Artwork: "Over Time We Come Together 2015" by Cassie Leatham
…If the brother or sister listens to you, you have regained that one.
--Matthew 18:15
Dear Friends,
In our worship last Sunday at Fairhope UMC, we heard from the 18th chapter of the gospel of Matthew, in which Jesus instructs the Church in the peculiar way of loving confrontation. The big idea is that those who are called together as a community in Christ will be held together by more than just our individual respect for righteousness. At times, there will be genuine sins committed—in thought, word, or deed—and the Church will need a plan for dealing with those grievances honestly if it is to continue with any semblance of integrity.
One could say the same for other groups as well. Whether we are talking clubs, classrooms, corporations or congregations—wherever there is an attempt at family—the prevailing need for reconciliation is applicable to us all. The uniqueness of the Rule of Christ, however, is that the purpose of engaging one another is not to win an argument, but rather to win each other; more specifically to win over the adversary in the interest of deliverance and peace.
Does this sound like a fairy tale to you? Fantasyland, perhaps? Where else do we see this socially unorthodox understanding of “winning” in our current culture? Where else but in Jesus? Thus, if the Church does not seek to practice this way, then who will?
I know your pastors just preached on this subject, but since we have not yet mastered this teaching ourselves, I wanted to share one more ‘nugget’ that did not make it into my initial offering. It was left out in the interest of time, but days later it is still rattling around in my soul, leading me to believe that it is too valuable to remain as an abandoned scrap on the editing room floor.
So now, I gladly present to you an excerpt from the early church father, Chrysostom. Lest we should imagine that our current context of divisiveness is a strictly contemporary concern, perhaps this 4th century Archbishop of Constantinople can lead us to a deeper reflection on our present day and in our dealings with one another.
From his sermon on Matthew 18:15,
“(Jesus) does not say ‘accuse him’ or ‘punish him’ or take him to court.’ He says ‘correct him.’ For he is possessed, as it were, by some stupor, and drunk in his anger and disgrace. The one who is healthy must go to the one who is sick. You must conduct your judgment of him privately. Make your cure easy to accept. For the words ‘correct him’ mean nothing other than help him see his indiscretion.
Tell him what you have suffered from him. What then if he does not listen, if he stubbornly flares up? Call to your side someone else or even two others, so that two witnesses can corroborate all that’s said. For the more shameless and boldfaced he is, so much the more must you be earnest toward his cure, not toward satisfying your anger and hurt feelings. For when a physician sees the sickness unyielding, he does not stand aside or take it hard but then is all the more earnest.
That then is what Christ orders us to do. You appeared too weak since you were alone, so become stronger with the help of others. Two are sufficient to reprove the wrongdoer. Do you see how he seeks the interest not of the aggrieved party alone but also that of the one who caused the grief?” (The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 60.1)
I must admit that the profundity of that last question troubles me. I do see his point, but I regret that I do not see it enough. Naturally, I would like to tell you about all the ways that others have fallen short of this mark. No doubt you could help me build this case! And what would that accomplish?
Then it hits me: the reason I do not see enough of a heart for reconciliation in the world is because I have not yet witnessed enough of this wisdom in myself.
We ask you, O Lord, in your compassion to increase your faith in us, because you will not deny the aid of your loving-kindness to those on whom you bestow a steadfast belief in you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.
(A Prayer from the Leonine Sacramentary)
Grace to You,
Darren
