It’s human instinct to form groups, organisations, sects, clubs,  societies, associations, guilds, unions and fellowships. Being in a club is good. Clubs give us a sense of belonging and a sense of purpose. In a club we can draw strength from other like minded people; we benefit from mutual support, shared ideas and pooled resources. But being in a club is not without pitfalls. Within a club we can begin to behave in an odd way. We can become so loyal to our club that we instinctively set up barriers between ourselves and outsiders. We can become wary of newcomers to the point of discrimination. As part of a group we can become very competitive towards other groups, even groups that are trying to achieve exactly the same things as us. When we see an outsider on our patch we can feel threatened and indignant, but if that outsider is doing what we have been   trying to do all along, and worse, doing it successfully, then we can become quite frankly green with jealousy. Today Jesus’ disciples have had their noses pushed well and truly out of joint. They have witnessed an exorcist unknown to them, working     miracles in Jesus’ name. Worse, he is doing it very successfully. Maybe the disciples are hoping that Jesus will order the  newcomer off their patch, but he doesn’t. “Whoever is not against us,” he replies, “is for us.” In other words, if someone is working towards the same end, it doesn’t matter whether or not they are in the same club. Over the centuries there have been many disputes between different religions. The disputes arise when the followers of a particular religion focus on differences between religions   instead of similarities. That isn’t to say we should write off our  differences as unimportant, but what we should never forget is that God is bigger than any ‘club’, and by following Jesus’ example we are working for each other and not against.