The Stumbling Blocker
I have a splinter in my finger. It is actually a tiny thorn from a rose bush and it is so small, I can't see it, but I can feel it and it causes my thumb to throb at times.
I am sure if I had left it alone it would have found its way to the surface and made its exit, but I have poked and prodded, pushed and tweezed, growing a minor annoyance into a bump in the center of my thumb.
It isn't that it is painful. But it is enough of an annoyance to become a constant cry for my attention, a distraction, an obstacle.
It is one thing to be a cause of my own pain. It is something we all do from time to time, whether it is physical, like driving a splinter deep beneath the surface of our skin, or emotional, like telling ourselves we are foolish or stupid for something we did or didn't do. (Refer back to the splinter.)
In today's reading from Matthew, Jesus tells his disciples and followers to come to him as a child, and I imagine running to a parent with a cut or scrape looking for comfort and soothing, with a kiss to make it all better. When I make a mistake or do something wrong, the last thing I want is a reprimand.
Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes! - Matthew 18:7
When I think of stumbling blocks, I think of something physical, an obstacle of some kind found in my path, requiring my close attention so as not to cause me to trip and fall. Not only is it something that doesn't belong there, it is something put there on purpose, to cause me to stumble and fall.
I would never do that. Would I?
Certainly not intentionally. At least I can't imagine being intentional about tripping someone up or causing them to lose their way, and I am sure the followers didn't have such intentions either. What I think the message is here is to be aware of one's actions and words.
When I was a child, I learned by watching and copying what I saw. I learned to treat others the way I was treated, and the way those around me treated each other.
I learned the limits of my abilities by seeing how limited my parents were. I learned to talk the way they talked and walk the way they walked.
The adults around me were the potters and I was the molded clay in their hands.
In a way, every obstacle they encountered became one I might encounter as well. Every limit they imposed on my imagination became a fence or wall that would limit me.
As a manager in business, I learned how easily I could influence the creativity, thinking and actions of others who reported to me. I never thought of my team members as children, but as adults able to make their own decisions.
But Jesus is reminding me that I have a responsibility for what I say and do, just as much as if those listening and watching are all children. That's hard to accept. It means I need to think twice or three times before doing and saying what comes naturally, or I may become one of those stumbling blockers who sends someone flying down the wrong path.
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