Everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt

 "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.  If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched -- where

'Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.'

And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched -- where

'Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.'

And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.  It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire -- where

'Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.'

"For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.  Salt is god, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it?  Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another."

- Mark 9:42-50

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples left the area of Caesarea Philippi and passed through Galilee, but He did not want anyone to know it.  For He taught His disciples and said to them, "The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him.  And after He is killed, He will rise the third day."  But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.  Then He came to Capernaum.  And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?"  But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.  And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."  Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them.  And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."  Now John answered Him, saying, "Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us."  But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me.  For he who is not against us is on our side.  For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."

 "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea."  Jesus speaks of the little ones in the context of the disciples' responsibilities as the future leaders of His Church.    This is a continuation of His discourse from yesterday's reading, in which He addressed the disciples' arguments with one another over who would be the greatest in His Kingdom -- in other words, their dispute over who would have the highest positions of honor in what they likely think is a worldly kingdom to come.  His primary teaching is on the essence of humility as requirement for greatness.   Their charge will be the little ones; my study bible says that "little ones" include all who have childlike humility and simplicity, all who are poor in spirit.  These are the ones who will populate His Church; from the great to the least, the disciples must be servants of all.  In yesterday's reading, He told them that to receive even a little child in His name is to receive Him, and whoever receives Him receives also the Father who sent Him.

"If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched -- where  'Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.'  And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched -- where 'Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.'  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.  It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire -- where 'Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.'"  What is it to have ascetic discipline in the Church?  In Jesus' words here, it is everything.  Humility is only possible through self-knowledge and constant discipline, exercise if you will, to beware of our own weaknesses to behaviors that can't uphold this mission in the world.  A hand may want to take something that doesn't belong to it, to abuse someone lower in power and stature.  A foot goes where it shouldn't or perhaps strikes a blow, an eye is cast upon something one may covet.  Each speaks to a proper boundary crossed, an abuse of another -- most likely one with less power, a "little one."  What Jesus is teaching here will remain of central importance to the faith and should never be forgotten.  To be good disciples, we need always be aware of our weaknesses and the discipline necessary to spiritual growth in His image.  To be true leaders requires this kind of watchfulness and a willingness to sacrifice our own failings that get in the way of the grace He teaches.  The repeated quotation is from Isaiah 66:24.   Repeated three times, this warning about abuse, the capacity to mislead for selfish purposes, is the most dire Jesus will give.  It applies to all of us. 

"For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.  Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it?  Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another."   We will all be tested; each one of us must struggle to be aware of our own weaknesses and temptations, and do something about it.  My study bible says that we're tested to see if one's faith and works are genuine (see 1 Corinthians 3:11-15).   Every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt is a quotation from Leviticus 2:13, in which salt stands for the remembrance of God's covenant with God's people.   We must remember to whom we owe our loyalty, and let that awareness "season" all our relations with others.

We have to remember the context which Jesus addresses:  immediately after they're told that Jesus will suffer and die and rise on the third day, the disciples are disputing with one another over who is going to be greatest.  That is, who will have the positions of honor in the worldly kingdom they think is coming.  Jesus must prepare them for the Church, for the time in which He is no longer with them in the flesh.  How are they to be the pillars He wants them to be?  The first mission is service which comes only through humility.  They must receive even the littlest child as if they receive Him, and the Father who sent Him.  Considerations of levels of power and rank are the furthest thing from how He wishes them to conduct themselves.  They dispute with one another; they must learn self-discipline.  What they want, what they seek for themselves, the positions they want in this kingdom they suppose is coming -- and all that might accompany such -- will be subjected to a fire and must be seasoned with the salt of loyalty to the One whom they serve.  Sacrifices made involve a willingness to do away with selfish motivation, the things that get in the way of serving the least among them.  Modern life doesn't seem to ask us for this type of self-sacrifice, unless possibly we're speaking about losing weight so we look good (and yes, for our health), or training for an athletic event, or the discipline we need to perform our jobs.  But in a spiritual context, Jesus' goals of ascetic discipline are all about an internal kind of work and training.  He asks us to be aware of our impulses that cause excess, abuse, exploitation, the crossing of boundaries, trespassing where we're not to go.  In their competition with one another, the disciples dispute who will be greatest.  But He asks them instead to discipline themselves with loyalty to the goals He gives them, loyalty to covenant and Creator who loves and is found even in the little ones of least stature, even in the little children.  This kind of discipline and training involves looking to ourselves for the places in which we're tempted to trespass, for our own weaknesses.  It's not all sweetness and light; the grace He offers clearly works hand in hand with our own responsibility to cooperate and grow in this covenant, in light of our loyalty.  We may be blessed, but grace is a kind of fire.  It is an energy of God within which we stand and are transformed -- or resist its urging to cast out what is not helpful.  This is internal work, spiritual struggle, and part and parcel of the faith.  Grace comes together with the need to follow where it leads, the urging for personal change.  What is the discipline of faith?  Let us remember the salt of love and loyalty, the fire of God's love which tests and purifies, the peace with one another He asks.