Thoughts going in, Sunday Sep 4th

Matthew 18:15 "If a brother or sister sins, go and point out the fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. 18 "Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 "Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

            This week the lectionary takes a pretty big jump. We go from the end of chapter 16, leap over the entirety of chapter 17 (and the story of the transfiguration, and healing of a demon possessed boy); and the beginning of chapter 18 which includes a discussion about who’s the greatest in the kingdom and the parable of the lost sheep.

            Even so, this week’s gospel reading can still be seen in continuity with what’s gone before in chapter 16—most specifically with the repeat of the extremely infrequently (in the Gospels) used word “church/ekklessia.” In chapter 16 Jesus talks about how he’s going to build his church/ekklessia, and then the term is mentioned again in chapter 18 when he’s on the topic of relationships within the church.

            There’s a lot going on in my mind as I approach this passage. On the one hand, I can hear the Beatles in my mind singing: “All you need is love”…but we all know it’s not that easy. Sometimes two people who dearly love their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ end up having HUGE problems with each other. So, working through the passage…

            V15: If a brother or sister sins, go and point out the fault, just between the two of you. In the original “adelphos” (Greek for brother) is used, but there’s no need to limit its scope to the male-specific gender. In a mixed group such as the church, adelphos & its plural adelphoi are easily adapted to mean both genders. What’s interesting in v15 are the words “sin” and “point out the fault.” I struggle with whether or not this is a distinction without a difference…but it should at least be mentioned that the word Matthew uses is “hamartese,”…SIN. If the brother or sister SINS against you. I’m not sure Jesus or Matthew cares all that much if we simply get our feelings hurt, or if a brother/sister neglected to shake our hand at the sharing of the peace. There is, in other words, a LOT of personal conflict that can simply be addressed by the observation that some people need to GROW UP & stop wearing their feelings on their shirtsleeves.

            On the other hand, sadly, REAL SIN is sometimes committed by Christian A against Christian B. What then? Well, continuing in v15 it says “point out the fault.” Interestingly enough, this English group of words is a translation of the single Greek word “elegxchon” which is often translated as “rebuke.” But part of what’s going on here is a development of nuance. When an authority figure, like the Lord, ‘rebukes’ some one, that’s it…end of story. But when it’s privately, between 2 Christians, the concept of rebuke is softened to “pointing out the fault.”

            Vss 15b-17: What follows is then the flow chart of how this ‘conflict resolution’ thing is supposed to work.

            As wonderful as this is, it’s been my personal experience in ministry that MOST people don’t wish to follow this. For one, it’s rarely as simple as person A **sinned by setting person B’s donkey on fire or something. It’s usually much more nuanced.  Since it’s more nuanced, it’s therefore difficult to actually know which party is ‘wronged.’ Hence what usually happens is an uneasy truce whereby all parties just agree not to talk about it and somehow move on.

            This is VERY unfortunate. **IF there was sin in the first place, that means that whoever was in the wrong is failing to own up to it and be forgiven. On the other hand, if there was no sin involved, harmony within the congregation is being damaged for no real good reason and with no end or resolution in sight. The point is…. If it’s really that bad, if it’s really SIN, then here you go; Jesus has given us THE conflict resolution template to use. But if you’re not willing to use it, I highly doubt that it was sin in the first place. It’s much more likely that it’s just a matter of hurt feelings, or misunderstanding, or honest disagreement. These things DO happen. And we are allowed to have our feelings hurt; to misunderstand another; and to honestly disagree. If it’s not sin….if it is just an honest disagreement etc., the law of love and the sharing of the peace demand that we exist in harmony together as a congregation.

            One last word…a thought or two on v17b if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. This is the ‘excommunication’ part of the passage—supposedly. But remember what’s gone down before. Person A sinned against person B. That’s been established via (a) a personal confrontation; (b) the assessment of 2 impartial people and (c) the whole congregation. What’s left? The appeal has run its process. If person A still refuses either to admit his/her sin or repent, then the only thing left is to assume that they’ve missed something about the Gospel. Being a pagan or a tax collector is someone who NEEDS TO BE CONVERTED. It’s back to square zero with them.


Cheers,


TM