I get nervous about posting my sermons. Not because someone will steal it, rather that I’m gonna get flamed for it. However, being new and all to preaching. I figure posting the sermons and getting some feedback is probably a good thing. So here is my sermon for tomorrow:
Matthew 18: 15-20
“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. But 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. If 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. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, 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. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
Romans 13: 8-14
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.
Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. 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 reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
My birthday was this past Wednesday, a good friend of mine in Independence sent me a gift. I doubt you can read it, so I will tell you what it says, “Church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints!” Her son was worried that this might be offensive to me, Joel wasn’t sure that I’d even think it was funny—only that it was true. My friend never thought I’d put it up in my office, let alone use it in a sermon. I absolutely love this saying, it is the truth and it is also witty and funny.
Today’s scriptures have to do with how we, who strive to be Christians, are to live our lives in a broken community, in a hospital for sinners if you will. Christians are not people who have gotten everything figured out and never even make a mistake, let alone hurt someone else. No, we can be just as thoughtless and as mean-spirited as anyone else. Jesus knew this, Paul understood this, and this is why they left us words of wisdom, about how to live with each other.
In today’s scripture reading, Jesus tells us how to work with someone who we believe to have wronged us. Jesus says, ““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. But 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. If 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.”
First of all, we—the injured party, if you will—are supposed to approach the person alone. We are to show them respect by talking about the problem in private rather than chewing them out or embarrassing them in front of a bunch of other people.
If that doesn’t bring about reconciliation, then we’re supposed to find two other Christians to come with us as we talk with the offending person again. Now this is not to be our 2 best friends so that they can act as our own private goon squad—ready to straighten the person out if they disagree. No, this is so someone else is present who can help negotiate between you and the offender. It’s like taking a friend to the doctor with you when you are expecting some heavy news—your friend comes with you so they can listen and help you to process the information. When we are hurt or angry we can fail to hear and see things as they are, rather our emotions, our anger can color what we hear. In addition these 2 other people may be able to translate what you’re saying to the other person if it’s not making sense to them. And lastly, if you still can’t come to a good place, a place of reconciliation then you have two people to vouch for you that you tried, you did your best to make things right with this person.
It was Hebrew custom to have 2 witnesses in order to bring about charges of a crime, if you couldn’t produce 2 other people who witnessed the same thing then you were simply out of luck. Instead of needing two witnesses to prove that the other person is wrong, these are witnesses to demonstrate that you attempted to make the situation right. These are 2 people who were witnesses to your attempt to bring the person who had hurt you back into right relationship with you.
It seems a bit strange doesn’t it? That if we are the one who was hurt that we are supposed to then go and tell the person who hurt us that we’d like an apology and for them to somehow make things right again. But that’s what this is saying, perhaps it is because sometimes we are hurt and the other person never even knows it, they might never know that they hurt us and yet we find ourselves distancing ourselves from them until the relationship is completely broken.
This scripture has also been used by people in power to keep others oppressed and in line. But that is not how this scripture is to be used, nor understood. This scripture is about creating a community where we are upfront and honest with our relationships so that we may grow closer in love, not hurt one another in an attempt to “keep the peace.” Christian relationships are to be based in trust and Christly love. Jesus talked about leaving us with peace, not the peace of the world, but a different kind of peace, a real peace. Peace is not simply the absence of fighting. Real peace has to do with trust and vulnerability. When we turn to a friend and tell them that they have hurt us, it makes us vulnerable—we have no way of knowing how they will react. But when we do this in love and trust, we can expect an honest response. Hopefully one in which the relationship can be restored and made right once again.
This is totally counter to our cultural norms. We live in a society that by and large values maintaining a “stiff upper lip,” never letting anyone “see you sweat,” we are supposed to be tough and strong—never weak and vulnerable opening up about the true hurts and weaknesses in our lives. This idea that we always have to be strong, comes out of distrust, a lack of peace. This mask we put on to hide our weaknesses and injuries, is only necessary if we are afraid to be real and truthful, to be ourselves.
Jesus isn’t telling us to be whiners, no this openness and honesty is the stuff of real strength and courage. As Paul reminds us in Romans—we are to put on the garments of Christ, to clothe ourselves in the love and strength of Christ. It is only when we can be honest and open with one another about the truth of our lives—both the good and the bad that we can begin to form real community, to stop trying to be a museum of Saints and understand that we come to church knowing that we are sinners, that when we have hurt someone else, or have been hurt by a friend we can come clean in this place. We can come to this “hospital” and be made whole again, to put our relationships with one another and with God back together in love and trust because we have put on our Christly garments, we have gone from mere believers in Christ to actual followers, doers of Christ.
Christ shows us a new path towards justice. It doesn’t make sense with our social values of revenge and punishment—it moves beyond mere punishment to the restoration of relationships, to making things right.
And finally, if none of this works we are supposed to treat the person who harmed us as Gentiles and tax collectors. What did Jesus teach us to do with Gentiles and tax collectors? Push them away? Shun them? No, we are to show them love, and if we can’t do that—because sometimes it takes a long time to get to that place of forgiveness—we are to pray for them and treat them with kindness.
As Christians we are supposed to be different. Much of the time we fall short of living a life that reflects the love of Christ. We fall short of being Christians, but that is why we come back week after week to this hospital for sinners, so we can dress our wounds in the garments of love given to us by Christ. We come here to be made whole, to restore our relationships with one another and with God. We come here to honor and worship our Holy Creator and rejoice in the grace we are offered. Today, as we come to the altar, the communion table, let us pray that we may forgive those who have offended us, and may we ask forgiveness from those we have hurt. Let us pray for reconciliation so that we may open our hearts as we receive communion and be made right with God and one another. Amen.
cool cool cool!!