We Are Our Neighbors’ Keepers

“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’

Mark 9:42-48

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The Cross and the Millstone

If a drug dealer, abuser, or murderer stalks his child, a good father springs into protective action. Sin, which kills both body and soul, plunges the entire cosmos and humanity into the sea of death. 

Jesus responds to the plight of his Father’s child (adam, the human race) by taking the millstone for sinners. The image of Christ scourged, bloodied, and crucified exposes the gravity of sin, which destroys the primordial relationship of humans with God the Father. 

What is Sin?

Created for wholeness and holiness in union with God, the source of life, Adam died by turning away to his own will. The biblical image of sin comes from archery: an arrow or stone “missing the mark” or “wandering” from the right path. The Hebrew word for sin, chatta’ah, is derived from the verb chata, “to miss the mark, target, or way.” Likewise, the Greek word for sin, hamartanó, means “to miss the mark.” Sin “misses the mark” by veering away from God.

In the Hebrew Scriptures, God commands the Israelites to “walk in his ways” (Deuteronomy 8:6). To stray from the path is to choose death rather than life (Deuteronomy 30:15-20). Those who cause others to stumble (skandalizó) put snares in the path of the vulnerable and cause them “to fall into a trap” (Mark 9:42).

Protect God’s Children

In solidarity with Christ, disciples dare not destroy the faith and life of little ones due to negligence and failure to protect them from evil. Losing a hand, foot, or eye is nothing compared to the loss of God or the corruption of God’s children under our watch. Jesus, the Lamb of God, sacrificed his all on the Cross to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

John 10:11

Traditional Chinese Translation

《我們是鄰居的守護者》
失去一隻手、腳或眼睛，
強如誤導一個小孩入岐途。