Everyone will be salted with fire

‘If any of you 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. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

‘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.’

- Mark 9:42-50

Lessons on humility and relatedness continue from Saturday's reading. In the previous passage, Mark the evangelist recounts for us Jesus' pronouncement about the little child. Jesus also taught about notions of service and leadership, when he found that the disciples were disputing among themselves about who was greatest. So he continues the same dialogue here.

Jesus first links the little child to the "little ones" - meaning those believers within the church who are followers, or "the least of them," who do not strive to be great. Jesus issues his stern warning to his disciples - one of the sternest he will give - about how they are to comport themselves because of these "little ones." My study bible says this is a true lesson in humility - stumbling blocks come because of striving to be great. They are to be servants to all. So, this is a lesson above all about detachment.

The least in this kingdom is clearly as important as those who would be greatest. Jesus' great caution to his disciples is about their treatment of those in the church who are the least among them. If, in their striving for greatness and personal power of any kind, they cause the little ones to stumble, the negative reflection back to them will also be great. Those who seek position must consider the great responsibility they have toward the most humble of the flock. Causing spiritual harm happens, he seems to indicate, through the desire for power, for greatness - and the consequences are dire for those through whom this harm comes. The least among them is blessed with the love of God, so that harm to the littlest ones is a serious offence, a great responsibility. This is a lesson not simply on the responsibility of the disciples but also on the great equality of this kingdom; the value God places on the least of them renders hurt to the little ones - causing them to go astray - the most deeply serious spiritual offense.

Strange sayings: 'If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell' What could it mean that Jesus talks about hands, feet, eyes in this way? Certainly it is a lesson on detachment. Whatever we possess as part of ourselves that could in some way cause offense to the little ones we are to detach from ourselves. What are some of the character traits associated with striving for greatness? Arrogance, self-centered egotism, selfishness, showiness or braggadocio, high-handedness, harsh treatment of others, a competitive spirit that is negative or devious in its expression, slander, gossip, unkindness, haughtiness, narcissism, exploitation, etc?? These are some of the qualities, then, which correlate to the hand, eye or foot that causes us to stumble. Whatever it is, no matter how cherished or precious it may seem, it's better to detach oneself from the personal passions that may harm the little ones or cause them to stumble.

What is this fire with which we are salted? I believe that in so many instances in the bible, fire is equated with the Holy Spirit. It is our great testing and proving ground, and also the giver of gifts. Like the salt and the fire, this two-edged sword of truth has its negative and positive side: the fire of Spirit is that same fire in the image of hell - its absolute energy of love at once purifies us and burns away that which is not of itself, like the negative qualities that go with pride, including triumphalism and sectarianism, that Jesus has warned about in the past two passages. Most of all, we remember his warning about the least - the most humble among us. We are salted with a fire that will teach us who we are, who we must be, what we need to develop and what we need to discard and detach ourselves from. In that fire is the greatest statement of equality: be at peace with one another. How hard it is - continues to be to this day - to live up to these words!