My Walk Through the Book of Mark by Annette Godtland

Jesus Forbids Sectarianism (Mark 9:38-41)

38Now John answered Him, saying, "Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us."

39But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 40For he who is not against us is on our side. 41For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.

I had to look up the meaning of Sectarianism. Sectarian means "of or pertaining to a sect or sects", or "Narrow-minded". Here the apostles were expecting Jesus to forbid what someone outside their following was doing, but instead Jesus reprimands his followers. He is warning them that they should not be so narrow minded.

I was raised as a Catholic. When I married, I joined my husband's church, what is now called the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the ELCA. There were things about this church I felt more comfortable with. There are several ELCA churches in my city, some we like better than others. Eventually you settle into a church you like best. But that doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the other churches. They are still serving God in the best way for their members. They may not believe exactly as I do, but they are not against Christ. Therefore they are also on my side.

Do I carry that philosophy into other parts of my life? It is easy to get caught in the trap that when you know you are doing things in a way that is right for you that anyone else who does things differently must therefore be wrong. This is where prejudices come from. But here Jesus is telling us not to look at how others do things differently, but what we have in common with them. If they are not against our core beliefs, they are on our side.

And what core beliefs are the ones that really matter? Simple, that they love and serve God. It doesn't matter what their lifestyle is like. It doesn't matter what their other priorities are as long as God is first. A good example is the current debate in our society regarding homosexual people. According to this instruction from Jesus, if a person is not against us, trying to turn people away from God, he is on our side. If he serves God, even by as much as giving a cup of water to drink in Jesus' name, his reward will be there for him. We need to keep an open mind, because there are many more people on our side than we would otherwise recognize.