While speaking to a joint meeting of our nation’s Congress about humanity’s response to hatred and violence needing to be that of hope and healing and of peace and justice, Pope Francis says that in order to move forward with promoting the well-being of individuals and people as a whole we must move “as one, in a renewed spirit of fraternity and solidarity, cooperating generously for the common good.” He then went on to say that “the challenges facing us today call for a renewal of that spirit of cooperation” while we, “support one another, with respect for our differences and our convictions of conscience.”
And then Pope Francis said something which has been with me since the words were spoken. He said that “Politics is, instead, an expression of our compelling need to live as one, in order to build as one the greatest common good: that of a community which sacrifices particular interests in order to share, in justice and peace, its goods, its interests, its social life.”
The only way to do this, to ensure all people can live with these same freedoms, is to remove the stumbling blocks we place in front of them and which hinder others from knowing the love and peace of the one God. If our words and actions hinder someone from living life to its fullest, we are placing stumbling blocks in their path. If our words and actions are hindering someone from enjoying the same freedoms we enjoy, we are placing stumbling blocks in their path. If our words and actions hinder someone from pursuing that which brings pure happiness into their lives, we are placing stumbling blocks in their paths.
It’s these stumbling blocks which Jesus is talking about in today’s passage that he says causes others to trip and fall into sin. Sin is the words and actions which cause us to separate our relationships from one another, from ourselves, from creation, and from God. Some of those stumbling blocks can be small, like choosing not to recycle. Others can be large like denying someone a seat in a diner because of their skin color or denying two people a life together as family because they are gay.
It’s the example, if not admonition, of the stumbling blocks that Jesus uses to show how we need to come together as one in order to reconcile ourselves under the one love of God.
Our passage from today is a continuation of last week’s intimate moment with Jesus and his disciples. Jesus is in his sanctuary and adopted home of Capernaum and while teaching who it is that we, his followers, should consider the greatest of society he brings to the center of those gathered a child, symbolizing that it is to them, the least among us, that we should give the place of greatness.
Jesus is still holding that child in the center of his gathered disciples when one of them, John, says that there was a man who was using Jesus’ name to perform miracles. He goes on to say that they tried to stop him because that man was not one of them.
That phrase, the one John uses as a reason to stop someone from doing good in the name of Jesus, is still being used to this day. How many times have we heard in recent weeks, months, or years that people must be stopped from doing what is right, such as sitting at the counter of a diner, because that person isn’t one of us; they are different and therefore must not be allowed the same freedoms that we have. John’s words help Jesus to realize that even his disciples still place stumbling blocks before people.
Jesus’ reply must have shocked his disciples, as well as the readers of Mark’s Gospel. “Don’t stop him”, he says. “Don’t stop him because if he is doing good deeds in my name he is a part of us.” You see, it was highly irregular for someone to use the name of a prophet or Rabbi as part of their teachings or healings unless that person was an approved member of the prophet or Rabbi’s community.
Jesus is asking his followers not to hinder the teachings of any who use his name to make the lives of others better, because by simply wanting to make someone’s life better by using Jesus’ name that person is automatically a part of the community.
So, with the child still in their midst, Jesus once again recognizes a teaching moment and says in a way as to make it very clear, that “whoever causes these little ones who believe in me to trip and fall into sin, it would be better for them to have a huge stone hung around their necks and to be thrown into the lake.”Wow, stern words from a man of peace, wouldn’t you say?
But he doesn’t stop there. We are then privy to a very detailed description of what we should do if we somehow cause others to sin, to break their relationships. Descriptions which include disembodiment and a reference to Isaiah 66:24 about places where the fire never goes out and worms never die. We are told that being such a hindrance will get us cast into geena, which would be known by the readers of Mark as a place south of Jerusalem, where human sacrifices were burned in the name of pagan gods during the time of the prophet Jeremiah; a place for the cursed and wicked alike.
But, the point the Gospel of Mark is trying to have Jesus make is not that of everlasting suffering in this world or the next. The point Jesus is trying to make is that we need to remove whatever stumbling blocks we place in front of others which obstruct their journey towards reconciliation with self, others, creation, and God.
After learning of my journey towards a better relationship with God, people often ask me how I was able to change my heart when it came to certain social issues, especially the issue of same sex relationships. I’m honest when I tell them that I grew up in a culture that spoke out against such things, and how that teaching had handed me a stumbling block to place in front of people.
However, that kind of teaching never felt comfortable to me so I slowly moved away from the church. As much as I tried to change my heart, I found it very difficult only because of my attachment to society norms and its rules. Over time, though, I found ways to wear down that which separated me from my brother and sisters who found themselves on the outside of communities. Mostly through being a part of the United Church of Christ was I able to more openly understand what God is inviting us all to do.
However, coming back to church and rekindling my relationship with God was not the beginning of my change of heart. That happened years before, not too long after my divorce to my first wife.
I was having one of those difficult nights. Thinking about my failed marriage, work was extra stressful, and I just needed a place to hide and escape for a while. On my way home I saw a hole-in-the-wall bar on the outskirts of Chinatown. I immediately thought that was the place I needed to be; nobody I knew would ever go into such a place.
I walked in and took a seat at the bar. I ordered a beer and began mindlessly watching the television. The one thing I noticed about that place was how comfortable I immediately felt as I walked in. Maybe it was because I absolutely knew nobody would find me there, giving me a sense of being in a sanctuary of sorts; maybe.
The bartender was really friendly. I remember him being a bigger man, possibly about 6 feet tall and over 300 pounds. We talked about nothing, which is normal bar chit-chat. He asked how my day was; I told him it was ok. He asked what brought me there; I told him I was looking for a place to get away from things. I began talking about the stresses of work, to which he told me he understood. It was honestly as though we were already friends and was just catching up on each other’s day.
I asked for a second beer, which he gave to me “on the house”. I thanked him as he stepped out from behind the bar to check on the other people sitting at tables. I continued watching the television as I sipped my drink, feeling much more relaxed than when I first came in.
Another customer walked in and took a seat at the bar close to me. He said hello and introduced himself; I did the same. The bartender seemed to know this man as he immediately got out a beer and gave it to him. The man said thanks and they talked a bit about work. Again, bar chit-chat. Except that in a normal bar, at least those I was used to at that time, the idle conversation between a bartender and his customer was considered private conversation. Not in this place, as I was invited to contribute.
We began talking about other things – family, marriage, breakups – things I wouldn’t normally discuss with strangers, except I didn’t feel like a stranger in that place. I felt welcomed, included, and maybe most importantly I felt as though I was a part of their community. There was nothing in or about that place which hindered my abilities to be in relationship with those around me; even if those relationships were new.
During a break in our conversation I sat back, now completely at ease with my surroundings, and took a look around. Imagine my surprise to see people of the same gender cuddling around the room. The bartender must have recognized the look on my face because he asked if I knew I was in a gay bar. I said no, and he suddenly got this sad look on his face. I also noticed the man sitting next to me move back a little.I felt stumbling blocks going up, and I didn’t like that feeling. So I said, practically amazing myself, “But I can still stay here even though I’m straight, I hope.” My new friends laughed and the stumbling blocks had turned into starting blocks. Over the months to come, when my dealing with the emotions and self-doubt which usually accompanies divorce was at its highest, I had friends with whom I could help me along my journey; friends who just happened to be gay but who loved me for who I was anyway.
Before that moment in the bar, I admit I was uncomfortable being around people from the LGBT community. In that moment at the bar I became a part of the LGBT community. I had removed the things which hindered the ability for others to be in relationship with me. I had removed the things which caused others to stumble and fall as they, too, tried to be in relationship with me.
It was the complete and unconditional acceptance of others which allowed my heart and mind to open to new ideas and new possibilities to be in God’s love. It is this same kind of love we are called to as followers of Christ.
Jesus places a person of no significance in the midst of those who follow him and tells them that unless we find a way to bring those whom we have pushed to the outside of society into being a part of our communities, we won’t find the happiness and joy we so desperately seek. We are called by our Christ to find a way to live as one people, under the one love of God.
In his conversations this past week, Pope Francis said much the same thing as he spoke about religious freedoms around the world. Yesterday, as he spoke to a crowd in Philadelphia’s Independence hall he said, "In this place which is symbolic of the American way, I would like to reflect with you on the right to religious freedom. It is a fundamental right which shapes the way we interact socially and personally with our neighbors whose religious views differ from our own." He then went on to say, “Religious freedom certainly means the right to worship God, individually and in community, as our consciences dictate. But religious freedom also goes along with places of worship and the private sphere of individuals and families."
What he was saying is that religious freedoms do not mean that only one religion has the right to pursue happiness and to live in the same liberties as others. Religious freedoms allow for all religions to worship God, the one God, in the way that best fits their personal choices. I have said this before, and I will say it again: I am a Christian. My salvation and hopes for an afterlife in God’s home goes firmly through Jesus Christ. I have no doubts that Jesus Christ is my personal savior and that because I center my life on his teachings I live a life filled with peace of mind and peace of heart. But that does not give me the right to proclaim that someone else’s belief doesn’t invite them into that same peace.
On Friday, Ann and I watched the prayer service from Ground Zero in New York City. We watched as men and women of different faiths spoke about peace and reconciliation. One by one adherents to the Jewish faith, Sikhs, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and Christians stood and read from their individual doctrines. They spoke about how peace comes from their belief in a higher power and how that same peace is meant to be shared and returned. It was extremely touching for us as we watched people with diverse ideas and ideologies come together for one common purpose and with one common message: peace.
Then Pope Francis stood to give his homily. He talked about how religion can be used by extremists as well as everyday people to divide the common good of all people. He talked about how religious intolerance can be the cause of a lot of the violence happening around the world and in our nation. In that homily he also said something that absolutely blew us away. He said, “For all our differences and disagreements, we can live in a world of peace. In opposing every attempt to create a rigid uniformity, we can and must build unity on the basis of our diversity of languages, cultures and religions, and lift our voices against everything which would stand in the way of such unity. Together we are called to say “no” to every attempt to impose uniformity and “yes” to a diversity accepted and reconciled.Please listen to those words again. Together we are called to say “no” to every attempt to impose uniformity, to make us all the same, and say “yes” to a diversity accepted and reconciled, to accepting us as we are and where we are on life’s journey.
Jesus’ message is the same. We are called to remove that which causes others to fall, which causes other not to be able to unconditionally belong to our communities. And we are called to do so simply by loving the least of them in the exact same way God loves us. Because, as the Pope so eloquently put it, “[True acceptance] can only happen if we uproot from our hearts all feelings of hatred, vengeance and resentment.” As Jesus puts it, only if we remove the stumbling blocks and turn them into starting blocks can we find true peace.
God is with us all. Amen.
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