4th September - Revd. Jo Jones

Sermon Trinity 11 Matthew 18:15-20

The biblical scholars who are involved in a project called Jesus Seminar which examines the gospel texts in order to establish how likely they are to be the actual words of Jesus. Today’s gospel is one of those texts which seems ripe for their discussions – it reads like pronouncements from an executive committee laying down the formal procedures for settling disputes within the church. It’s unlikely that Jesus spoke these words in their present form – the passage as it stands assumes an organised church. It also suggests that tax-collectors and Gentiles are outcasts and it seems to set limits on forgiveness.

We can certainly see the influence of both Jewish thinking on community discipline and Greek philosophy in relation to frank speaking and friendship. Lev 19:17 -18 speaks of not hating your kin, reproving those who go wrong, and leaving vengeance to the Lord and loving your neighbour as essential ways of relating to one another in community. Reproof and love are certainly linked together but Jesus tells Peter in next week’s gospel - Forgive seventy times seven – in other words completely, all the time. He emphasises the need for an attitude of forgiveness and love above all else.

Without this predisposition to love, the church cannot call sinners to repentance, it cannot pray in unity and it shuts out Christ from its midst – for to forgive – as we see in the parable of the unforgiving servant which ends this gospel chapter – is to be like God. To err is human, to forgive is divine.

Being filled with the Spirit of forgiveness is not the same as being indifferent to sin – Jesus urges us all to sin no more – In his death on the cross Christ is the victim of human sin – but his resurrection shows us that Christ is a forgiving not a vengeful victim. That same Spirit of forgiveness must be present in our hearts if we’re really to make Christ present among us - we need to follow Christ’s way of dealing with us which is the way of forbearance and forgiveness and reconciliation.

And what does this way mean for our breakdowns in our relationships, with the fallings out that are part of life in community?

Be honest and speak about your grievance with the person concerned. How much damage can be done by suppressed anger – when it finally boils over it can be triggered by something that’s nothing to do with the original cause and a totally innocent person can be on the receiving end of a barrage of rage and abuse. Letting things fester is not usually helpful as it can make a bad situation worse.

Don’t involve others in the first instance – we can get more stubborn and resentful when we’ve upset someone but we only hear about it through a third party rather than the person we’ve upset. He said you said that, she said you did – I didn’t mean that – I didn’t do that – how many fallings out could be resolved face to face – we might find it easier to forgive someone if they have the opportunity to hear our complaint and explain themselves, to hear from us directly and maybe even to surprise us by saying – oh I’m really sorry that I upset you. And maybe we can hear from them and maybe we’ll find out there are faults on our side too? A private conversation, without bullying and shouting but with respect and genuine listening – this can help to rebuild relationships and to avoid us all having to float a little above the ground to move about within the church – not because we’re all very holy and lifted heavenward, but in order to avoid treading on all the eggshells we leave lying around when we nurse our hurts and grievances without seeking healing and reconciliation. 

Sometimes we will need to involve others in a dispute – not to take sides, but to help the injured parties come together and talk things through.  We are called to deal with broken relationships as far as possible within the community – not to get entrenched in legal proceedings. We might read that as try to resolve difficulties ourselves through the PCC before emailing a complaint to the archdeacon! And what if none of this helps? Treating someone like a tax- collector or Gentile –  maybe that’s a call to do what Jesus himself did with those tax-collectors and sinners that the holy people despised – a call to work even harder to be reconciled to them, to draw them into friendship with God and each other?

It isn’t easy living in community with others – have you ever gone home on a Sunday feeling that the church is the last place you’ll find anyone behaving like a Christian?! So how do we react if we’re reproved by another – even if we genuinely feel we are innocent? If more than one person challenges our behaviour – does it give us pause to think maybe they have a point – or do we feel got at, and threaten to storm off – and if we are hurt by others - do we make it clear that we’d rather leave the church than be reconciled with those who’ve wronged us? Do we pray – and as we share our hurt feelings and frustrations with Jesus - do we acknowledge our own need for forgiveness? 

As frail human beings we aren’t perfect - we can’t always be unified, though we could do better. We must sometimes hold out for the truth as we see it, though maybe less often than we think necessary. It’s very tempting to fall out, to harbour resentments, to dwell on wrongs done to us or things we don’t like/agree with. BUT – we are all called to focus on Jesus – he is the reason we come to church. And if his love expands our hearts then we will find it easier to live in love with those he has chosen as our brothers and sisters in Christ.