When “Cut It Off” Means “Cut It Out"

Rev. Dr. Mark Porizky

10/1/06

Mark 9:38-50

 John said to him, "Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us."  But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me.  For he that is not against us is for us.  For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward.  "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea.  And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.  And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell.  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 than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.   For every one will be salted with fire.  Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its saltness, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."

      “Oops, I made a mistake,” a Bible study leader says, after he asks us to turn to the wrong page. “That’s okay,” says one of the participants; “I made a mistake once, too.” We all laugh! We knew he meant just the opposite of what he’d said: he’d made many mistakes, as have all of us. Humans make mistakes. We are imperfect. Most of us would grant that.

      We call such gaffes, such goofs, we call them “honest mistakes.” When you forget to attend the 7 o’clock meeting, you apologize to the person in charge. “Gee, I forgot all about it,” you say; “it was an honest mistake.”

      What you mean by “honest mistake” is that your failure to attend the meeting was neither immoral nor intentional. You were just forgetful. “I guess I’m getting old,” you say. And you and the chairperson laugh about it a little. It’s good to laugh at ourselves when we make honest mistakes.

      A young girl made an honest mistake not so long ago when she tried to pass me in Downtown Mystic.  She was running and tried to pass me just as I moved slightly left, right into her path.  It was an honest mistake, but one that cost me a white T-shirt and a cup of coffee.  I must admit, it took me a couple of hours to laugh about this particular mistake.

      You hear a lot more about mistakes in our culture than sin. Even in Church we do not hear as much about sin as we used to. What is sin, anyway? Is a sin the same thing as a mistake? Or is sin a word reserved only for the worst kind of human behavior—say, for example, the murder of someone on the streets of New London, or the financial fraud of an honorably elected politician?

      In today’s gospel, Jesus speaks of sin in a quite different way. Sin is that which separates people from God. The consequences of sin are terrible, Jesus says. Imagine that someone ties a huge milling stone around your neck and throws you into the sea—that would be a “piece of cake” compared to the eternal consequences awaiting any person who leads a believer astray!

      Meanwhile, if something separates you from God, it is better to take drastic action now, rather than to suffer devastating consequences later. Jesus says that if your eye…or your foot…or your hand keeps you from following Christ, cut it off! It is better to enter God’s kingdom with only one hand than to go to hell with both! Those are strange, strong words! What does Jesus mean by them?

      Several years ago now, I read a story by a pastor in New Jersey named David Van Kley.  He received a call in the middle of the night from his best friend Jeff. “It’s Sharon ,” Jeff blurted out over the phone. “She’s in the hospital. There is a virus eating away the flesh and muscle in her leg. It’s a nightmare. Dave, she may die.” Over the next few days, as the flesh-eating virus raced up his wife’s leg, the doctors amputated four times, finally removing the leg almost to her waist, even including part of her hip. Had they not taken such drastic action, Sharon would certainly have died. As it was, she nearly did.

      After the surgeries, there was pain and the long, slow process of healing. So little bone and muscle remain that prosthetics do not really work for Sharon . When she does wear her artificial leg, the pain is continual. But worse than the physical pain has been the emotional pain. Her self-image was shattered. People stare at her all the time. Things that once were easy for her are now very difficult: doing the dishes, walking in snow, climbing steps. Even so, Sharon owes her life to the radical amputation. She wants to live and she is grateful.

      What does Jesus mean by these “hard sayings?” Is he really saying that if you have a roving eye—you know what I mean—you should rip it out? Does he really want us to cut off body parts? You know, every now and then, some Christian community has taken this teaching literally. People guilty of stealing have actually had their hands cut off!

      That interpretation has this going for it at least: it takes Jesus’ words seriously! But I’m sure that’s not what Jesus had in mind. I believe Jesus was speaking metaphorically rather than literally. After all, it isn’t the hand that makes us steal, but the heart. It is that which is inside a person that defiles a person, as Jesus says elsewhere.

      Sin, my friends, is separation from God. Whatever it is that separates us from God must be rooted out. Because that something—whatever it may be—has the power to destroy us, to consign us to all manner of hell.

      Just what is it that separates people from God? I’ve known some people for whom it was a romantic relationship with a person outside of marriage. Either they cut off that relationship or it will destroy their marriage and ruin their lives. Some people I’ve known have taken the painful, drastic step of cutting it off. Tragically, some others have not. 

      Alcohol is a powerful drug. For many of us, an occasional drink is harmless. But for some people, it is that which separates us from God. If they don’t stop drinking entirely, it will completely destroy them. They will lose their family, their friends, job, health—you name it. And they will make life hell for those they love. I’m sure you’ve seen this happen with people you know.

      I’ve seen it with children. They get in with the wrong crowd; if they or their parents do not cut off those relationships soon it is too late. They are led down the path to destruction.

      Whatever separates us from Jesus must be faced and cut off. It could be the love of money, or the love of career. It could be just about anything: pornography or the Patriots, fishing or flying, gaming or grooming. Whatever keeps us from living faithfully as Jesus would have us live…that is sin. And sin is always dangerous.  Jesus’ words are an indication of just how seriously he takes the subject.  

      And it’s not just the really “bad” sins that must be addressed.  Seemingly little ones are just as potentially harmful.  As I wrestled with these hard words of Jesus, it struck me that one of the things which often separates me from God is my desire to be a “people pleaser.”

      Now that doesn’t seem like much of a sin, does it? Some people even would see it as a positive thing! Yet, the sin of people-pleasing can keep me from trusting God and it can make my life a living hell.  

      I welcome all your comments about my sermons, both good and bad, but I have worked hard to make sure that I don’t preach to please you.  I preach, I hope, to please God.  Still, criticism can lead me to ruminate and worry, sometimes causing me to sleep less well.    At such times, I forget all about God’s promise to sustain me in every situation. I have to remind myself to say what I feel God wants me to say and not what you want to hear, trusting the results to God.  Still, people-pleasing keeps me from truly trusting God completely.

      Get rid of it, Jesus says. Cut it off. Of course, that’s easier said than done. People-pleasing has been stamped deeply on my brain ever since childhood. Maybe it’s in the chemicals of my brain. I can no more stop wanting to make people happy with me than I could cut off my own hand, even though sometimes I would be significantly better off, more honest, and deal with situations with more integrity.

      But thank God, I don’t have to. Jesus helps, through his Spirit. When we seek his help in prayer, Jesus brings healing. When we are honest about our sin and confess it, he forgives and forgiveness means starting life over. When we seek the help of others, we find that God is always working through them and we can change. Sometimes, people change quickly, like the guy who quits drinking overnight. Other times—and for most of us—change takes awhile. Healing is a painful struggle, a process which comes in fits and starts. Yet it comes. And it begins with the act of spiritual “amputation.” Cut it off, Jesus says.

      We usually think of amputation as a terrible word, but amputation can be life-giving! That pastor says that four years after the fact, Sharon ’s doing great. She would’ve died, but—because of the amputation—she’s very much alive. She’s finishing a doctoral degree in theology at Drew University . She’s mothering an adopted child. She’s teaching. And she’s walking! The other day, she and Jeff walked four miles up and down a mountain…on crutches!

      Friend, what is it that separates you from God? Cut it off, Jesus says. Stop putting it off; cut if off! Beginning now. Not by yourself, but with the resources Jesus Christ gives you.

      You can be free! Amen.

      Will you pray with me now?

(Story told by David A. Van Kley is taken from a sermon he preached that was posted on the Lectionary Homiletics website.)

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