{"id":2868,"date":"2015-09-26T15:25:44","date_gmt":"2015-09-26T15:25:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/?p=2868"},"modified":"2015-09-26T15:25:44","modified_gmt":"2015-09-26T15:25:44","slug":"commentary-on-the-26th-sunday-of-the-year-b-27th-september-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/commentary-on-the-26th-sunday-of-the-year-b-27th-september-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Commentary on the 26th Sunday of the year (B) 27th September 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

TEXT \u2014 Mark 9: 38\u201348 \u2014 Tolerance Yet Radical Commitment<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

A Mind Open to Others<\/strong><\/p>\n

38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me. 40 For he that is not against us is for us.<\/em><\/p>\n

Charity is Rewarded<\/strong><\/p>\n

41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward.<\/em><\/p>\n

Scandal<\/strong><\/p>\n

42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea.<\/em><\/p>\n

Radical Commitment<\/strong><\/p>\n

43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.<\/em><\/p>\n

45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell.<\/em><\/p>\n

47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. <\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

EXPLANATION<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

This Gospel passage, Mk, 9: 38\u201348, omits verses 44 and 46. The reason is that these verses contained the same words from Isaiah 66: 24 that are contained in verse 48. They did not appear in the best manuscripts and were probably inserted by some scribe at a later date.<\/p>\n

38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us.”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

There were three passion predictions by Jesus. Each was built on the same lines \u2014 prediction, misunderstanding by disciples, and instruction by Jesus. The three privileged apostles were those involved in expressing the misinterpretation of the disciples. After the first prediction, Peter objected to Jesus speaking of his death (Mk. 8: 31\u201333). After the second prediction, John the Apostle criticised the success of an exorcist (Mk. 9: 30\u201332; 38\u201340). After the third, James and John showed that they did not understand the mission of Jesus (Mk. 10: 32\u201340).<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn said to him<\/em>\u201d \u2014 This is the single occasion in Mark\u2019s Gospel where John the apostle acts on his own. This passage is the misunderstanding and instruction that followed the second prediction of Jesus\u2019 passion.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Teacher<\/em>\u2019\u201d \u2014 John refers to Jesus as \u201cTeacher<\/em>\u201d because his faith is still weak and he has not fully accepted him as Messiah. He still clings to the idea that Jesus is a political king\u2013to\u2013be. He will later request a good position in the leadership of Jesus\u2019 kingdom (Mk. 10: 35\u201340).<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018we saw a man casting out demons in your name<\/em>\u2019\u201d \u2014 The man was using the name of Jesus as a magical chant. Obviously he was successful. He does not seem to have hindered or jeopardised Jesus ministry in any way.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018we forbade him<\/em>\u2019\u201d \u2014 John and the others were protective of Jesus\u2019 powers. The term \u201cwe forbade<\/em>\u201d is translated by the Jerusalem Bible as \u201cwe tried to stop him\u201d. It is not clear whether the disciples used words or force to stop the man using the name of Jesus for exorcisms.<\/p>\n

John was very intolerant towards others who were not banded as disciples. On a later occasion he asked that fire be sent down from heaven on a Samaritan village that did not receive Jesus. His motive, the protection of Jesus, may have been good but his manner of doing this was not.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018because he was not following us<\/em>\u2019\u201d \u2014 They objected not because the man was not following Jesus as a disciple but because he was not following \u201cus<\/em>\u201d. They were assuming authority and power that Jesus had not given them. There could have been some jealousy also because the twelve had been unable to exorcise a young boy possessed by an epileptic demon (Mk. 9: 16\u201318).<\/p>\n

39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me. 40 For he that is not against us is for us.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201c\u2018Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon<\/em> after to speak evil of me\u2019\u201d<\/em> \u2014 Jesus acknowledged that the man did \u201ca mighty work in my name<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Jesus showed himself tolerant of others using his name to do good even though they were not disciples. Both the origin and ultimate end of the exorcism was centered on Jesus \u2014 the man used Jesus\u2019 name and would have to attribute the exorcism to Jesus, not himself, because he used the name of Jesus in the incantation. He presented Jesus to people who probably had never heard of him. One who is waging war against the devil and forces of evil is doing what Jesus does.<\/p>\n

Moses acted in a similar manner, asking for tolerance, when Eldad and Medad prophesied, though chosen but not registered as prophets, (Nm. 11: 26\u201330).<\/p>\n

Neither Jesus nor Moses approved of exclusivism, a major fault of the Pharisees which blinded them to the message of Jesus. Those who do good must be accepted as brothers and sisters though not disciples or even Christians. Their freedom and consciences must be respected. Verse 41 supports this.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018For he that is not against us is for us<\/em>\u2019\u201d \u2014 This was a Jewish proverb that summarised the previous verse 39<\/p>\n

41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cFor truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ<\/em>\u201d \u2014 because you are a disciple of Christ, is the meaning. Whoever gives as little as a \u201ccup of water<\/em>\u201d to a disciple gives it to Christ.<\/p>\n

\u201cwill by no means lose his reward<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Whether the reward is to be in the present or future is not specified.<\/p>\n

42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Four examples are now given of the radical choice each one must make \u2014 hell or eternal life.<\/p>\n

“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin<\/em>\u201d \u2014 \u201cThe little ones who believe in<\/em>\u201d Jesus are his immature disciples, not exclusively children.<\/p>\n

The expression \u201ccauses\u2026 to sin<\/em>\u201d occurs in verses 42, 43, 45, 47. In verse 42 the reference is to one person being the cause of a Christian falling into sin. In the other three verses the reference is to the cause of sin being in oneself.<\/p>\n

Mark uses the Greek verb skandalisein<\/em>, from which we have \u201cscandalise.\u201d It does not mean \u2018to shock,\u2019 but \u2018to put a stumbling block in the way of someone.\u2019 Jesus is not referring only to leading someone to sin. When a priest or a teacher is rude to students that can cause them to stumble in faith. When one gossips, this can lead others to trip. If this topic had been mentioned a new verse might read along the lines: better for the gossip to cut off his\/her tongue and enter eternal life mute than be thrown into Gehenna full\u2013voiced.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cit would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea.<\/em>\u201d \u2014 The millstone was a very heavy stone used in a mill to grind wheat. The adjective \u201cgreat<\/em>\u201d adds to the picture of a huge weight. At home women used a small stone to grind the wheat but in a mill the stone would be so large a donkey was used to rotate the stone. The reference is to the latter. This would anchor the person to the bottom of the sea and he would drown. Death by drowning was a Roman punishment.<\/p>\n

43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

These next three verses are addressed to disciples, Christians.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if\u2026 causes you to sin<\/em>\u201d \u2014 This is the first of three sentences that begin with these words: \u201cand if your hand\u2026 <\/em>\u201d, \u201cand if our foot\u2026 <\/em>\u201d \u201cand if your eye\u2026 causes you to sin<\/em>\u201d. The consequences are to be drastic to oneself here and now rather than suffer eternal punishment. This is not a recommendation to self\u2013mutilation but examples of how determined one should be to undergo any sacrifice to avoid hell.<\/p>\n

\u201cit is better for you to enter life maimed<\/em>\u201d \u2014 This expression is used again in verse 45. In verse 47 \u201clife<\/em>\u201d is changed to \u201ckingdom of God<\/em>\u201d. This indicates that \u201clife<\/em>\u201d is identical to the \u201ckingdom of God<\/em>\u201d, eternal life (Mk. 10: 17, 30).<\/p>\n

\u201cgo to hell, to the unquenchable fire<\/em>\u201d \u2014 \u201cGo to hell<\/em>\u201d is paralleled in verses 45 and 47 by \u201cbe thrown into hell<\/em>\u201d. The verbs are in the \u2018divine passive\u2019 case, meaning that the action is attributed to God.<\/p>\n

The word translated as \u201chell<\/em>\u201d is Gehenna<\/em>. This name referred to a narrow valley near Jerusalem where human sacrifices were once offered to Molech (2 Chr. 28: 3; 33: 6; Jr. 7: 31; 19: 5\u20136; 32: 35). Fire was used in the sacrifices. Later the city rubbish was burnt there. It was a place of decay and smoldering fire, the very opposite of life. For the Jewish people, the constant fire and smoke symbolised the torments of hell for the wicked.<\/p>\n

45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cwhere their worm does not die<\/em>\u201d \u2014 This is based on Is. 66: 24 \u2014 “And they <\/em>[all mankind] shall go forth and look on the dead bodies of the men that have rebelled against me; for their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh”.<\/em><\/p>\n

Judith 16: 17 gives a descriptive explanation of the words \u201cworms<\/em>\u201d and \u201cfire<\/em>\u201d \u2014 \u201cWoe to the nations who rise against my race! The Lord Almighty will punish them on judgement day. He will send fire and worms in their flesh and they shall weep with pain for evermore<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ecclus 7: 17 \u2014 \u201cHumble yourselves greatly for the punishment of the ungodly is fire and worms<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

These words were meant to portray a horrifying picture of hell.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

APPLICATION<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Mark\u2019s Gospel begins with the title, \u201cThe Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God<\/em>\u201d (Mk. 1: 1). The Gospel explores this title and underlying each passage is the question \u2018Who is this about whom Mark writes? What is he like?\u2019 In this \u201cApplication\u201d this is the first point explored. Then we look to see what is said in the passage about the way we disciples ought to follow Jesus.<\/p>\n

The opening scene with John the Apostle shows us how tolerant<\/strong> Jesus was. John and the other apostles had not been successful in exorcising a devil and when he met a non\u2013disciple using Jesus\u2019 name and being successful in an exorcism, he and the others were annoyed, jealous, envious and complained. Jesus was delighted to know that other people were fighting the devil and evil and doing good. \u201cHe that is not against us is for us<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Linked closely with his tolerant attitude towards people who were not his followers, was his compassion<\/strong> for anyone and everyone, follower or not, who was kind, considerate and caring for those in even little needs like giving just a cup of water <\/em>to a thirsty person. Reward for such kindness was and is assured.<\/p>\n

His greatest compassion and zeal is, of course, his deep desire for salvation for each person<\/strong>. This was the very purpose in his Father sending him into the world and it is in the forefront of his mind and heart all the time. He was not only prepared to die for this; he would be crucified for it. He expressed this compassion in this passage. He did not want anyone to be lost or fall into the clutches of Satan. His attitude has not changed.<\/p>\n

This passage shows us Jesus as very meek<\/strong>. I wonder how any of us, if we had been in Jesus sandals, would have dealt with John?<\/p>\n

But Jesus was also stern and rigorous<\/strong> and did not accept compromise<\/strong>. He kept before him all the time the salvation of each person and he was not prepared to make bargains or show false tolerance where the salvation of people was concerned. He was a man of principle.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus shows in this passage how intolerant of sin<\/strong> he was. Why? Because sin is making a wrong choice. It opts for hell, worms and fire rather than eternal life, love and happiness<\/p>\n

In all these ways Jesus the \u201cTeacher<\/em>\u201d instructs how his disciples are to bear witness to their faith in him. Faith in Jesus means being like him, imitating him. If those who are disciples live like Jesus they are true witnesses to him and, through this witness, will come to know him and find faith or deepen their faith in him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TEXT \u2014 Mark 9: 38\u201348 \u2014 Tolerance Yet Radical Commitment A Mind Open to Others 38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him; for no one who does a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2869,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2868"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2870,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2868\/revisions\/2870"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}