NOTES for Mar 9:40

Usually this saying is repeated as “Whoever is not with us is against us.” In this way the absolute majority of people are counted among our enemies. Here two different sayings of Christ are confused: the one we have just read, and “Whoever is not with Me is against Me” (Matt 12:30). Where Jesus speaks about Himself, it is simply a statement of the fact that in relation to Christ it is impossible to be neutral; nonacceptance of Him inevitably turns into enmity. In Christian spirituality there is no state “between Christ and Belial.” Jesus explains further: “Whoever does not gather with Me scatters.” In Christian life there are no stops: a stone that has stopped flying upward is already falling. But in relations between people Jesus offers a completely different logic. We are called to find the possibility of friendship, peace, and love with all people who do not have unambiguous hostility toward us. Of course, we are also called to love our enemies.