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<DIV><FONT size=4>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.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://wwwstaff.murdoch.edu.au/~loader/MkPentecost17.htm">http://wwwstaff.murdoch.edu.au/~loader/MkPentecost17.htm</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>William Loader</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>...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.)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=justify><FONT size=4>The verbs in this scene imply continued or
repeated actions</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>"casting out" -- present tense (participle) </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>"trying to stop" -- imperfect </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>"following" -- imperfect </FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=justify><FONT size=4>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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=justify><FONT size=4>Note also that their complaint against him is
that "he was not following *us*." </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/mark9x38.htm">http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/mark9x38.htm</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Brian Stoffregen<BR>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>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.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.goodpreacher.com/shareit/readreviews.php?cat=12">http://www.goodpreacher.com/shareit/readreviews.php?cat=12</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Karen Baker-Fletcher </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.goodpreacher.com/shareit/readreviews.php?cat=12">http://www.goodpreacher.com/shareit/readreviews.php?cat=12</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Alyce M. McKenzie</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>...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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.holytextures.com/2009/09/mark-9-38-50-year-b-pentecost-21-26-sermon.html">http://www.holytextures.com/2009/09/mark-9-38-50-year-b-pentecost-21-26-sermon.html</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>David Ewart</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><STRONG>Food for Thought <BR><BR></STRONG>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?<BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://jointhefeast.blogspot.com/2009/08/september-27-2009-mark-938-50-charlotte.html">http://jointhefeast.blogspot.com/2009/08/september-27-2009-mark-938-50-charlotte.html</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Mary Charlotte Elia, 2009</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
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