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

 "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 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 good, 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 passed through Galilee, and 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 continues His discussion with the disciples (from yesterday's reading, above) regarding treatment and care for the little ones among them.  My study bible says that little ones include all who have childlike humility and simplicity, all who are poor in spirit.

"If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better 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.'"  My study bible says that the reference to physical mutilation serves as an illustration of decisive action to avoid sin (it is not an advocacy of literal amputation!).  It notes, also, that this can refer to harmful relationships that must be severed for the salvation of all parties (see Luke 14:26, 1 Corinthians 5:5).  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 66:24, giving us a sense of just how essential this teaching against harm to the little ones is to our faith.  This is the deepest possible advocacy of care for those who are the most humble, least powerful, and who rely most strongly upon leadership for help, care, and guidance.

 "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."  My study bible says that being seasoned with fire means being tested to see if one's faith and works are genuine (see 1 Corithians 3:11-15).  In saying every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt, Jesus is quoting Leviticus 2:13, in which salt stands for the remembrance of God's covenant with God's people. 

If we think about Jesus' words regarding cutting off a hand or foot, or plucking out an eye, it might remind us of medical care before our current state of medical resources.  Once upon a time, this might have been a much more widely understood metaphor in terms of the need to cut off a hand or a foot, or to lose an eye, to prevent disease from spreading to the rest of the body.  Once upon a time -- and this was true in the not-very-distant past as well -- surgical removal of limbs was the final and frequent remedy to stop the spread of infection to the rest of the body.  So we listen to Jesus' remarks in the context of medical care:  better to remove hand or foot or eye than have it infect the whole body.  But what could He mean by the hand or foot or eye that causes us to sin?  This also works as metaphor in other ways.  Regarding His very scathing warning here of abuse toward the little ones who believe in Him (causing them to stumble), we can understand that a hand can reach out to grab what doesn't belong to the more powerful, and take it from a "little one."  A foot can travel where it doesn't belong, in order to abuse power, to cause abuse through violence, or harm in trespassing in other ways, violating proper boundaries that belong in place in order to avoid scandalizing and causing hurt.  An eye can set itself on things to don't belong to is, it can be greedy, or envious, or covetous.  It, too, can gaze beyond proper boundaries with improper lust for what is not righteous nor appropriate to oneself.  In each of these ways, we can understand Jesus' admonition to take swift, even emergency "medical" action to stop oneself in a pattern of sin, lest we harm those less powerful, and less we do damage to our fellow believers.  This is especially true in the cast of the "little ones," those who are humble in the Church, who have no high station, who depend upon and rely upon good leadership for their souls and their hearts -- and also to guide their minds in faith in ways that are appropriate and good for all of us.  Right now, in over 150 countries around the world, we are fighting an epidemic of a virus.  As many of our leaders are wont to say, this is nobody's fault.  Blame and vitriol and hate are enough to go around, and more than enough to go around.  These help no one.  Fear and panic, which such things encourage, also help no one.  As Christians we look to good leadership to stand us in good stead -- especially spiritually, but also otherwise -- through this crisis.  That is, through this time of need, our Church is still a place that guides and cares for the body, soul, and spirit of its faithful.  If we take Jesus' words to heart, this must be particularly done with concern toward the little ones, all those who look for good leadership at this time.  We take the precautions we need to, we help the efforts of our countries as best we can, we watch out for one another.  Especially damaging, or so it seems to me, is the vitriol and hatred that continues to fuel political fighting, false rumors, and the spread of panic.  Let us focus on our common understanding that we remain in our period of Lent.  That means that as Christians it is a time for inward focus, for prayer, for discipline, and this goes hand in hand with the discipline that is asked of us as citizens.  We have time to read Scripture, and other kinds of literature that are helpful and strengthening to us on all levels of our existence.  In some sense, it is a very convenient, and also thought-provoking, juxtaposition of the time for us as faithful.  We do our duty to God, and thereby we also do our duty to country, even "for the life of the world" (John 6:33).  Throughout the two thousand year history of our faith, the faithful have faced persecutions, famines, plagues, wars, genocide, and hosts of other pests and threats to our truth and the wisdom of the word of God.  Let us continue as we understand our time in Lent:  we have a duty to our faith -- and that includes our duty to one another.  Let us go and do as we know what remains essential, and true, and a blessing to the world, to all of us.