Stumbling Blocks

‘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 hell, 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 hell.^, 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 hell,

 where their worm never dies, and the fire is never 

quenched.

 ‘For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; 

but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? 

Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one

another.’ Mark 9:42-50

I have always loved skipping stones on the water. You have to lean in and get pretty low to get a good angle so the stones skip more than

once. It takes practice. These days I also have to watch how and

where I walk because I am prone to stumbling in this period of

recovery. Things that once were no barrier now can cause me to

stumble.

Jesus was teaching his disciples in the plainest language that he

could. Our faithfulness, our lives are not to be a stumbling block

for the little ones and the most vulnerable. Our lives are to be

lives of service and protection, helping the hungry, the weak and

those who are far from home. Our daily practice of our faith is to

be found and understood in how we serve others, and how we 

use our gifts for the goodness of others.

Today, I ask God to keep me from stumbling and to help me be

a loving hand to those in need. May we always be ready to be a

bridge rather than a wall, a stepping stone rather than a stumbling

block.