Already the new men & women are dotted here and there all over the earth. They will not be like the idea of “religious people” which you have formed. When you have recognized one of them, you will recognize the next one much more easily. And I suspect that they recognize each other immediately, across every barrier of color, sex, class, age, and even of creeds. In that way, to become holy is rather like joining a secret society.  To put it at the very lowest, it must be great fun.
                                               - C. S. Lewis (adapted) 


READING:
John spoke up, “Teacher, we saw a man using your name to expel demons and we stopped him because he wasn’t in our group.” Jesus wasn’t pleased. “Don’t stop him. No one can use my name to do something good and powerful, and in the next breath cut me down. If he’s not an enemy, he’s an ally. Why, anyone by just giving you a cup of water in my name is on our side. Count on it that God will notice. “On the other hand, if you give one of these simple, childlike believers a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of their simple trust, you’ll soon wish you hadn’t. You’d be better off dropped in the middle of the lake with a millstone around your neck.
                                             - Mark 9:38-42 (The Message)


REFLECTION:

How does one identify a Christian? What a silly question, some might respond. They can be spotted easily in a church pew every Sunday (or at least most Sundays). They are respectable, upstanding and, importantly, they stay out of trouble. They serve on committees, they write checks (sometimes big checks), and they don’t make waves by pressing our envelope too much.

Some would go further than that. Christians, they respond, fit into our group. They share our beliefs closely, look like us, talk like us, share our cultural values (and sometimes even political), and on and on and on.

On the basis of these criteria, it should be a piece of cake to identify a Christian. The disciples of Jesus certainly thought it was easy to spot their allies, those who could be considered part of their group. But Jesus would have none of this. For him, the mark of disciples has nothing to do with social status, the group they run with, their familiarity with doctrine and correct comportment. For Jesus, it’s simple: they live their lives to some extent on the basis of compassion. They may not have a good grasp of all that means; they may be naïve; they may even be unsure of what they are doing and why. For Jesus, an act as simple as offering a cup of water is an act of faith… and God will notice such faith.

Wow! What a broad, inclusive society of faith. How did Jesus put it? “If he’s not an enemy, he’s an ally” (I don’t think Jesus would disagree with saying “he or she”). Our criteria narrow the field a whole bunch. Our criteria guarantee that the society remains secret. Jesus’ criteria sketch a big tent, a not-so-secret society. The only thing secret about this society, as Lewis points out, is based on the fact that Christians don’t call attention to themselves, and they don’t fit the stereotypes we insist upon, and they don’t conform to our expectations. Thus, they are hard to spot.

Perhaps we can learn something from Jesus (what a novel idea) and C. S. Lewis, and welcome into our "society" all those compassionate people who are not our enemies. It’s a tall order, but it might just be worth the effort.

In the iconic holiday movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, a troubled George Bailey is approached on his front stoop by his mother, who knows precisely what he needs to cheer him up. She convinces him to visit an old flame, Mary Hatch, and is prepared to send him off immediately, magically producing his hat from behind her back. “Here’s your hat, what’s your hurry?” comes George’s reply, gently chastising his mother for (successfully) manipulating him. Wow! That’s what I call a classic response. It has long been my favorite one-liner from the movie; even eclipsing such standouts as “Here’s to my brother, George Bailey, the richest man in Bedford Falls.” Or “No man is a failure who has friends.” Before I explain how all this relates to Jesus and his disciples on the way to Jerusalem, let's set the context in Mark 9: 

READING:
Leaving there, they went through Galilee. He didn’t want anyone to know their whereabouts, for he wanted to teach his disciples. He told them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed to some people who want nothing to do with God. They will murder him. Three days after his murder, he will rise, alive.” They didn’t know what he was talking about, but were afraid to ask him about it. They came to Capernaum. When he was safe at home, he asked them, “What were you discussing on the road?” The silence was deafening—they had been arguing with one another over who among them was greatest. He sat down and summoned the Twelve. “So you want first place? Then take the last place. Be the servant of all.” He put a child in the middle of the room. Then, cradling the little one in his arms, he said, “Whoever embraces one of these children as I do embraces me, and far more than me—God who sent me.”
                                   - Mark 9.30-37 (The Message)

REFLECTION:
"Here's your hat, what's your hurry?" I’m often reminded of this quip when reading Mark’s gospel, because the sense of being rushed, hurried along, and insistent on arriving at a significant destination characterizes the gospel. Time and again the author uses expressions that refuse to let the story lag, that don’t allow for a leisurely stroll toward Jerusalem; expressions such as: the spirit immediately drove him; as soon as they left; in the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up; immediately they left; immediately he called them; immediately he got in the boat… I think you get the point.

Every step along the way there are lessons to be learned by the disciples, ideals to be grasped, and consequences to be recognized. But Mark seems convinced that they won’t mean anything unless viewed through the prism of the cross, the ultimate expression of God’s love. That’s why nothing is more important than leaving the dust of the journey behind, and arriving at the point of the story; the cross.

On Sunday we will examine the possibility that our spiritual journeys are much the same. There are lessons to be learned along the way, but they won’t make much sense or be effective in our lives, until we are awed, overwhelmed, and transformed by God’s love. I hope to see you on Sunday.