A WORD FOR TODAY, September 25, 2024
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, September 25, 2024
Lectionary Scriptures for September 29, 2024, Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29; Psalm 104:27-35; James 5:(1-12) 13-20; Mark 9:38-50
“Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all Yahweh’s people were prophets, that Yahweh would put his Spirit on them!” Numbers 11:29, WEB
The Old Testament lesson for today begins, “The mixed multitude that was among them...” Some versions translate this “The rabble...” This is referring to the non-Israelites that traveled with Moses out of Egypt. The crowd that left Egypt during the Exodus was not made up solely of Israelites. We don’t know whether the Egyptians and other foreigners were God-fearing, or if they had other reasons for fleeing Egypt. We don’t know why they traveled with the Israelites, but they were among the crowd that made it across the Red Sea into freedom and the new life promised by the God of Israel.
The rabble were the ones that began to grumble about the lack of food. They hated the manna sent by this God they did not know or understand and were possibly bothered by the fact that their escape wasn’t the easy trip they’d expected. They couldn’t have known when they left Egypt that they’d have to go so far for so long. And this was just the beginning of the journey.
The grumbling began very early during the exodus, within days of leaving Egypt, even before they arrived at Sinai. God remained faithful despite their unfaithfulness. He provided food and water. He healed them and led them on the path to the Promised Land. They turned from God quickly as they waited beneath the mountain for Moses to return, where they created a golden idol while Moses received the tablets of the Law. This unfaithfulness led to God’s chastisement; that generation would never enter the Promised Land, so the nation would wander in the wilderness for forty years. Today’s story took place just three days into that journey.
Though they were probably still in the shadow of Sinai, but they had already forgotten to trust in the God who saved them from Egypt. The Israelites had already forgotten the reasons they had cried out to God: they were slaves and were abused by the Egyptians. The day they left Sinai was just one year, one month and one week after the day they left Goshen, and yet they remembered their time there as “the good old days.”
The rabble were craving the life they used to have, the food they used to eat, the comfort of their homes, and the stability of being in one place. They complained and the Israelites wept, remembering a life in Egypt that was much different than the reality. They remembered a good life, with good food and comfortable homes. They saw their past through the eyes of those foreigners, and they forgot the pain and suffering of their slavery. They trusted in the memory of the rabble and forgot that the God of their forefathers was fulling the promises that He had made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
They saw Him at work through the amazing things He had done in that one year, one month and one week. He parted the Red Sea, killed the Egyptian army, provided water, manna and quail in the desert. At the foot of Sinai, He proved His power and He gave the people His Law. Despite His chastisement, He never left them, showing them His presence in the cloud by day and fire by night. He was leading them toward the Promised Land, to the place He gave to their father Abraham, but by the third day all they could think about was how inconvenient it was. God was using the wilderness wandering to teach them how to trust in Him, but they quickly (in three days!) fell back into their old ways, desires, and arrogance. They thought they knew better than God and they complained.
There is an ancient Jewish folktale about two beggars and a king. Each day the two beggars went to the king’s palace to ask for food, and each day the king gave them both a loaf of bread. The first beggar thanked the king for the bread, the second thanked God for making the king wealthy enough to be charitable. The king was upset that the second beggar never thanked him for the bread.
One day the king decided to punish the second beggar for his ungratefulness. He ordered the baker to fill one loaf of bread with valuable jewels and to give it specifically to the first beggar. “That will teach the beggar a lesson.” The baker was extremely careful to give the right loaf to each beggar – the one filled with jewels to the first beggar, the loaf only to the second. When the first beggar felt the weight of the loaf, he thought there was something wrong with it and asked the other beggar to exchange loaves. The second beggar, always desirous to help a friend agreed. Later, when he ate the loaf, he discovered the jewels.
The king was curious the next day and when the first beggar appeared at the gate, he asked him about the bread. The beggar told the king that his loaf felt hard and poorly baked, so he gave it to his friend. Though he was angry that the second beggar thanked God instead of himself, he saw God’s hand in the blessing of the one who had thanked Him and realized that all good things truly come through God. Only God can change the circumstances of men; not even a king can change God’s will.
In the lesson from Numbers, Moses complained to God that the people are ungrateful and complaining about their circumstances. “Why have you done this to me?” he cried out to God. “You have made them a burden I cannot carry.” Moses didn’t know what to do. He knew that God had done a good thing for the people, delivering them from slavery. He had risked his own life to lead the people out of Egypt, and he knew the dangers of returning. He knew the blessings of following God. “Why did you stick me with this mess?” he wondered to God. Moses was frustrated. He was given the responsibility to care for this grumbling crowd, both Israelite and non-Israelite, and he found it difficult to deal with their attitude. “If this is what I have to put up with, God, just kill me right here and now.” He wanted the easy solution; he looked for the extreme answer to his problem. Instead, God decided to appoint and anoint other leaders to be his helpers, to help carry the burden of leadership.
Seventy men were chosen and at the given hour, God took some of Moses’ power and gave it to the seventy. Two men in the camp also received the power. They prophesied just like those who had been in the tent of meeting. A young boy heard the prophesying; he went to Moses and told him about the two men in the camp. Joshua was a man of discipline and control and was disturbed by the lack of order. How could those who had not been in the right place at the right time have received the same gift as those who gathered as directed? “Stop them,” he said to Moses because they were not among the chosen.
God is not limited by our sense of order or by our fears and uncertainties. Those two men received the Spirit because God chose them to be leaders. Tradition holds that Eldad and Medad gave the most incredible prophecies that day. They say that Eldad prophesied that Moses would die before entering Canaan, that it would be Joshua to lead the people into the Promised Land. Medad is said to have prophesied about the quail. We don’t know why they weren’t among the other leaders. God doesn’t seem to care. They were His chosen and they were given the gift of the Spirit.
Moses knew that God was in control. He couldn’t stop someone that was given the spirit any more than he could choose those who would receive it. “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all Yahweh’s people were prophets, that Yahweh would put his Spirit on them!”
God knows the deepest parts of our hearts and the most hidden secrets of our lives. He knows most about us than we do. He knows His will and His purpose and His plan. We don’t always understand, and we tend to complain about the gifts that have been given to us. We try to make things better, like the beggar who wanted what he thought was the better loaf of bread and the Israelites who wanted more than manna. Yet, in the end we discover that what God has planned is quite possibly the most miraculous thing that could happen. We are reminded that it is to God we can and should be grateful, for He is the source of all things good.
Jesus makes some shocking suggestions in today’s Gospel lesson. Does He really expect us to cut off our hand or our foot, or gouge out our eyes? He is not telling us to go around amputating our body parts for the sake of some spiritual transformation. Instead, He is using extreme examples of what it means to turn our life around for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It isn’t easy. As a matter of fact, it is very hard. It might even hurt. That’s what happened to John.
The Gospels tell us that the disciples were often inadequate at doing the miraculous things Jesus was doing, that Jesus suggested they could do. They saw success in ministry, but they also saw failure. They did not always understand what Jesus was teaching. They tried to convince Jesus to do things their way. They couldn’t exorcise a demon from a little boy. They must have felt humbled and humiliated at times.
The disciples saw someone who was not part of their circle doing what they were unable to do: drive out demons. I can imagine what they were feeling; I have felt it myself. It is called jealousy, and it is quite a powerful emotion, especially when we are passionate about the work that we believe we are called to do. We feel it when we see someone else able to do what we can’t seem to accomplish. We wonder “why not me?” We wonder why God would call us to a position and not give us the ability to do the work. We wonder if we have properly discerned our calling. And we wish others couldn’t do it.
It is hard to deal with jealousy. It forces us to look at ourselves with a humble heart and at others with grace. It forces us to see other people through God’s eyes, to see that they too have been gifted with power and authority, even if they are not part of our crowd. It forces us to realize that we are not the most important thing in God’s plan. Jealousy makes us bitter, and bitter salt does not provide flavor or preservation to the food. So, Jesus tells us to cut it out of our life.
Joshua and John had the same reaction to the people with unexpected gifts. Were they jealous for Moses or Jesus’ sake, or for their own? Joshua was Moses’ right-hand man, and now there were seventy others called to leadership. Was there room for even two more? John was part of Jesus’ inner circle, Jesus’ closest friends. John even asked Jesus if he could be His right-hand man when He ruled. There were already twelve leaders. Was there room for more? What would happen if the disciples were never able to drive out demons, or heal, or impact the world? Would someone more gifted take their place? It was a very real fear for them, as it continues to be for us.
Jesus said, “Don’t stop them. Whoever is not against us is for us.” Perhaps this sounds backwards. We usually say, “Whoever is not for us is against us.” This limits our allies to those who are part of our circle. Jesus turns our thinking upside down. He tells us that we need not be concerned about those who are not against us. There were enough people against Jesus. Jesus assured them that they would not have to worry. “There is no one who will do a mighty work in my name and be able quickly to speak evil of me.” Deeds of power came by the Spirit of God. If anyone has that Spirit, they cannot work against the will and purpose of God.
Jesus said, “Don’t stop them.” Don’t stop them in a manner that would cause them to stumble. Don’t let your jealousy bring them to a point of rebellion and rejection of God’s will and purpose. Don’t chase them away from the life God has called them to live. Be salt. Rather than cause a brother or sister to stumble, we should cut out those things that are causing us to sin. Jesus gives a radical response to sin: cut off your hand, feet or eyes if they cause you to sin. It is unlikely that we will be amputating body parts, but there are aspects of our lives that should be cut off.
In last week’s Gospel text, Jesus made it clear that they should be servants to one another. In this story, Jesus continues the thought to include the outsiders, “the rabble.” We should never doubt what God can do, for God does what He knows to be right and good, whatever our expectations. We are called simply to trust Him and to follow where He leads us because His way is always the right way to go.
We are reminded how to keep our focus where it belongs: in God and His Word. We tend to hear the voices of those around us who grumble about problems, who make it seem like the extreme solution is the best solution. It is easy for us to get caught up in the attitudes of complaining that are around us, as if that will ease our pain.
James gives us three life situations and the appropriate Christian response. What should we do in the midst of suffering? We should pray and praise. Though it is hard to praise God while we are facing difficult situations, we will find blessing in the midst of it if we keep our eyes on God. What should we do when we face illness and dis-ease? We should seek the healing and forgiving power of God that is found in the church through the authorities anointed and appointed to do the work.
Finally, what should we do about error? We are called to bring light to the truth, to point out the errors and sins of our brethren. However, how we do so will make a difference. Will we present these words in a tone of criticism or an act of grace? Will we speak in a way that admonishes and restores people or will we do it in a manner of condemnation and alienation? It is not helpful to constantly criticize because it will either cause the other to deem themselves unworthy or will sever the relationship. We might have a valid point, but if we don’t salt our conversations with grace, we will never make a difference. God calls us into fellowship to help one another grow and mature in faith.
What would you do if someone wanted to pay you for a day’s worth of work with salt. The most expensive salt in the world is called Amethyst Bamboo 9x which is a Korean delicacy that costs nearly $100 for an 8.5-ounce jar. While this might have value, would you feel like you received a fair wage? Rock salt costs about $58 a ton. Where would you put all that salt and what would you do with it? Table salt is less than a dollar a pound, so it would take a huge quantity for us to think we have received our just reward. How would you use it all, especially since doctors suggest that too much salt is dangerous for our health?
The Phoenicians were the first to use salt from the sea, flooding the plains with saltwater and allowing it to dry. Then the salt was harvested and sold to other nations. High output production helped to depreciate the value of salt. In the United States, the difficulty with salt production was not finding the salt but transporting it from place to place. Morton Salt solved this problem by having salt plants all over the nation.
In Jesus’ day salt was very expensive, perhaps worth even more than gold. Soldiers were paid in salt and slaves were traded for salt. This is why we have phrases such as “salt money” and “he is not worth his weight in salt.” Salt was used for flavor, but even more so it was used as a preservative and to seal covenants. If salt was used during a meal, it represented a relationship of loyalty, protection, and hospitality. As a matter of fact, the ancient Greeks had a saying that “no one should trust a man without first eating a peck of salt with him.” A peck is about eight quarts. By the time two men ate that much salt, they would know each other very well.
When Jesus said to the disciples, “Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another” He was referring to the salt covenant. They were the salt “salted with fire” by God. Through them, God was revealing His kingdom to the world, and through them He was establishing the covenant of loyalty, protection, and hospitality. “But if salt has lost its saltiness...” Jesus said. If salt has lost its saltiness, then we can’t do what we are called to do. If we do not live at peace with one another, how can we possibly share the peace of Christ with the world?
Our scriptures this week cause us to consider how we determine who has the power and authority to do the work of the kingdom in this world. All too often we are quick to point fingers, like Joshua and John, at those who are outside our circle, complaining that they should not be able to prophesy or heal because we do not believe they stand in a right relationship with God. “Lord, stop them” we say. Yet, we have to consider what it is that makes us question their gifts. There might be a valid reason for rebuke or correction. Yet, if they are doing the work in Jesus’ name, as Jesus has commanded, might there be another reason for our irritation? Are we jealous because they are doing things we can’t do? Are we frustrated because they stand outside our understanding of God? Are we offended because they do not fit into the mold we have established? This is what we should cut out of our lives or else our salt will lose its saltiness and there will be no peace.
James reminds us that we have the responsibility to keep our brothers and sisters focused on the right source. If we see someone falling into the trap of following the rabble, we are to remind them of God’s Word and to help them turn back to the right path. We tend to avoid any sort of criticism or judgment because we are afraid to seem intolerant. We are afraid they will take it the wrong way. While it is true that we must be aware that our criticism and judgment can alienate or condemn, our role as Christians is to call people to repentance so that they might know the forgiveness of God and be reconciled with Him and all of God’s creation. We are called to help one another see our sin and turn from it so that we will all dwell in the fold of God’s loving arms. It is easier to let the crowd go their own way. It is much harder to trust that God has a plan that will lead us to a Promised Land that is better than anything the world has to offer. It may seem like a burden, but it is by God’s gifts that we are able to do what He has called us to do.
Today’s Psalm is a song of hope of how it can be with the world and all created beings living in the shadow of the Most High, trusting Him to provide all they need. In a perfect world, all of God’s creation will look to Him for food and all good things. In a perfect world, there is no anger or hatred, no war or violence, no tears or pain. Even the sea monsters - the leviathan - frolic in the ocean, leaving the ships to travel safely from port to port. In a perfect world, all creatures live together in fear of God and tremble in His presence, not because they are afraid but rather humbled by His magnificence. Unfortunately, the world has not been perfect since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden. We have not feared God or looked to Him for all we need. Yet even in this there is hope, “You send out your Spirit and they are created. You renew the face of the ground.” He gives His Spirit to those He chooses; He can choose to give it to as many as He pleases. He knows the hearts of those who will live in humble obedience to His Word, and He equips those He calls to do His work in the world.
He that is not against Jesus is not against us, and therefore is for Jesus and for us. We are no better than the rabble who instigates or the crowd that follows. We are no better than Joshua and John. We fail. We follow the wrong people. We complain and doubt and desire our own way. We want to be satisfied, and we seek the wrong things to satisfy us. But God has called us to a new life in Christ. He has forgiven us, given us gifts and sent us into a world that needs to hear the Gospel. They need what we have to give. Let us always trust that God will use us to share His grace, even when everything seems to be out of our control. Here’s the secret: all is well when everything is out of our control because God will always be faithful and make all things right according to His good and perfect will.
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