September 10, 2023 Sermon
Sermon title: "Where 2 or 3 are Gathered"
Scripture: Matthew 18:15-20
(Other lectionary choices include Exodus 12:1-14, Psalm 149, and Romans 13:8-14.)
Matthew 18:15-20
Reproving Another Who Sins
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."
"Where 2 or 3 are Gathered" is the sermon title, and it comes from the end of the passage we just heard for today. And I don't really like working backwards (!), but isn't it comforting for us to hear Jesus's words about two or three people gathered in His name? Regardless of how SMALL we are, Upland Christian Church, and I just like you would like to see our church grow in numbers, let us take comfort in those words: "For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them."
Also keep in mind THIS verse from one of the Psalms: "Unless GOD builds the house...." and then the verse repeats: "Unless GOD builds the house...." and I don't remember the rest, except it has the idea that GOD must be behind all our endeavors. Because if GOD is not behind our work, no matter how hard we try, our effort is in vain.
Back to today's Scripture lesson......what we have here are instructions for how to behave as a church! I am not saying that we must obey these instructions word for word, but I DO enjoy pointing out that even from the very beginning, some believers had trouble with each other! Do you have problems with Sister Sue? So too did Brother Menelaus have problems with Brother Epictetus way back when! You don't like Brother John? Neither did Brother Simeon way back when! (I am making these names up, I hope you realize!)
The point is, just as we may have problems with one another, so did the early church have problems with one another. But look what we get in today's reading: a way to SOLVE those problems, and not a way to run away from them! What we get is a way to FACE the problems, and it doesn't say to go have lunch with those you agree with and BACKBITE those with whom you have a grudge. (Don't get me wrong: it's okay to go have lunch with friends. I do practically every Sunday! But it is NOT okay to snipe and backbite those with whom you have a disagreement!)
What to do? HARD WORK, that's what! Address the problem head-on, and if that doesn't work, keep on addressing the problem head-on! Jesus is tough! He says to keep on keeping on, and if your efforts are in vain, treat the offending person as a Gentile and a tax collector. What does that mean? If you know your Bible, you know that Jesus WELCOMED Gentiles and tax collectors! So, to treat somebody as a Gentile or tax collector does NOT mean we get to quit! It means we have to try more and more, harder and harder! We don't get a break. I said Jesus is tough! He IS! But just as he said to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us, he is also telling us that we must double down on our efforts to be reconciled with one of our own family!
You have probably heard that doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is a form of insanity! I think that's right. So, if one thing doesn't work, we get to use our wonderful God-given minds to try a different approach. Maybe we won't be successful. That does NOT mean we get to stop trying!
You may have heard me say this before, but God doesn't require us to be SUCCESSFUL, but He does require us to be FAITHFUL. So even if we don't succeed in something, we still need to keep trying. At my previous church, we had a very obnoxious individual who came to Bible study. He seemed to ENJOY being obnoxious, too! One church member who understood the divine imperative about loving our enemies said to me one time after one Bible study session, "I know we are supposed to love the unlovely, but God certainly doesn't make it easy!" No, He doesn't, and perhaps that's the point: It is HARD to love the unlovely, the obnoxious, the ugly. But if we're going to follow Jesus, we need to. Yes, it's hard, but we need to. Maybe that's just part of picking up one's cross DAILY and following Jesus.
You know that I like William H. Willimon, who grew up a Methodist in South Carolina. He went on to become Dean of the Chapel at Duke University in Durham, NC. For a while, he was head of the Northern Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church. As a Methodist bishop, he visited many churches, and lots of them said, "We're a friendly church." He says friendliness is a good thing, although sometimes the phrase "we are a friendly church" may actually mean "you just try and get inside our cozy club." His point is that some congregations value superficial "friendliness" more than they value true community in Christ.
Willimon goes on to say this: "Here in Matthew 18, Jesus dares to tell victims of other people's sinful wrongdoing that they are to take the initiative, find a way to confront the perpetrator, tell the truth about the wrong, and give the perpetrator the opportunity to right the wrong. They are to seek active restoration of the breach. Try to do that one-on-one, and if that doesn't work, bring the whole church into the process. Too much is at stake to simply, quietly overlook the wrong. We are to love our sister or brother in the church enough to want them to have the opportunity to be the best they can be, for them to know how their actions have affected another, to take their responsibility for their discipleship."
Wow! Willimon is tough, or rather, Willimon's interpretation of Jesus is tough, and I think he's right! Friends, our religion is nothing if it isn't about the truth, and Jesus knows that. That's why he's so in-our-face about our faith! We have that spiritual, "Lord, I want to be a Christian in-a my Heart, in-a my Heart". Really? Do we really want to be a Christian if we are going to have to be brutally honest, even with our fellow church members? This being an honest follower of Jesus can be hard work!
While some of Jesus's words from Matthew's Gospel may seem shocking, I hope that nobody here thinks that I am "trashing" our church! I'm simply preaching from the lectionary, and the Scripture we heard today was one of the suggestions. We have a caring church here, and Harlane and I have thought so since we came here five years ago this month. So, I am not suggesting that we need to make some radical changes. But I WOULD say, "If the shoe fits, wear it!" And if you find yourself feeling some bad thoughts toward a member or two, remember that you are not the first person to - as the Apostle Paul says - "fall short of the glory of God". But isn't it interesting that Jesus himself would say these things about fellow believers! These aren't Muslims or Hindus or Buddhists, but OTHER CHRISTIANS! And I believe our faith is strengthened when we look at ourselves honestly, the way Jesus urges us to do.
One more time, the Rev. Dr. William H. Willimon: "So maybe that's why in this morning's Gospel Jesus promises, 'Where two or three are gathered in my name, I'm there with them'. Where two or three of you are determined to stay in relationship with each other, not to let wrong go unchallenged and unmentioned, determined to allow your sister or brother in the church to repent, to change, and to receive the offer of forgiveness, then I'm there with you, says Jesus."
Willimon calls his commentary on today's Scripture reading "Church Like It's Meant To Be". Does that surprise you that even Jesus himself expected there to be conflicts in His church? What matters is how we DEAL with those conflicts. We are called to deal with conflict not as the world deals with conflict. We "must find a way to confront the other person and attempt to restore the severed relationship". There's the difference: attempt to restore the severed relationship.
But again, the divine promise: "I'll be there with you", says Jesus. "Where just two or three of us try to tell the truth, to confront each other in love, attempt to restore once broken relationships and stay together no matter what, Jesus promises to be present."
That's kind of nice, isn't it? Jesus promises to be with us, no matter what. Amen.
Pastor Skip
