[Propertalk] Gospel Quotes for Mark 9:38-50 - Part 4

[Joe Parrish]

Mark ends with the image of salt. It is not so much that salt ceases to be salt but that it becomes contaminated by additions over time, dirt, stones, etc, so that it becomes useless. He links salt with peace. In the context salt is an image of integrity and wholeness. Being at peace with one another is about wholeness in community - not about hushing things up. 

http://wwwstaff.murdoch.edu.au/~loader/MkPentecost17.htm

William Loader
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...irony is that this unnamed man is casting out demons in Jesus' name -- something that earlier in this chapter, the disciples were unable to do (9:18, 28). (Although the twelve were casting out many demons in 6:13.)
The verbs in this scene imply continued or repeated actions
"casting out" -- present tense (participle) 
"trying to stop" -- imperfect 
"following" -- imperfect 
The picture these present is that this guy kept on casting out demons while the disciples kept trying to stop him. It wasn't a one-time event.
Note also that their complaint against him is that "he was not following *us*." 

http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/mark9x38.htm

Brian Stoffregen
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If our primary distraction is grasping after material wealth, then we need to exercise spiritual discipline over our hands. If our primary distraction is wanting to walk only with the "in-crowd", then we must exercise spiritual discipline over our feet, going wherever God sends us.  If our primary distraction is coveting every desirable thing we see then we need spiritual discipline over our eyes so we can focus on the things of God. 

http://www.goodpreacher.com/shareit/readreviews.php?cat=12

Karen Baker-Fletcher 
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A great deal of good can be done by people who realize they are not perfect, that their motives may not be completely pure, that their faith is not yet fully formed, but who submit their desires to Jesus Christ and put him in charge of their inward lives.

http://www.goodpreacher.com/shareit/readreviews.php?cat=12

Alyce M. McKenzie
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...if the verb tenses have been correctly translated into English, then this is a parable about *PREVENTION* not punishment: Stop doing whatever is causing you to stumble. And given that hands, feet, and eyes are a way of speaking about the whole self, the parable implies that there is no avoiding the need for such discipline. We will experience something that will cause us to stumble.

http://www.holytextures.com/2009/09/mark-9-38-50-year-b-pentecost-21-26-sermon.html

David Ewart
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Food for Thought 

This text invites communities to identify the self-constructed stumbling blocks that prevent flourishing. In other words, are there subtle ways in which the church sabotages its own ministries? Are the goals of committees in conflict with each other? Is the ministry of the church controlled by a select few whose needs and interests do not represent the larger body? Is the church clinging to a self-identity that no longer reflects its membership or a vision that no longer holds relevance? What's keeping the church from discerning the will of God and pursuing Christ's ministry? How can the church become Spirit-led rather than ego-driven?

http://jointhefeast.blogspot.com/2009/08/september-27-2009-mark-938-50-charlotte.html

Mary Charlotte Elia, 2009
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