We are continuing our sermon series on essential stories from Mark’s gospel. Today we cover a second story where the disciples just don’t quite get what Jesus was really about. These stories aren’t told to makes us think that the disciples were mentally deficient, but to reveal that even those who were closest to Jesus had internal resistance to embrace his full message and therefore we should be patient with ourselves and each other on the Christian journey.
You need prayer to make this work.
Last week’s story was where James and John had the audacity to demand that Jesus do whatever they wanted him to do. Today, we have part two, where the disciples bragged to Jesus that they stopped someone from doing something they could not do—simply because he wasn’t part of their group. This wasn’t Jesus’ favorite thing he heard that day.
What happened was that Jesus sent the disciples out to heal, preach, and cast out unclean spirits. But they came back to Jesus, defeated when they couldn’t cast out an unclean spirit. Jesus told them, “This kind can only come out through prayer.” Makes you wonder what methods they were trying if they forgot to pray! It’s a nice little reminder for us, too. How often do we choose to complain rather than pray? It’s worth considering: look at your complaints throughout the week and let them be a reminder to complain less and pray more.
Not following “us”!
After this, the disciples went back to their mission, but when they returned, they reported to Jesus they had seen someone casting out unclean spirits in Jesus’ name. They tried to stop him because he wasn’t “following them.” Notice they didn’t say he wasn’t following Jesus; they said he wasn’t following them. They were more concerned about their little club boundaries rather than celebrating the fact that someone was being healed. They prioritized their group identity over God’s work.
Jesus had to reorient their thinking: “Whoever is not against us is for us.” Essentially, if someone is doing good, that’s what we’re about. We’re all on the same team, working to make this world more user-friendly, more loving, more just, more like the kin-dom of God.
And then Jesus shifts into what might be one of the most forceful and challenging teachings he ever gave. He talks about not becoming a stumbling block, especially for those who are new to faith. Jesus uses some graphic language here—cutting off hands, feet, or eyes if they cause you to stumble—showing just how seriously he takes this issue. He wants us to understand that the real unclean spirit that needs to be exorcised is the exclusionist spirit within us.
This is one of those problematic passages for those who take the Bible literally. You can’t really believe the God of forgiveness and everlasting love wants us to maim ourselves for every infraction. No, Jesus is using hyperbolic language that says, the people you reject are my people, too. Don’t put up roadblocks to their faith with your judgy attitudes.
Moving the Fence
There’s a beautiful story that illustrates what it means to widen our circles of inclusion. During World War II, a group of American soldiers lost a comrade in battle. They carried his body to the only cemetery in the area, which happened to be a Catholic one. When they asked the priest if they could bury their friend there, the priest asked if he had been Catholic. When they said no, the priest refused, saying their friend could not be buried in consecrated ground. Disheartened, they buried their friend just outside the fence.
The next morning, they returned to pay their final respects, but to their surprise, they couldn’t find the grave. Confused, they went to the priest, who told them, “I couldn’t sleep last night, so I spent the second half of the night moving the fence.”
Friends, that’s what Jesus calls us to do. He calls us to move the fences of our hearts, to widen our circles, and to embrace those who have been left out or deemed “unworthy.” Today, on World Communion Sunday, we celebrate that the fence has been moved for all of us. The table of Christ is open to all, regardless of our differences. We aren’t the gatekeepers; we’re the ones called to move the fence.
We Are Not Competitors
As Alexander Campbell once said, “We are not the only Christians, but we are only Christians.” It’s easy to get caught up in the idea that our way is the only right way. We can be tempted to draw lines, build fences, and think that other Christians or people of different faiths who are doing good are somehow our competitors. But the real competition is against a culture that values the wrong things: selfishness, greed, power, and exclusion, that demonizes differences and exploits marginalized groups as easy targets.
As Jesus said, we need to “cut it out”—cut out all the ways we let these values seep into our lives. Cut out the greed, the racism, the sexism, the glorification of violence, and the tribalism. Every time we model these behaviors, we’re building stumbling blocks for the next generation. Jesus takes it seriously when he says, “Cut it out!” Because we are modeling what it means to be followers of Christ, and our children are watching. They are learning from us what it means to love and include others, what it means to move the fence.
Widening Our Circles
Let’s make sure we’re not the ones drawing lines, deciding who’s in and who’s out. Every time we draw a line, Jesus is on the other side of it. He’s calling us to join him in welcoming the stranger, embracing the outcast, and standing in solidarity with those who are left out. World Communion Sunday reminds us that our differences—whether denominational, cultural, or theological—pale in comparison to the love of Christ that unites us.
Conclusion: Move the Fence
So, let’s be people who move the fence. Let’s be people who cut out anything that doesn’t reflect the love and inclusivity of Christ. Let’s cut out the ways we exclude, judge, or think we have it all figured out. Let’s widen our circles, extend our hands, and open our hearts. Because that’s what Jesus is doing—he’s always moving the fence, always making the circle bigger, always inviting more people in. And that’s what it means to be part of the kin-dom of God.
So, let’s cut out the barriers, move the fences, and celebrate that we are all invited to the table.