“Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what
you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts
may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found…”
from the
Collect of the Day
It’s not an easy gospel reading when called to meditate, pray, and
reflect on conflict in community, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who
believe in me to sin…” (9:42 RSV). The Greek word
skandalisē (σκανδαλίσῃ) is usually translated as “cause to stumble” or “cause to
sin” and is a term that Mark uses here, and three other times in this reading, to
indicate a rejection of God’s message.
So, apparently we have a lot of responsibility when we involve
ourselves in the lives of others. If we lead others away from God, then what we
hear in this reading is the finality of judgment. That millstone used for
grinding grain would have been familiar to the hearers of this parable and would
have brought a vivid image to mind. Having a millstone tied around your neck
before being thrown into the sea would mean that you’d quickly sink to the
bottom, into the muck, where you’d be swallowed up. Doesn’t get much more final
than that.
As followers of the Way of Jesus Christ we’re being told that there
is no room for half-hearted attempts in our words, our actions, our lives. After
beginning this gospel reading with a death/life paradox, we are presented with
three parallel statements about what it means to save/lose your hand, eye, and
foot. The formulation of each of the sayings is the same:
If your
(hand/eye/foot) skandalisē you,
(remove) it…
… for it is
better to enter life (without) it…
… than be
thrown (with it) into Gehenna.
Not a lot of room for negotiation! Perhaps the way to put a
‘positive spin’ on this is to say that we are called to sanctity and to lead
others to that same holiness.
Thomas Merton said “We are supposed to be the light of the world.
We are supposed to be a light to ourselves and to others. That may well be what
accounts for the fact that the world is in darkness!” We possess the capacity to decide to choose
to work on behalf of good or evil. Both Jesus and Merton invite us to believe
that who we are and what we do matter.
Jesus’ words to us today are uncompromising but full of hope. “For
every one will be salted with fire” (9:49 RSV). Let us encourage one another to
touch that fire and live in peace as we pursue God’s rule on this earth.
