Mark 9:38-50

When my kids were teenagers, they always came in the house and kicked off their shoes at the door. They didn’t necessarily return to put those back on, so the pile grew. Throw in some high school friends and a few church musicians, and you have a mountain of shoes. And what do you think happened when I came home?? I tripped over the pile.

So of course, the shoe pile is the first thing I think of when I hear the phrase, “stumbling block.” I got angry about the shoe pile, but Jesus seems uncharacteristically harsh: “If any of you [disciples] 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.” Whoa, Jesus! You don’t really mean that, do you? It makes me think maybe Jesus talking about something more serious than leaving shoes around.

The Greek word on Jesus’ lips here is skandalon, translated as stumbling block. It was originally referred to the trigger of a trap set to ensnare an animal. It later came to mean any kind of trap that could ensnare person or beast. Our English word scandal comes from this same root and refers to an action or state of affairs regarded as reprehensible, causing public outrage.

I think it is worth noting that Jesus uses the word translated as “little ones” to describe those tripped up. The Greek word translated here is mikros, which can literally mean a child. In the story immediately preceding this one, Jesus brought a child into his lap to make a point, saying, “whoever welcomes one such child in my name, welcomes not only me but the one who sent me.” This was a shocking thing to say; children were considered property from a legal point of view. Despite the fact that they were lowest on the social ladder, Jesus lifted them up as the measure of welcoming God.

In today’s lesson, that child is still very likely on Jesus’ lap. The “little one” Jesus speaks of is not some faceless stranger, but someone’s child who is sitting right here. Jesus acknowledges the little ones’ vulnerability; in their position as the ones with the least power, they are unable to fend off attack. The little ones deserve protection and care, how one treats a child is how one treats God who sent Jesus.

With this in mind, I start to see why Jesus might have had such strong words. He, along with other first century Jews, had seen some terrible things. Gehenna, the word translated as hell, was a ravine a south of Jerusalem notorious for pagan infanticide. It’s hard to imagine anything more worthy of public outcry than the sanctioned practice of killing children. Thinking of it this way, Jesus heightened rhetoric is an expression that he would not tolerate the victimization of others.

But micron, the word translated as “little ones,” can have other meanings. It can refer to someone with less experience or lower social rank. Jesus has just reprimanded his disciples for trying to stop someone outside their group who was healing in Jesus’ name: someone who hadn’t had the training with Jesus the disciples had. Jesus doesn’t want the disciples to trip this micron- this little one-up, but rather blesses his ministry.

In these stories about the little ones, Jesus addressed how people thought about the vulnerable and less powerful in society—welcome them as you welcome me, see them as you see me. And then he warned that it was a grave sin to put anything in their way that could harm them.

Now Jesus’ harsh rhetoric begins to make sense to me. Jesus was a first-century Jew, his people subjugated by the Romans, living under the equivalent of martial law. Jesus would have understood a dangerous sequence from personal experience: If a person or group of people are denigrated, it becomes easier to see them as less than human. And once you no longer see a human being before you, it is much easier to justify violence against them. This is the stumbling block Jesus was talking about. This was the outrage. The little ones who should be protected are targeted.

I think this is important to consider as we listen to the news today. There are voices that want to denigrate others with baseless claims who, instead of protecting those with less power, make them the enemy. We saw this in Springfield, with hateful rumors about the Haitian community and the threats that followed. We know their situation through our partners with the Haitian Timoun Foundation. They are people who left Haiti because civil society has broken down, and gang violence is spiraling out of control. They are here to build a new life, to work and raise their families. I am not trying to be partisan here – our country needs robust discussion on immigration policy. But Jesus’ teaching here is clear about our Christian responsibility. As newcomers to our country, these immigrants have less experience and less power in society. According to Jesus’ definition, they are little ones. They are people who deserve the same respect and protections that we have. They should not be made into a target.

Jesus said these words not to the crowd, but to his disciples. And so it is clear to me that all of us need to heed his words and examine our hearts so that we in no way trample on the little ones in word or deed and do what we can to protect them.

Jesus’ final words point to hope: “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.” Salt is a healing agent; saltwater draws out the infection from a wound. Fire is a purifying agent—precious metals are refined in fire.

Jesus’ words point to the potential for identifying and removing that which infects or tarnishes the natural beauty of God’s creation, making room for healing and peace.

May we today be that healing salt, that purifying fire of Jesus that God’s creation and God’s community may thrive. May we be ready to welcome others in Jesus’ name, ready to protect the little ones.