Tuesday, October 23, 2001
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
But Jesus said, "Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in
my name
will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.
But Jesus said, "Do not stop him. 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. I tell you
the truth,
anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will
certainly not
lose his reward." Jesus had no use for theological litmus tests. The proof was in the
pudding, as
we say. You will know a follower of Christ by their actions. No more--no less. Political
candidates talk about big tents--making the party tent big enough to draw in as broad a
constituency as possible. Jesus has the biggest tent of all. If you are not against him,
you are for
him. All who will may come.
(Mark 9:39
NRSV)
Jesus was probably the most tolerant man who ever lived. One of his disciples, John,
told him,
"Teacher," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him
to stop,
because he was not one of us." Now that makes sense. What we have here is a clear
copyright
infringement. A man who was not a member of a recognized church was using Jesus'
name to cast
out demons. If something wasn't done he would soon be putting up a tent on the
outskirts of
town. The First Liturgical, Pentecostal, Evangelical, Reformed Church of the Triune
God Uniting.
We can't have such riff-raff representing Christ. No wonder the disciples were alarmed.
God of grace, thank you for welcoming me into your kingdom. Guide me as I help bring
people to
your gate. Amen.
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