There’s a scrap of papyrus (a form of paper made from reeds that grew in the Nile) that has survived the centuries until it was found in the Egyptian desert over a century ago. Although there are gaps in the piece, enough has survived to make it clear what it is.

It’s a list of Olympic champions.

The Greek Olympic games were held every four years for a thousand years. The list includes champions for all the events including the 200 yard dash which was the oldest event in the games. This list included champions for boxing, wrestling, a no-holds-barred event called the Pankraton, chariot races, the long jump, the discus, the javelin, and the Pentathlon. Some names appear more than once, champions who reigned over decades. Some appear once.

Each victor received plenty of prizes: land, slaves, gold, and in some cases a lifetime pension from the city from which he hailed. They also received a victor’s crown and lasting glory. Poets wrote poems in their honor. Artists and sculptors immortalized their accomplishments.

There’s only one thing missing on this piece of papyrus — there are no awards for second or third place. There’s no honorable mention. You are either the champion, or you’re nothing.

To the ancient Greeks athletic competitions had one winner. Everyone else was a loser. But in our day we honor more than just the first place finisher. We also admire those who try, who compete, who push themselves farther than they thought they could go.

The Christian rewards are for everyone. There’s a bumper sticker that reads: “Second Place is First Loser.” That is not the Christian attitude. — not 2,000 years ago — not now.

The apostle Paul referred to that victor’s crown handed out in the Olympics when he talked about having fought the good fight, ran the good race, and added: “From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing (Philippians 4:8).” That sounds like a lot of winners. And when John the Revelator looks into the heavens from the prison island of Patmos he saw “… a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands (Revelation 7:9).” Oddly enough, sometimes the faithful in both the Old Testament and the New Testament don’t share this attitude.

In Numbers 11:26-29, Moses gathered seventy elders around the tabernacle and the Lord’s Spirit filled the elders with a spirit of prophecy. There were two men who remained behind, Eldad and Medad, who were also filled with the Spirit and who also displayed the spirit of prophecy. A young man who witnessed this ran to where Moses stood and told him all about it, and Joshua, normally a level headed person, said, “My lord Moses, stop them (Numbers 11:28)!” And Moses responded: “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them (Numbers 11:29)! ”

John, who was one of the three apostles that was with Jesus when he was transfigured, (and perhaps he thought he was special because he’d been up on the mountaintop) reported, like Joshua: “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us (John 9:38).” Jesus, like Moses, was not interested in stopping those outside his inner circle from doing great works. “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us (Mark 9:39-40).” It is important to know that this passage follows a larger discussion about which disciple is the greatest (9:33-37). Jesus said that, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all (Mark 9:35).” He then took up a child in his arms. Children were not valued as they are today – they gained value as they grew able to work. Children did not have first access to resources. But Jesus took this marginalized member of society and said, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me (9:37).”

Having described a situation in which servanthood and acceptance of the marginalized are the true hallmarks of a disciple, can there be any wonder that in the context of this story Jesus would expect his disciples to abandon jealousy and rivalry for inclusion and acceptance?

When the disciples told Jesus they had stopped an outsider from healing others in the name of Jesus, Jesus responded, “Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward (9:40-41).”

A cup of cold water in the name of Jesus? It sounds a lot like Matthew 25, where Jesus at the last judgment told those who fed, clothed, visited or gave a drink to the least of these did it for Jesus.

Now oddly enough, in that same gospel of Matthew, Jesus said just the opposite of what he said here. In Matthew’s gospel he was reported to have said that whoever is not for us is against us.

But the situation was totally different. Jesus had been challenged in several successive stories by religious authorities who accused him and his followers of acting against the faith, and they finally went so far as to claim that the work of Jesus was demonic.

Matthew described a situation where the criticism of Jesus had gone beyond the pale to the point where he was literally demonized. (This describes the situation we often encounter in modern political and religious debate, where opponents are not debated but demonized also.)

In this context Jesus said, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven (Matthew 12:30-31).”

Context is key. Jesus probably said both things. That’s how wisdom sayings work — they have to be understood in the context in which they are spoken, and they are not one size fits all. What is wisdom in one circumstance is folly in another.

On the one hand as Christians it is important that we accept others who are doing the work of Jesus, and be prepared to accept a cup of cold water from them rather than rejecting them for not measuring up to our standards, especially when they threaten our own imagined place in the gospel kingdom.

On the other hand Matthew’s version warns us those who demonize their opponents, who demean and dismiss others, are in danger of blaspheming against that Spirit that is present in all of us.

The Bible, after all, is not a convenient tool to back up our own already established notions. It is the living word of God.

There was a time when everyone assumed their own denomination was the one true church and everyone else in every Christian denomination was going to hell. We’re not even talking, as Jesus suggested, about people who are not his followers. He had no other followers at that point.

Now during that same period a whole generation was inspired to take the gospel throughout the world. Young people became missionaries and preached about Jesus in different countries, far from home, far from the comforts of those homes, far from family and friends.

For the most part, the missionaries didn’t take their denominational bickering to the front lines of evangelism. They worked together because they recognized far from home that the things that separated them were not as important as they were led to believe! They realized they were one in Christ.

It’s the same when we’re engaged in ecumenical ministries like soup kitchens, domestic violence shelters, community programs for children, and the like. At a time like that, we have to say, as Jesus did, that whoever is not against us is for us. We don’t ask for a litmus test, and thank heavens, the needs are so great that no one asks us if we measure up either. We’re simply broken people helping other broken people, sharing a cup of cold water in the name of Jesus.

Pay attention. People outside our church, even outside our faith, may be doing God’s work, and we should not stop it. The front lines of ministry are no place for protecting what we imagine is our territory. We’ll leave it for God to decide who’s saved. After all, the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.

But Jesus has more to say in this passage and it is stark.

“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 (9:42-48).”

Part of the Jewish story-telling technique is hyperbole, or exaggeration. It would be a mistake to cut off a hand, a foot, or an eye without talking to your pastor first and consider the possibility of seeking forgiveness. Those who easily despair probably don’t need to hear these verses.

Nor is Jesus exactly talking about hell. He talks about Gehenna, a trash heap outside the city that is constantly smoldering. Gehenna was south of Jerusalem, a city dump, garbage was burned, maggots ate animal entrails, flames always smoldered (see Isaiah 66:24) not eternal damnation but utter annihilation. This is about obliteration — obliteration if one harms a “little one.”

Jesus is using this term not only for children, the most vulnerable members of society, but also the most vulnerable in our midst. That includes people with post-traumatic stress disorder, degenerative diseases, emotional handicaps, senior citizens, those unable to make reasoned choices, leaving them vulnerable to those who want to take advantage of them — you make your own list. People who prey upon others must heed that warning about a giant millstone. These are the people who need to hear that whoever is not for Jesus is against him, so they know when they harm the vulnerable, they show they are against Jesus.

These verses are not for those who are suffering, who can’t make sense of their lives, who need to know that despite their confusion, if they are not against Jesus, Jesus already takes their side.

Finally, Jesus talks about salt — salt is both a seasoning and a preservative. It was connected with rites of purification and ritual offerings in Leviticus. We are salted by the obstacles we have encountered and sometimes overcome. We are salted by our service in the name of Christ, and in our offerings.

“Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another (Mark 9:50).” Jesus tells us. Know that we are all salted, all broken in different ways, and yet in our suffering and struggles we are on the side of Jesus, and we are fit for service in his name.

Don’t sweat the small stuff that separates us as believers from one another. We are on a great team! We are part of the Lord’s people. We are one in Christ.

Amen.