Serious Words About Being Church

Text: Mark 9:42-50

Reflection and Question: In this passage, we are instructed to cast away any stumbling blocks that hinder us from faithfully following Jesus’ teachings. We can disagree about what exactly our stumbling as Christians might be, and what may constitute a stumbling block for others in Jesus’ eyes. So perhaps Jesus’ cryptic words here can help us: “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” The wrestling is to be in the privacy of our own souls. Harmony is the priority with one another. Have you ever cast away what makes you stumble?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we confess that Your teaching here is hard to understand and hard to obey. Keep us from setting a stumbling block before another. Help us to cast out that in us which causes us to stumble as we seek to walk in Your way. Amen.

This meditation is based on the Daily Lectionary Year 1 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993).