Daily Bread

‘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 Gehenna, 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 Gehenna. 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 Gehenna, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

The temptation, when faced with a chewy Bible passage is to ignore it, move on, or find a different passage to reflect on! However, I've come to learn not to avoid a passage just because it sits uncomfortably with me.

In this passage Jesus used hyperbole — this is when you over-exaggerate something to make a point. No, Jesus was not suggesting we literally chopped off our hands and feet, or tore out our own eyes! If he did, there would be a lot of one-eyed, one-handed, limping Christians! Gehenna was a real place — a valley on the southwest side of Jerusalem — outside the city walls where all the rubbish was burned — and Jesus was not saying we will literally be thrown into Gehenna (translated unhelpfully as 'hell' in most translations)! The use of hyperbole — this extreme figurative speech — was because of the importance of what Jesus wanted to communicate.

So what was Jesus talking about? He was talking about not leading his followers astray — i.e. tripping up those who were childlike in their weakness and vulnerability. Jesus' followers — his divinely adopted children — mattered to him, and so he was warning against harming them or erecting barriers that prevented them coming to know and be loved by Jesus.

As a church leader, I often reflect on what prevents people coming to know Jesus. Is it the fear of entering a building? Not knowing where or when to sit or stand? Not knowing if they are welcome? Being erroneously told they are 'sinners' because of their gender or sexuality? Being 'told off' from the pulpit?

For us Christians, we must ensure nothing stands in the way of someone encountering Jesus. Nothing. Sometimes, with others, it will mean swallowing our pride, not speaking out to correct someone, or stepping aside to allow God to be God.

Holy God
Help me remove any barriers I have put up
that prevent someone coming to know you.
May I always be willing and ready
to share your welcome, acceptance and love.
In Christ, with Christ, and through Christ.