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Gospel: Mark 9: 39-49
At that time, John said to Jesus,
“Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,
and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.”
Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him.
There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name
who can at the same time speak ill of me.
For whoever is not against us is for us.
Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink
because you belong to Christ,
amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him if a great millstone
were put around his neck
and he were thrown into the sea.
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.
It is better for you to enter into life maimed
than with two hands to go into Gehenna,
into the unquenchable fire.
And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off.
It is better for you to enter into life crippled
than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.
Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye
than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,
where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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When celebrating a baptism, I usually begin by asking the parents: You brought your child here to be baptized. So, what does it mean to baptize?
Answers may vary from a nervous pause, to welcoming their child into the Church, to removing the stain of Original Sin.
The verb, “baptize,” means to, “plunge; submerge.”
In the early church, people were literally plunged in a pool of water, before rising to new life as Christians.
While babies are not submerged underwater today, parents are asking God to plunge their child into his Spirit – the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead.
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The first known example of this verb – baptize – being used in written literature comes from a pickle recipe. The text states: Boil water. Add cucumbers. Once tender, baptize the cucumbers into vinegar.
Now, if you just dip a cucumber into vinegar, is it a pickle?
No. It’s a quickle. A half-pickle.
To pickle a cucumber, you must baptize it – literally plunge it, submerge it – allowing it to soak in the vinegar.
Over time, the pickling process actually changes the chemical composition of the cucumber, so that it’s no longer a cucumber, but a pickle!
Similarly, when children are baptized, they’re quickled. Half-pickled Christians.
It’s the mission of this entire community to help “pickle” the next generation, ensuring our faith is not only handed on – but lived out in word and deed.
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Once we’re soaked in the Spirit, what begins to happen?
We dive deep into our faith by sharing, studying, healing, forgiving, praying, and encountering Christ in our neighbor. Or, using a biblical term, we “prophesy.”
To “prophesy” in the bible means, “to speak with the voice of God.” Pickled Christians are the hands, the face, and the voice of Christ in this world.
Preaching the Gospel is something that priests not only do from the pulpit; it is also something that every Christian is called to do.
I may preach here in church, but you are called to preach the Gospel in your homes, at work, to your friends, and in your social circles – places beyond this physical building and our SPX community.
We see this call to spread faith everywhere foreshadowed in our first reading.
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Moses is leading the Israelites on their forty-year journey through the desert. While Israel is resting, Moses and the other religious leaders gather in a separate place, where God visits them, filling them with his Spirit.
However, two of the elders – Eldad and Medad – remain in the camp with their families, where the Spirit comes to rest upon them, as well.
This was a significant moment in the life of Israel because God is signaling that his authority is moving beyond the “tent,” beyond the “sacred space,” beyond the grasp of the religious leaders alone. His authority is to be shared with everyone.
As the prophet Joel foretells, “Thus says the LORD: I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy.” They shall speak in my name and tell others what God has done.
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The same dynamic unfolds in today’s Gospel.
An unnamed person is casting out demons in the name of Christ. The Apostles are confused because it isn’t one of them.
“We tried to prevent him,” they say. But the Lord corrects them, saying, “Do not prevent him. Whoever is not against us is for us.”
The Apostles begin to realize that this is a sign of what is to come – divine authority will rest, not just in the hands of the religious elect, but with all believers.
Symbolically, this anonymous person could be anyone performing a good work in the name of Jesus – not just an Apostle or a priest!
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In what ways am I that anonymous person in the Gospel? How do I share my faith with others at home, in my marriage, with my family, at work, in places beyond SPX?
And, we might add, how are we “pickling” the next generation?
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As Saint Paul says, “Stir into flame the gift of God… For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather of power and love. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord; but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel.”
Prophesy. Speak up! Do something.
Be Christ’s hands, face, and voice in the world.
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Image credits: (1 Morningside church of Christ ) (2) Pinterest (3) Germantown Presbyterian Church
