God's Last Words

“A CHRISTIAN’S SALARY”

Mark 9: 38-50 (NRSV)

This is the only joke I could find and share about salt: Mother: Haven't you finished filling the salt shaker yet? Son: Not yet. It's really hard to get the salt through all those little holes!

Today we’re going to talk about salt.

In the Hebrew Bible, thirty-five verses mention salt, one of which is the story of Lot's wife, who was turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back at the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19: 26) as they were destroyed.

When the judge Abimelech destroyed the city of Shechem, he is said to have "sown salt on it," probably as a curse on anyone who would re-inhabit it (Judges 9: 45).  Salted ground grows no crops!

The Book of Job mentions salt as a condiment. "Can that which is unsavory be eaten without salt, or is there any taste in the white of an egg?" (Job 6: 6)

In the Christian New Testament, six verses mention salt. During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus refers to his followers as the "salt of the earth." The apostle Paul also encouraged Christians to "let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt" (Colossians 4: 6). The Gospel of Mark has several references as well.

Chloride and sodium ions, the two major components of salt, are needed by all living creatures. Salt is involved in regulating the fluid balance of the body.

The sodium ion is also used for electrical signaling in the nervous system. Because of its importance to survival, salt has often been considered a valuable commodity during human history.

The word salary originates from Latin: “salarium” which referred to the money paid to the Roman Army's soldiers for the purchase of salt, or as currency.

The word “salad” literally means "salted," and comes from the ancient Roman practice of salting leafy vegetables. Let’s hear our Gospel Lesson: Mark 9: 38-50:

John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.

“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.

If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.

And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

“For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Matthew Henry said these verses are best summed up this way: "Without a Doubt, remorse of conscience and keen self-reflection are this never-dying worm. Surely it is beyond compare better to undergo all possible pain, hardship, and self-denial here, and to be happy for ever hereafter, than to enjoy all kinds of worldly pleasure for a season, and to be miserable forever." He suggests interpretation from an individual perspective.

I think Jesus went a little further than that! These verses are directed at community. I suggest a community perspective.

There are two keys to understanding this passage. Jesus begins this passage by talking about community.

The first key is related to the disciples’ reporting of finding others doing the work of Jesus. This passage has an interesting parallel recorded in the Book of Numbers, chapter 11, verses 26-29:

“However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the Tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran and told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp."

Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses' aide since youth, spoke up and said, "Moses, my lord, stop them!" But Moses replied, "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD's people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!"

Jesus, just as Moses did, suggests tolerance for others who are doing God’s work someplace else or in the community around them. But Jesus also adds some conditions about community service in God’s Kingdom.

Listen closely church: Jesus tells His disciples to let those doing His work alone to receive their just reward but that those who are placing stumbling blocks in front of children and others must be stopped, must be cut off from fellowship and the nurture of the Kingdom. The reason: causing others to be cut off from God.

What did you just say preacher? Did you just say “Kick out the false teachers and those who do not hold to God’s word? Have no relationship with those who teach false doctrine such as gay marriage, ordaining homosexuals, forsaking the blessing of Israel, and upholding abortion?”

How do you get that preacher? Jesus’ punishments are designed to keep the “body of believers” pure at all cost.

By understanding that Jesus’ references to body parts being cut out in the text is actually a reference to the community and individuals in it who do not hold to the Christian community values and beliefs: Jesus is saying they must be cut off.

Self-mutilation was and continues to be forbidden in Judaism. Deuteronomy 14: 1, for example, says, “You are sons of the Lord your God, do not cut yourselves or make a bald spot on your head...” (HCSB)

If Jesus was speaking about self-mutilation to the disciples this teaching would have been very controversial, instead it is seemingly understood as a metaphor for those in the community (“the body”) of believers and not just the individual.

By using personal examples of body parts as relevant to the body of believers Jesus is driving home the idea of the damage that unbelievers and malefactors wreck on the mission and performance of the greater church body.  It blocks others from God.

Essentially Jesus is inviting religious communities to identify the self-constructed stumbling blocks that prevent success in serving God. In other words, we are to watch out for and prevent the subtle ways in which the larger church and the local church ends up sabotaging its own ministries.

The second key is exploring what the “never dying worm” means. It is translated from the Greek word “skōlēx,” and means having an unquenchable sense of guilt or remorse that does not go away. Jesus is saying that those who continue to sin without repentance and sincere change will forever suffer for the deeds of evil they have done.

A better translation of this passage shows us that Jesus actually repeats the phrase “Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched,” three times (verses 44, 46, and 48). I don’t know about you but if Jesus warns me 3 times about something I’m going to listen!

This passage is telling us the importance of repentance and the dangers of causing others to be drawn away from Jesus and God. The penalty is a never-ending state of unending agony of regret, suffering, and loneliness.

It becomes our responsibility to ensure our community of believers maintain a faithful walk in following Christ.

But we started out talking about Salt didn’t we?

Salt represents all those things Jesus said and taught that nurtures and uplifts us.

Thank God Jesus tells us that we will be given a “salary of salt” that will nurture and grow us into people who will inherit the Kingdom of God and know what is right.

Friends we believe that a great deal of good can be done by people who realize they are not perfect, that their motives may not be completely pure, that their faith is not yet fully formed, but who submit their desires to Jesus Christ and put him in charge of their inward lives, and remain faithful to His teachings.

Amen.