Us and Them

Mark 9:38-50

^"Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”

To a statement like that, I can imagine Jesus saying “O John, my dear John, I have called you in to my inner circle.  With Peter and James, you have seen things that others have not.  You were there when Jairus’ daughter was raised as I decreed, “Talitha Koum”.  You were there with me in the radiance on that mountaintop with Moses and Elijah.  Beloved John, you will see more still to come.  Yet you argue with your brothers as to who will be the greatest among you.   You and James, so keen to sit at my right and my left in my glory; I tell you, you will be seated next to me at table very soon ...stay with me to the end. 

“Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”

“Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us...”

John, the apostle, privileged to be with Jesus in many special miraculous moments, is given an answer from Jesus making it clear that building his kingdom is not meant to be an exclusive operation.  Jesus never asks for the credentials of the one who’s been driving out demons – what matters is that it’s being done in Jesus’ name.  

The words and deeds of Jesus, and indeed the gospel message itself, points to the need for his followers to consider carefully the boundary lines that we tend to draw, and to actively dismantle the wall of ‘us’ versus ‘them’ that too often builds up.  From the beginning of the church, there have been rivalries between different groups.  Remember in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians where the people had become divided into factions, some following Apollos, some following Paul, some following Cephas and some following Christ – the people were boasting about which one they followed, and the walls were being built up.

I’m also reminded of the misunderstandings between the various Christian traditions, pitting the ‘super-spiritual’, the ‘liturgical’ and the ‘rigidly dogmatic’ against each other.   Our allegiance must be to Christ first, and to our extended Christian family of believers.  Who is in this family?  Jesus said whoever does the will of God is included in His family (Mark 3:31-35). And the family of Christ are called to ‘love one another’, that’s the way Jesus said we are to demonstrate that we are Christ’s disciples. Through our Scriptures, Christians are urged to consider one another; to be kind to one another, to value others more than ourselves, to bear with each other’s burdens - to forgive as we’ve been forgiven – ‘to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace’ (Eph 4:3).

And in the absence of unity, where there are alienated feelings and bitterness, not only do we become poor witnesses for Christ – at the same time we invite the enemy to gain a stronger foothold among us.  James 3:26 says ‘For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.’ And when seekers observe God’s family fighting, they not so likely to want to become a part of God’s family. So as we recognise the tendency to put a wall between ‘us’ and ‘them’, how can we move on to dismantle the wall? The Lord’s Prayer is a GREAT place to start.  The Lord’s Prayer doesn’t belong to any one tradition – and so, along with the Creeds, the Lord’s Prayer is a potent way for us to express our unity:

You cannot say the Lord’s Prayer,

And even once say "I".

You cannot pray the Lord’s Prayer,

And even once say "my".

Nor can you pray the Lord’s Prayer

And not pray for another.

For to ask for "our" daily bread,

You include your sister and brother!

All God’s children are included

in each and every plea.

From the beginning to the end of it,

it does not once say "me". 

Yesterday some 40,000 Christians from all denominations and traditions met in Wembley Stadium to pray for the nation. Among the 40,000 was a coach full of people representing different Churches in our community. At the heart of the prayers at Wembley was The Lord’s Prayer, being offered for this nation. We’re going to use that same prayer as a blessing now.  And as we pray the Lord’s Prayer together in a moment, I invite you first to think of a brother or sister in Christ with whom you might need to be reconciled, and include that person with yourself as you pray ‘Our Father’; ‘our daily bread’; ‘forgive us our trespasses’; ‘deliver us from evil’. 

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.  Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever.  Amen.

One of the strongest areas of division into ‘us’ and ‘them’ can be between churches. Relationships may be better than they were in the past, but many of us still find criticism comes easy – and the criticism is a form of rejection.

There is a story of a World War I soldier who died, and his friends desperately wanted to give him a decent burial.  They found a cemetery in a nearby village.  It happened to be a Roman Catholic cemetery, and the dead man had been a Protestant.  When the friends found the Priest in charge of the burial grounds, they requested permission to bury their friend, but the Priest refused because the man had not been a Catholic.  The Priest saw their disappointment, and said he could arrange for them to have some land outside the churchyard fence to bury their friend. This was done.  Some time later, they returned to visit the grave but couldn’t find it.  Their search led them back to the Priest and, of course, they asked him what had happened to the grave.  The Priest said that he had been unable to sleep because he had made them bury their friend outside the fence.  So he had moved the fence to include the dead soldier. 

In Christ, God ‘moved the fence’ to include the undeserving – you and me.  His love is all embracing.  As we endeavour to honour Christ’s name, and we begin to recognise that our identity is found in Christ, we too are called to move the fence.  Then we realise our identity in Christ isn’t threatened by any group or individual, and we are set free to move from the position of ‘us’ versus ‘them’, and to love as Christ has loved us.

Moving the fence can be a source of joy and healing. So let’s do this.  Let’s share in The Lord’s Prayer once more; but this time, we’ll take a moment and allow God to bring to mind any church, congregation or minister that we may have criticised or regarded as not quite up to the mark.  Ask God to forgive, and then hold them in mind and ask God’s blessing on them by specifically praying the Lord’s Prayer for them. 

 Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.  Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever.  Amen.