ORDINARY 26

Numbers 11:25-29

James 5:1-6

Mk 9:38-43;45;47-48

There is no shortage of real people or fictional characters including Lenin, Orwell Mussolini, Hilary Clinton, Luke Skywalker and Dirty Harry (and that isn’t me), who have said, “If you are not for me you are against me.” Even Jesus said that (Mt 12:30), but in today’s gospel reading he is recorded as saying the reverse. “He who is not against us is for us” (Mk 9:40). This reversal throws up quite a different meaning and today I would like to explore the implication of it.

We need to begin with that fascinating story from the Book of Numbers which we have just heard. Moses was becoming tired of the people he had brought out of slavery in Egypt. They had been protected and saved by God’s strength. The Red sea had been parted to allow them to cross and they had been fed in the wilderness. But they whinge. They don’t like the food they have in the wilderness. The menu was far better in Egypt where they had leeks, garlic and pomegranates. The wilderness food of manna was unappetising. It is interesting to note that given a choice between abject slavery and a boring diet, they opt for slavery. In my prison chaplaincy days I noticed that bad food was always more of an issue for prisoners than the loss of freedom!

The Children of Israel are still living like slaves. They have not learned to take responsibility for themselves. They expect everything to be provided for them and all their decisions to be made by Moses. This means of course, that if things go wrong, it is all Moses’ fault.

In response, God and Moses begin to make people take responsibility for themselves. Moses gathers 70 elders to meet outside the camp, and it is his intention to delegate some of his powers and responsibilities to them. This will be the first step the people of God take in their life of freedom to which God had called them.

The elders gather outside the camp but for some unspecified reason, two remain inside the camp. The Spirit of God falls not only on those outside the camp, but also on the two inside who immediately begin prophesying. This disturbs Joshua in case the two inside the camp undermine the leadership of Moses. Moses’ famous reply declares that the power of God in the lives of men and women cannot be limited by time and place, or by the performance of a said ritual. God gives his power to whom and when and where he wills.

In the time of Jesus, pagans and Jews alike performed exorcisms, and it was not unusual for them to invoke the names of powerful people in their ceremonies. It seems that some Jewish exorcists were using Jesus’ name in order to drive out evil spirits, and this upset the apostle John. He wanted Jesus to forbid the exorcists because they were not followers of Jesus. Jesus refuses. Like Moses he says that God’s power is not limited to those whom believers think qualify for such gifts. Exclusivity is not part of Jesus’ gospel. He takes the view that if someone is using his name to do good and overcome evil, then they are not likely to insult Jesus. Those who are not against us are for us. Now it is very important we realise to whom Jesus is referring. He is drawing a very clear distinction between pagans, followers of other religions and his disciples. Inclusivity is a buzzword in today’s Church, but here Jesus is not saying we must accept everyone whatever they believe, teach or how they live. He is not referring to being tolerant of false teaching within the Christian Community, or accepting behaviour which is clearly in conflict with God’s teaching. He is saying that God’s power and spirit is not restricted to those who are card-carrying dinky die true believers. Neither is he saying that those Christians who are kind and compassionate to non-believers will be blessed with a seat on top table at the heavenly banquet. He is saying that non-believers who are compassionate and caring towards Christians will be blessed. God will reward any small act of kindness on their part.

On the other hand, evil done to Christians by non-believers or partial believers will be judged and punished by God. This is the very point that the epistle of James is making. The author is telling the Christian community that those unbelievers and token believers who have been oppressing them will have to answer at God’s judgment. The poor are assured that their cries have been heard in heaven and that the ‘mills of God grind slow, but they grind exceeding small’ as it were.

The reading from St Mark indicates that Mark believes that the final battle between God’s Messiah and the powers of evil is taking place. Disciples must be vigilant because there is no clear cut dividing line between the good guys and the bad guys. It isn’t like the old cowboy films where the bad guys always wore black hats! Evil masquerades behind many a smile, and good is born out of the most unlikely places. So Jesus warns his disciples not to be judgmental about anyone except himself or herself. We have to sort ourselves out and leave the rest to God.

Anything or anyone in our lives that leads to sin must be cut off, given up or rejected. Jesus said that we must overcome temptation. A restricted life is better than a full life if the full life is to end in destruction. The bible talks about the fires of hell, but the Greek word used is Gehenna. Gehennah was a valley south of Jerusalem where child sacrifices were offered to the pagan god Moloch. It became a rubbish dump where the fires of burning rubbish were never extinguished, so the place became an image of destructive hell. However the image is clear, that for a disciple of Jesus the choice we face is between life and death, and this choice has to be made in a world which is increasingly confused for the Christian.

The battle against evil is still raging. The chaos evil brings is seen all around us. Leaders in business and industry receive indefensible pay rises and handshakes while calling for fiscal restraint from their employees. The placards outside workplaces in London read, ‘The bosses get rich, the workers get sacked.’ This divide has been the launch of revolutions in more than one country in the history of the world. Some sports heroes, supposedly our icons and living legends, exhibit boorish, drunken, violent and immoral behaviour while governments increasingly pass legislation which is aimed at discriminating against Christians and our faith while positively encouraging those of other or no faith at all. It could be once said of governments and leading institutions that those who are not against us are for us. Sadly it is now more like those who are not for us are against us.

The ethic of the world is that of serving self no matter how that goal is achieved. We Christians have to learn that we are living in an age of persecution as real as that of the first Christians. We must rediscover the strategies for living in that environment and continue to believe what is right, live well, do well and leave the final judgment to God.

While the prevailing culture is against us and so not for us, be grateful for those who are still not against us.

+Harry Entwistle