Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“John answered, ‘Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, March 4, 2025
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
This is a double-edged sword. Here, Jesus is saying that if someone is doing good, and they’re not preventing you from doing good, then you’re all on the same team, even if they might not agree with you in every respect. It’s an important message for anyone who insists that everyone needs to adhere to a particular interpretation of the Bible, for example, otherwise they are from Satan, rather than from God. What other people think or believe is none of my business. My business is to love and serve God and my neighbor in humility and gratitude. And if another person who does not believe in God or follow my particular faith tradition is loving and serving, then more power to them! It’s all God’s action on the world.
But the reverse, then, is also true. If someone is doing horrible things in God’s name (or for any reason) and we don’t step up and speak out against them, then we are for them. We are complicit. We are guilty of their crimes because we did not try to stop them from happening. So it was in Nazi Germany, so it could be in the United States should Christian Nationalists begin stripping people of their rights on our watch. So it already is in the United States when so many of our policies cause direct harm to our neighbors in myriad ways.
If we are not against injustice, then we are for it. What is our choice to be?
What actions can and do I take to work against harmful policies and practices in my community?
