Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.