Communicate

Pentecost 13A, 9/7/14
Matthew 18:15-20; Romans 13:8-14

Teach us, O Lord, the way of your statutes, give us your understanding, lead us in the path of your commandments, and in your righteousness give us life. Amen. 

Love is the fulfilling of the law.

Owe no one anything except to love one another.

You know that song, I love you just the way you are…

That’s a wonderful description of human love – of the kind of love that we are supposed to have for one another.

God’s love for us is different from that.

God loves us just as we were created to be.

That means that, when we stray from who we were created to be – when we make mistakes, or take wrong turns, or focus on the wrong priorities, God will come in and correct us.

“That’s not who I made you to be,” God says to us. “You’re better than that.”

You know what I’m talking about. We’ve got a lot of faithful people in the room today, and I know that many of you have felt the guidance of God as you make decisions in your lives… and some of you have probably felt the correction of God when you’ve made a mistake.

Jesus does this to people a lot.

“You’re making some pretty big mistakes,” Jesus says sometimes, “but I know you are better than this. So do better. Try to be the best you can possibly be, and then you’ll be getting close to the person who God created in God’s own image.”

Think of all the times when Jesus corrects his disciples, for example.

The disciples argue about who is the greatest, and Jesus rebukes them.

They fear death in the storm at sea – remember? the storm that Jesus sleeps through. They complain about expensive oil being wasted when the woman pours it on his feet. They fall asleep while Jesus is praying in the garden.

He chastises them each of these times and tries to show them a better way. O you of little faith! Why couldn’t you just believe in God’s love?

The disciples try over and over again throughout the Gospels to convince Jesus that the Messiah doesn’t actually need to suffer and die, like he says he will, and Jesus rebukes them every time.

Our very salvation is based on the fact that Jesus was able to rebuke – to correct – his closest friends and followers when they were wrong, and when they were trying to dissuade him from being the savior he came to earth to be.

Our church is also based on the fact that Jesus guides us and comes to correct us when we need correcting.

Out of love, Jesus shows his disciples a better way.

That’s what the Gospel reading is about today – a better way for us to live together as a church.

Let’s start at the end of the reading.

Jesus affirms that the church is the place where God is present.

Wherever two or three are gathered, Christ will be there.

If the Christian community agrees on anything, God will support that decision.

This is the real presence of Christ.

Different churches disagree pretty strongly about the real presence of Christ.

Real presence is a really church-nerd phrase, that usually refers to Communion. Is Christ really present in the bread and wine? Do the bread and wine actually become flesh and blood? What happens to Christ’s presence when the meal is concluded?

Denominations have been formed and have split over the different ways to answer these questions.

Today’s Gospel gives us a definitive answer regarding the real presence of Christ – not in Communion, but in our world.

God is truly present in the gathering of the Christian community.

That’s what the word “church” means in Greek, you know.

Ekklesia, which we translate “church” was a common word long before the church existed – it was a word meaning “assembly,” a gathering of people.

Our church    is a sacred gathering    in which God promises to be present.

And that is why Jesus starts off in “rebuking” mode today.

If someone in the sacred assembly sins against you – he could just as well say “when” someone sins against you, since that’s the nature of any community, right? People are bound to offend one another eventually – so, when you are hurt by someone else in this sacred assembly, go talk to them about it!

Don’t do what you’ve been doing, Jesus says.

Don’t go talk about this person behind their back. Don’t start spreading rumors. Don’t cut them off from all future communications based on one mistake. Don’t assume the worst of them.

Go talk to them about it. It’s entirely possible that your differences can be worked out very simply in just one face-to-face conversation.

Maybe they’ve been regretting their words or actions, and will be happy for the chance to apologize. Maybe you misunderstood what they said and you’ll realize the offense was just a misunderstanding. Maybe they had no idea that what they were doing could be interpreted in a negative way and will feel sorry once you tell them.

And if not? If you don’t get an apology, or some clarification, or something life-giving in your one-on-one conversation? Go see the person again, and bring someone else with you. A third party can help offer some perspective, and mediation if it’s needed.

Engaging just one more member of the sacred community can be a way of protecting the existence of the entire community, protecting the church from the fallout of your personal conflict.

When someone else sins against you – when you feel offended – when you think you’re being mistreated – these are the steps you’ve got to take first.

Because the ekklesia, the sacred community, is so important    that it’s not worth putting at risk through unhealthy means of conflict resolution – or the lack thereof.

That’s really what Jesus’ instructions today are all about, the importance of living together in community.

The community – this community! – is where God chooses to live.

Where two or three are gathered, God is present with them.

So when one of those two or three sins against another, it is critical that the situation be handled well, with maturity, with clear communication, and with grace, so that the place where God lives will remain safe.

What’s at stake if you don’t follow Jesus’ instructions?

Nothing less than the tearing apart of God’s house, shattering the image of God and creating a place in which God can no longer dwell.

Those are high stakes.

God is with the church community, and God honors the decisions made by the church community. Any time we do something to pull that community apart, we’re playing tug-of-war with God.

So don’t do it! Don’t engage in gossip, don’t hold grudges, and don’t be afraid to speak directly with another sister or brother in Christ.

Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in quarreling and jealousy.

Owe no one anything except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

Love each other… just the way they are.

You know, everyone loves the Jesus who welcomes the children and heals the lepers and feeds five thousand people miraculously.

But remember… that same Jesus also scolds his disciples, he corrects them when they make mistakes, and he tries to show them how to become the people they were made to be – how to grow closer to the image of the God in whom they were created.

As Jesus’ disciples, we have to accept both sides of the equation.

We don’t get the feeding of the 5000 without Jesus calling Peter “Satan.”

We don’t get the Resurrection without the rebuke at the Garden of Gethsemane.

Our church communities are sacred ground, which is precisely why conflict needs to be addressed and precisely why divisive sisters or brothers cannot be allowed to tear God’s people apart.

How we relate to one another in Christian community is of great concern to God.

 (Eric Barreto, WorkingPreacher.org, http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2164)

Churches are places where God is present! That’s the good news from today’s Gospel reading! But that good news comes with great responsibility.

Because churches are places where God is present, we cannot allow disagreements and dissent, quarreling and jealousy, to tear God to pieces.

Instead, we must work hard to find the image of God in other people, to speak with them directly, to search for resolutions for our conflicts.

We know that conflicts will arise. That’s just what happens when people live together in community.

But our response to those conflicts must be based in love for one another.

Those of you who are married – when you have an argument, do you complain about your spouse to your father or your sister or your child? Of course not!

Or you might, but eventually you’d need to talk to your spouse directly.

Your marriage is never going to last unless you love the other person enough to address your conflicts directly, to admit when you’re wrong, and to work hard to make things right.

It is the same in the church. Our very existence as a community depends on our ability to resolve conflict.

If we agree to disagree with one another – then we have agreed on something, and God will bless that agreement!

Our goal as a sacred community must always be reconciliation – or if not reconciliation, at least compassion for one another.

That’s what today’s rebuke from Jesus reminds us.

If both parties seek reconciliation and compassion – if we agree to put our own self-interests aside for the sake of the community – if we honestly believe that we have the potential to reach the image of God in which we were created – if all those things are true, then we have agreed on something, even in the midst of conflict.

And God will bless that agreement.

Today’s Gospel lesson isn’t about how to expel people from the church community, though sometimes folks interpret it this way.

Removing someone from the church community is the last possible option, when all other options have been exhausted and they refuse to listen to the other members of the sacred community.

         No, today’s Gospel lesson is about inclusion and reconciliation.

It is about how to be good disciples. It’s about how to live well with one another. It’s about grace and forgiveness and love.

And that’s what the Christian community is all about, also.

Following Jesus means loving the God who came to earth as a baby, who welcomed the outcast and who gave sight to the blind – and following Jesus also means listening to his instructions even when they’re hard to hear.

So let us love one another. And prioritize the community. And seek to speak directly to one another when conflicts arise.

God help us become the image of God that we were created to be.

Amen.