Song “Abide with me”
Song “You are my hiding place”
Song “He will hold you fast”
The world belongs to God
The earth and all its people
How good and lovely it is
To live together in unity
Love and faith come together
Justice and peace join hands
Song “Brother, sister let me serve you”
Let us in silence remember our faults and failings
Christ have mercy on us, and deliver us from our sins and may we amend our lives
Amen.
The Lords Prayer in our own language
Song “Christ be in my waking”
Reflection on Mark 9v38-50
The discussion earlier in the chapter about status introduces the theme of discipleship behaviour. It is an upside down servant kingdom. The least are the greatest. And all are welcome. Jesus is not partial.
A stranger has performed an exorcism and the disciples told him to stop because he wasn’t one of them! (This has echoes of a similar story of Moses). Jesus says no one who doesn’t say anything bad against me should be stopped! What a word to denominations and church groups today! The struggle against the powers of darkness is real and we need to work together. Anyone doing good in the name of Christ will be blessed. Love of God erupts into practical love of your neighbour. Gods messengers will be shown kindness and they must reciprocate.
Undermining the faith of anyone is the most serious of sins, particularly a new believer or a child or anyone who is vulnerable. The rejection of them may well undermine their faith, so beware. Protect the vulnerable.
Anyone who sets a trap for someone, to trip them up is warned. If we don’t welcome strangers, foreigners, asylum seekers and instead ostracise them, undermining their faith so that they no longer believe, it would be better if a millstone is tied around our neck and we were cast into the sea. Not the stone from a small hand-mill worked by a human being, but a large, heavy one turned by donkey power.
Sin/wrong thinking leads to words and actions which have consequences. Its better you are mimed than continue to be destructive to the vulnerable. Wow! Or you may end up in hell/Gehenna.
Gehenna was the ever-burning rubbish tip outside Jerusalem and is used as an image of the horror of being cut off from God. If we fail to deal with our indwelling sins (thoughts, secret sins) we may end up in Gods burning rubbish tip.
So deal with it. Pluck it out- cast it out. Throw out the eye rather than be thrown into hell. It would be better for you to gouge out your offending eye and enter heaven as a one-eyed person, than to be forever sentenced to hell (Isa.66:24). This is true now as well as at the end of our lives. The disciples are those being warned. Later Peter and Judas will betray Jesus openly.
(Lev.2:13) A Jewish sacrifice is accompanied by salt. The sacrifice uses fire. We all need to purify ourselves and our lives. This is part of our ongoing process as Christians. It’s a discipline.
A salty Christian is one who is at peace. Salt savours, preserves, purifies. Cultivate wisdom, purity, graciousness, so take care to maintain in yourselves the saltness of the salt. Salt is symbolic of Gods covenant and real fellowship. Be at peace with one another. Share the salt.
Song “Put peace into each others hands”
Our Prayers
We pray for people and situations we are concerned about including people crossing the sea in dinghies, people with Covid 19, the people of Belarus, Hong Kong and Syria and other places we never hear about, rising fascism, the government, the Rohinga Muslims, Muslims being persecuted in China, care for those who are alone and those struggling in whatever way, suffering with depression, protection for asylum seekers and refugees and ensuring that food is reaching the vulnerable and global warming.
May we not fail you. Amen
Song “In Christ alone”
The blessing of God be upon you
On those you love and those you meet
This day and forevermore. Amen
With thanks to the ©Iona Community adapted, Brian Finlayson, Ched Myers.
