Stumbling Blocks
These Sundays in September are such a time of happiness in our church. People who we haven’t seen in a long time are back. Cherished faces, albeit covered by masks, are a joy to behold. Many of us have been visiting family and friends, others have simply been taking time off, to be outside and reconnect with the natural world around us. This is a time to welcome folks back into the church community. As we heard from the sermon last week from Mother Storm, in the words of Jesus “Whoever welcomes me, welcomes one who sent me.” This is the time of year for welcoming people back into our lives and communities. A time for back to school nights and soccer games, school buses filled with children and book clubs restarting. But as much as this can be a time of reconnection and belonging it can also feel isolating if you are new in a community.
This morning we hear about the disciples, Closing ranks and complaining about a person they don’t know. John says to Jesus., "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us." John is suspicious, maybe even jealous about this “someone”. This man is not part of the inner circle. He is a stranger to them. Jesus has some powerful words to say to the disciples. , "Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us”. Jesus is unthreatened, inclusive and makes room for the man and his healing. This has been one of Jesus’s central messages since the very beginning. There is room for everyone, everywhere, no matter who they are - there is a room at the table of the Lord.
How very much like the disciples we are. It’s like when my daughter used to say
She’s not in our “friend group”. Which in essence means, they are not included in the comfortable, non-judgemental circle of friendship and acceptance. And who hasn’t felt that way as a newcomer somewhere ? I remember going to a PTA meeting as a young mother who had just moved to Westchester. I was excited to be part of a new community and a group of us newcomers dutifully signed up for the hospitality committee. Now the sole job of this committee was to make the coffee for the meetings and then clean out the pots when the meeting was over. All went well at the next meeting as the coffee was poured and coffee cake put out, but things went south the next month. The old hospitality committee members complained bitterly that the coffee pots were not being properly cleaned. There was some shaming and blaming. Not exactly a great way to recruit new members!
I’ve seen this many times and I’m sure you have to - in clubs, sports teams and even churches. It’s common to find comfort with those that we know well and forget to make the extra effort with those we don’t. We are seeing this in our own country as well. Division and exclusion are drowning out the opportunity to listen and learn from one another.
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry gave a speech on the anniversary of 911 at Trinity Wall Street. Here is what he said: “ We observe this solemn occasion in a perilous moment in our national life and history. The seeds of self-centeredness and hatred will inevitably yield a bitter harvest.” And yet he said “there is hope to be found. But only if we remember the sacrifice and unity that followed that dark day in 2001, and go to the mountain by fiercely recommitting ourselves to a love that gives and does not count the cost.”
Jesus asks us to love without counting the cost. To love generously. To not be transactional in our giving or receiving. In our lesson today, Jesus talks about “stumbling blocks” “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.”
The terrain of the Middle East often includes rocky terrain that can be treacherous. It’s easy to see why this metaphor caught on. The verb stumble translates into ancient Greek as “scandalon” or “snare for an enemy” In Psalms, stumbling block means anything that leads to sin. A more modern way of looking at it is - a stumbling block is an obstacle which prevents one from fully experiencing God’s love. A stumbling block can be one we knowingly or unwittingly place in the midst of someone. What are some stumbling blocks, we as Christians can put in the path of others? In the worldwide Christian church, there is the heartbreaking example of clergy misconduct and abuse - causing many to leave the church altogether. Over the centuries there have been rules that keep people out because of their marital status, sexual orientations, race, handicaps. Religious organizations can be rigid and judgemental or exclusionary and out of touch. A place of faith can be cliquey and insular.
The Episcopal Church, particularly in recent years, has made it a top priority to recognize, accept and welcome people of different colors, preferences and orientations. It takes hard work to align the church with Jesus’s simple message - Love one another. He never said “ love only those who are just like you”.
Debie Thomas in her blog Journey to Jesus writes: “The longer I’m a Christian, the more overwhelmed I am by the radical nature of Jesus’s openness, inclusivity, and hospitality. Every time I think I’ve made my circle wide enough, Jesus says, “No, make it wider.” Every time I think I’ve drawn an appropriate line in the sand between “us” and “them,” saint and sinner, inside and outside, Jesus pours the sand back over the line until it disappears. “
In this season of welcoming one another, there’s a lot to learn from Jesus’s words today. The message is powerful and unavoidable. He reminds us to welcome the outsider, the refugee, the stranger. To love without counting the cost.
