First of all, just a few observations concerning the sayings of Jesus in todays gospel. The sayings of Jesus, as quoted here by St. Mark, are rather over the top. They tend to send shivers down our civilised spines. But in fact it was never Mark's intention that we should take these sayings literally. Because, literally, they make no sense. Jesus is merely stringing together a series of Jewish proverbs, sayings that would have been familiar to his audience. What he is saying is that sin is as much part of our lives as our eyes or our limbs. Sin is an integral part of us and of the human condition. We are full of inconsistencies, of inner contradictions. It is a constant factor in our lives and, as such, must be constantly addressed. As is obvious from today's gospel, his inner circle of disciples did not escape these inherent contradictions, this sinfulness.
They reject the outsider, the one who does not belong to the inner circle. John appeals to Jesus: "Master, we saw a man who is not one of us casting out devils in your name; and because he was not one of us we tried to stop him." This exorcist has been successful in his ministry and that success clearly worries the disciples.
This outsider is seen as a rival. But Jesus refuses to look at the matter this way. Instead he invites his fragile company to a larger vision of God's goodness: he commands his disciples to leave the outsider in peace: "Anyone who is not against us is for us." Thus Jesus recognises and confirms the valuable work is going on outside his immediate circle. He, the one who claimed to be God, now says that even he has no monopoly on goodness. And goodness, whatever its source, should be recognised and encouraged.
The interesting thing to remember is that the disciples are themselves outsiders in their own society. But they expected to be accepted and cherished as valuable and productive members of that society. Yet they themselves were not prepared to extend that same favour to another outsider. Jesus exposes their inconsistency. He is not threatened by goodness outside his own chosen circle. If his passion is for the good of others, that passion will be served by anyone who does God's work. In that sense, Jesus is indiscriminate when it comes to goodness -anyone will do.
This lesson is instructive for ourselves. The cause of Catholicism is not served by the rejection of other ways of Christian discipleship. The cause of Christianity is not served by those who claim that no real good can happen beyond the boundaries of faith. We can all take pride in the community to which we belong without denigrating the work of those who do not belong to us.
Jesus calls on each one of us to tolerance. Christian tolerance is not weakness. Neither is it a lazy acceptance of whatever movement happens to be in vogue. Christian tolerance is a reverence for the truth that is always larger than ourselves. It is a recognition of the charity that flourishes beyond our own borders. It is a profound respect for the freedom of God to move in his own chosen ways. It is a humility before the greatness of God. After all, if God risks hoping in us, why should we deny his hope in others?
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