September 10, 2023 Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost The text is Matthew 18:15-20.

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[Jesus said to the disciples:] ¹⁵“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. ¹⁶But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. ¹⁸Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. ²⁰For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

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May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

Grace, mercy, and peace are yours from God the Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

It’s quite apparent that the focus of Jesus’ teaching that we read in this morning’s verses from Matthew, is directed squarely at the resolution of conflict that may arise within the early church.  But, as is often the case, the language we encounter does necessitate a bit of further investigation.  The NRSV translation of the bible, which we read from this morning refers to the response to the sin of a member of the “church”.  The Greek word used is “ekklesia”, and if that sounds a bit like ‘ecclesiastical’, well this is the term that is used today to refer to matters of the church.

At issue however, is that this reference to the “church” appears only in Matthew’s gospel, and there only twice.  And each time, it is Jesus who speaks the word.  Previously Jesus proclaimed that Simon is to become Peter, the one on whom his “church” will be built; and this morning, Jesus again refers to the “church” when he gives instruction regarding how conflict within should be handled.    

Also, our Lutheran NRSV bible describes the one who sins as a “member of the ‘church’”.  Perhaps a closer look at the original Greek may provide a slightly more nuanced description of this person who has sinned against another of Jesus’ followers.  The Message version of the bible translates ‘member’ as “fellow believer”; the Common English Bible renders ‘member’ as “brother or sister”, while the King James Version translate the original Greek word, “adelphos” as ‘brother’.  While many translations have modified this Greek word to foster inclusivity, the root word is “delphus”, and means ‘womb’.  Thus, the most accurate rendering is ‘of the womb’, and since the Greek is in the masculine form, Matthew’s original intent would have read, “if a brother sins against you”.

So why have I gone to such lengths to parse what Jesus was trying to convey regarding the resolution of conflict?  In truth, I think it is because Jesus intended his words for usage not just in the “church”, but that we are persistent in our efforts to minimize and resolve any conflict that might arise in all aspects of our lives.  Jesus didn’t intend for his admonition regarding how we should solve discord, quarrels, or disagreements to be limited only to matters of the church.  He lays out a clear set of steps that should be taken in order that conflict may be resolved and that harmony, fellowship, and community might be maintained; within the Christian assembly and beyond it.  But he has focused his teaching on church discord, for there is the one place where the grace and mercy of God are proclaimed.

Paul reminds the church in Rome this morning of the requirement to obey the Commandments, and he sums them up in the same way Jesus did in his response to the question posed to him; “Which is the most important one?” 

Paul quotes the second part of Jesus’ response; first love God, and second love your neighbor.  It follows that if love of others is paramount in the way in which we deal with our brothers, sisters, fellow believers, members, or whichever term is used to describe those with which we find ourselves in conflict, then persistence in coming to agreement must be pursued at all costs.  Jesus tells us that only after every avenue to achieve conflict resolution has been exhausted, only then are we to resign ourselves that the conflicted relationship is irrevocably broken. 

In the verses in Matthew that appear just prior to this morning’s reading, Jesus stresses the importance of ensuring that none of his followers, not one of those who proclaim him as Savior should be lost.  Exclusion from the assembly, the church, community, society, the human family; this is to be avoided if at all possible.  Jesus reminds his listeners that a shepherd would leave the ninety-nine behind and search until he found the one lamb that has wandered off.  Next Sunday, we will read that immediately after Jesus implores the disciples to treat one another with love and mercy, Peter, again being Peter, asks Jesus how many times he should forgive one who has sinned against him.  Peter, feeling the need to sound generous offers, “seven times?”  Jesus says, no, you knucklehead you haven’t been listening, forgive your brother seventy times seven.  It’s clear that Jesus meant that forgiveness must be granted an infinite number of times. 

And this might just be the hardest part for us to accept, the granting of unlimited forgiveness to those who have caused us pain.  Most people are quite capable, and unfortunately rather quick to identify ways in which people have harmed us.  Often, we’re not quite so willing to acknowledge the hurt that we may have caused others.  And perhaps this should prompt us to consider Jesus’ teaching about sin, conflict, forgiveness, and his presence, in the totality of all our relationships.  For it’s clear that it is Jesus’ desire that healthy and meaningful relationships at all levels ought to be nurtured and maintained, if possible.  Obviously, and even Jesus admits this, some relationships simply cannot be saved.

But he is quite adamant that when personal conflicts arise that we persistently strive to resolve them, keeping in mind that he is present with us, and that we are commanded to love the other as we love ourselves.  And if we approach conflicts with the love of Christ in mind, and we remember that as our Good Shepherd Jesus desires that all remain in the fold, then we will be compelled to resolve any issues that confront us.  We may not be able to preserve every relationship and often we might have to practice forgiveness more times than we would prefer.  But persevere we must, practicing love of the other, recognizing the presence of Jesus when we are gathered together, and be willing to forgive seventy times seven times.

And if we approach the resolution of our personal conflicts in this manner, we are then more likely to resolve the larger issues we confront; the ones that plague our communities, our nation, and our world.  There is much that divides us, our politics, ethnicities, and all the other differences that cause conflict.  But if we address these more expansive conflicts with the same approach Jesus admonishes us to adopt with our personal one-on-one relationships, they might not seem so daunting.  Love of neighbor, practice of forgiveness, and acknowledgement of the presence of Jesus; if this approach resolves personal conflict, why not try it against the larger issues that seek to divide us?                                       

Will you pray with me?  Good, and gracious, and holy God, you forgive us for the sake of your Son.  Give us with the ability to forgive others.  By the work of Christ on the cross and his presence among us, we have been restored to a right relationship with you.  Help us to love and forgive so that we might be reconciled with those around us.  And we pray these things the name of Jesus Christ, the One who is always present when we are gathered.

Amen  

God is Good, all the time.  All the time, God is Good.  Amen.