Read Matthew 18:15-20
Where two or
more are gathered in my name, I am there among them[i].”
This verse has become sort of a rallying for
many Christians today. On a day in which attendance is low, it is a way of
reminding us that the worship still mattered. Sometimes it is used to justify
vaguely Christian activities like potlucks to say that since we are gathering
it is a time where God is present. The phrase has also been used in some more
unorthodox ways as well. I have heard it used to almost scare teens away from
doing some sinful act by telling by telling
them that God is watching them when two are three are gathered. Sadly it has also been used as an excuse not
to be a part of any church at all, saying that “I don’t need the Church, I
gather with two or three people and so God is with us.” When we treat this
verse as if it stands alone in scripture, we lose sight of the fact that this
verse is really talking about conflict in the church.
Here in our passage from Matthew, Jesus is teaching us
how to react as both an individual and as a community when a member of the
church sins against us. But if we read this text from our common Western
understanding of Church, then we will fall into the trap of reading this
scripture legalistically; as a set of rules to follow to rule and govern the
church. The problem is that in today’s culture, Church has become something
that we attend, something that we consume. You become a member of a church like
you would become a member of the Ruritan or Lion’s club. Our typical approach
to conflict is then to either simply leave the church or create a schism within
it. This is not the model of Church that
Jesus is addressing in our passage. While we are talking about members in a
church, the more literal reading of brother or sister might be more helpful,
because what we are really talking about is a family.[ii]
It is a family that through baptism we are made part of. It is not a business
model of Church but a family model. It is a model like Paul describes of one
unified body in which all of the parts have an important role[iii].
When Jesus addresses conflict then in the church it is not as easy as simply
leaving or removing a member, because that is like severing a part of the body,
like removing an arm or a leg.
When we begin to see the nature of the church in this
way, we realize that our scripture for today is not a bureaucratic method for
handling conflict, but is really an intimate, spirit filled hope for
reconciliation and healing. Jesus therefore starts the dialogue at the most
intimate level, between the individuals involved. “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.[iv]” Here we see value placed upon both
members of the Church. The offender is not to be shamed publicly, but the
differences should tried to be worked out first in private. At the same time
the issue is not swept under the rug. There is a response here required of both
members. The member who is offended must enter with an attitude of forgiveness,
yet at the same time the one who has sinned against the other needs to also
repent; for its not actually healing if the abusive action still continues. Now
anyone who has ever faced any conflict know that this is much easier said than
done. If we have wronged someone it is a lot easier to point the finger back at
the other instead of addressing the sin within. At the same time when we have
been wronged it is hard to not harbor heated feeling towards the other and to
truly forgive. This work of reconciliation is not supposed to be easy, and yet
Christ reminds us that in such difficult moments, “where two or three are
gathered in my name, I am there among them.
What if that doesn’t work though? What are we to do?
Don’t give up, because you matter, they matter, and the health of the body of
Christ matters. In the early 1900s tensions were high between Greece and
Bulgaria. They had just fought in the second Balkan War and now strong
divisions were made between the two. One day a Greek soldier was chasing his
runaway dog, accidentally crossed into Bulgaria, and was shot. This started
another battle between the two countries resulting in the deaths of 50 people
before other countries helped to negotiate a ceasefire[v].
Think of the lives that could have been saved if the two countries had help
talking about their differences earlier, but instead lives were lost over a
runaway dog. How many times have we had a disagreement with
someone and it just turned into a he said she said battle. Or have ever been in
a disagreement where you and the other person were just talking past each other
and not really to each other. How helpful can it be simply to have others with
you to help you and the other person hear and see things that both of you were
blind to before things escalate over something like a runaway dog? This is why
Christ tells us if the person still persists in their abusive ways, us to take
one or two others with us and go try again.
Once again we see value being put on both the person offended and the
one offending. We have to recognize that
bringing others with us is not to gang up on the other person but to truly seek
help. It is to recognize that the conflict is not something you can work out
alone. It brings in new eyes and ears to the situation and it avoids the he
said she said battle. We bring in others with the hope that other members of
the body of Christ may help heal part that is wounded. When this encounter is
done in the spirit of prayer and love then our hope for healing is not
misguided, for where two or three are gathered, I am among you.
Just as clot in the leg affects not only the leg but the
whole body, so too conflict between members of the body of Christ affects the
whole body. While the health of the members is important, the health of the
body is also important, and for that reason there comes a time where a conflict
needs to be addressed by the whole church.
Attempts have been made in private for forgiveness and repentance,
others have been brought into the discussions and yet still them member
continues sinning against the other. Here there church as a whole enters again
into attempts of reconciliation and healing. Again it is important that we
don’t view this as a tribunal where the fate of the member is decided, but
rather the church as a whole’s attempt at healing. That being said, the health
and welfare of the Church is important. Jesus says, “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[vi].
Many people read Gentile and tax collector and think that means
disassociating with the person. That it
means getting rid of the member and washing their hands clean of them, and yet
it is more complicated than that. If we
know the story of Jesus, especially here in Matthew, we know that Gentiles and
tax collectors were not people that Jesus disassociated with, but in fact were
the very people he was evangelizing to[vii]. Therefore sure, we are to remove the person
from a position in which they are able to continue damaging the Body, but we
never give up. We continue to love them, we continue to reach out to them as
though they are people who once again need to hear the good news of Christ.
This is a difficult thing to ask a church to do, it calls the Church to truly
show the love and grace of God in the midst of its own pain, but where two
three of gathered in my name, I am among.
Our scripture for
this morning calls us in the midst of conflict to protect the offended, the
offender, and the Body of Christ all at the same time. This is not an easy
task, it is much easier to simply divide or leave, but we do it because each
and every member of the body matters, as does the overall health of the
body. It is a delicate balance that we
are called hold. The fact that Christ calls us to care for the well-being of
this sacred family as well as each member of it is a daunting task. . It is
hard to offer love and forgiveness when we have been wronged. It is hard to
acknowledge our sin and to repent of our ways. Conflict can be overwhelming, I
know it, you know, as a church we know it all too well; but Christ reminds us
that there is true hope, for where two or three or gathered in my name, I am
there among you.
[i] NRSV.
Matthew 18:20
[ii]
M. Eugene Boring, Matthew, in The New Interpreters Bible, Vol. 8, ed.
Leander. E Keck, et. al. (Nashville, TN; Abingdon Press, 1994), 378,
[iii] NRSV.
1 Corinthians 12:12-14
[iv]
NRSV. Matthew 18:15
[v] www.history.com/news/history-lists/6-wars-fought-for-ridiculous-reasons
[vi] NRSV.
Matthew 18:17
[vii]
Mitchell G.Reddish, “Matthew 18:15-20” in Feasting
on the Word, Year A Vol.4, ed. David. L Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor
(Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 47-48.
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