Not Being the Best

Still Holding On

Throughout Mark chapters 8 through 10, we get to hear this struggle of Jesus trying to turn the disciples from thinking on human terms to God’s terms. Last chapter, Peter tried to talk Jesus out of that whole suffering and dying bit… and Jesus called him Satan.

Last week, as the disciples are arguing about who among them was the greatest, Jesus picks up a toddler that the disciples were likely prepared to just step over in the midst of their greatness arguments… and Jesus says “whoever welcomes one such as this welcomes me… and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”

Jesus offers this powerful teaching of setting aside ego so that we might care for those who are the most vulnerable and overlooked in our society around us. And as Jesus is actively teaching the disciples about humility and even as he is still holding this young toddler in his arms… John interrupts him.

John Interrupts Christ

“Teacher!” John says. And, listen carefully to what follows here:

“We saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following us.”

Now, you might think that this would be a good thing. Demons are being cast out… and they are being cast out in the name of Jesus Christ. The teachings of Jesus are being spread. People are listening. And now, here’s someone who is actually going out and trying to help people who are seen as having demons… here’s someone who is helping the folks that have been cast out by the rest of society.

Again, you might think that this would be a good thing. But if you ask John, you would be wrong. But why??? Wouldn’t this other person caring for those on the fringe of society and doing so in Christ’s name be a good thing??? Why is he so upset?

Listen one more time:

“Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in YOUR name, and we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following US.”

John wasn’t upset that this unnamed individual was casting out demons… he didn’t try to stop the person because he was casting out demons. No. John says they tried to stop the guy from casting out demons because he wasn’t following “us.”

The irony is thick here. This unnamed exorcist is doing precisely what Jesus has been calling the disciples to do. He isn’t vying for a seat at the right hand or the left hand of Christ. He isn’t trying to prove himself as the greatest among the disciples. No. The guy that John was trying to stop is out there, in the world, engaged in the very ministry that Christ has called them all to do. John was trying to stop this guy… because he was making them look bad.

Because, for John and at least some of the other disciples, it was STILL a competition. Again, the irony. John started this entire complaint to Christ by calling Jesus “Rabboni…” or “teacher.” And yet, John is proving that he is more interested in being seen as Jesus’ best follower than he is in actually following Jesus’ teachings. He keeps proving that he isn’t really listening to the teachings of the great Rabboni from God.

Following but Not.

It reminds me of a homeless shelter some years ago that was doing some really powerful ministry. They were offering housing to dozens of individuals in need. They had a program to help homeless individuals find jobs and get back up on their own two feet again. In fact, that was a requirement. If someone wanted to stay at the shelter and receive the meals, they needed to work through this program with the hope of getting back off the street permanently. The community really supported their work. Donations poured in to keep things running… but finances were still tight. That’s the nature of non-profits though. But they were also almost always at full capacity.

They couldn’t take everyone who wanted a bed. They just couldn’t. There simply wasn’t enough room. There wasn’t enough staffing. Despite their very best efforts, there were always some needs being left unmet. But, they did a very good job with what they were able to do.

Well, another group of folks in town had become very aware that there were still many people stuck on the streets. And this well-meaning group started a small shelter of their own. A building was donated and this new group was able to offer a safe place for those homeless folks who still couldn’t find a place to put their head down at night. They didn’t have the full program that the big one did. They didn’t offer food or job training or anything like that… just a bed and a pillow. But it was a safe place. A sheltering place with no requirements.

Now, how do you imagine the established shelter responded? After all, their goals of caring for the homeless aligned with one another. The established shelter was almost always at full capacity… and there were needs that they knew they could not meet. You would think they would welcome such additional support in the community… right?

Of course not.

Rather than seeing this new shelter as an ally in the fight against homelessness, they were seen as competition. The fear was that their funding would decrease because people would try to support both shelters instead of just the one. Additionally, part of their pitch for getting new donations was that despite all of their best efforts, there were still people they weren’t able to get to… and your extra gifts could help them offer shelter to those that they hadn’t reached yet… even though they had no intention to expand or change what they were doing. But if, somehow, beds could be found for all the homeless folks in the community… maybe the need for their efforts would not seem as great. Again, we get back to the concern of money.

And so, rather than working together with the new potential partners, the established shelter began a campaign to shut down the new upstart in the community. And eventually, they succeeded. Rather than helping guide the new shelter into a successful battle against homelessness, they pointed out the faults of the fledgling group until the community’s interest in supporting them vanished. And the established shelter’s identity as the one and only… and thus greatest shelter in the community remained solid.

“Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in YOUR name, and we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following US.”

Not Far Fetched

The story of John chastising this guy casting out demons in Jesus’ name might seem far-fetched… until we consider cases like those two homeless shelters. When resources feel limited, we can find ourselves competing to prove ourselves as the greatest and thus most worthy of support over and above those we would see as competitors.

That happened for Jesus’ disciples. That happened for the shelters. That happens among churches. And yes… it can happen even in our personal lives as we interact with others whom we feel threatened by because of their successes.

Have you ever experienced that? If you had siblings close to your age growing up, maybe you felt frustration when you would see them succeed at something because… some how… that spoke to your own worth. Or in the work-place, a co-worker keeps turning out good idea after good idea and you have found yourself perturbed with them because perhaps their successes will impact how others look at YOUR work and YOUR efforts.

We can become envious and frivolous when we see the success of others. That shelter certainly did. The disciples certainly did. You and I… we’re not immune to it either. And in such moments, we can find ourselves yearning to point out the faults of someone else so that we might feel better about our own positions in life… so that we might feel better about the worth of our own lives.

Cut it Off

So what does Jesus say to the disciples as they keep battling with one another with who is the greatest? What does Jesus say to John when he boasts of shutting down the competition in the exorcism business? What does Jesus say to us when we find ourselves competing against one another or when we feel the need to prove our worth above and beyond the worth of someone else?

His response is bold, if painful. Precise, if somewhat grotesque. This is what Jesus says to us as we try to prove ourselves our organization as better than the next one: 42“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. 43If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. 47And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, 48where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

“Cut it off” “Tear it out” Do not go down the path that leads to hell. And while we believe that that we are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. There is a very real truth that when we cause division in our attempt to look the best… when we seek to prove our worth above the worth of our friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors… there is a very real truth that we enter into a dark place.

The call of discipleship is NOT to be the best. It is not to compare what we do with what others do. It is not stacking our perceived worth and value with what we see in others. That is a path to our own personnel hells, if not eternal then certainly in this life we can create a hell for ourselves.

Christ does not call us to compete or compare… it’s much deeper than that. Christ calls us to be faithful in what we do and in who we are with what we have.

And realize too that what we have is a whole jumbled mess. Some of us have great wealth, some do not. Some of us have great energy and enthusiasm, some simply hope to make it through the day. Some of us have confidence that reaches to the stars… and some deal with extraordinary anxiety and depression. Some seem nearly untouched by pain and sickness… and others grief and health issue every day.

So let me be very clear.

You are NOT called to be what you are not.

You are called to be faithful in who you are and in what you do with what you have.

Conclusion

As Jesus instructs his disciples and us, “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Peace be with you.

Let’s pray.