Pentecost
17A
Matthew
18:15-20
WHEREVER
TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED
Beloved
people of God, grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ.
Welcome
Sunday at St. Andrew feels like Welcome Back Sunday for me. My family and I enjoyed our time away,
and we are grateful for the vacation time St. Andrew provides. But it is good to be back, and it feels
good to preach with new carpet under my feet. Thanks to all who made the renovation of
the front of the sanctuary possible.
One of
my vacation highlights was a three day, two night backpack trip with my oldest
daughter Rachel and our three youngest children--Hailey, Luke, and Mary. The first day we hiked into
When we
finally reached the summit, they could see why we had brought them there. There was a beautiful clearing to eat
lunch and enjoy a spectacular view of
As
grateful as I am for mountaintop experiences of the divine, I am glad that we do
not have to hike up mountains to experience the presence of God. In fact, we do not have to journey far
at all. In Matthew
Jesus’
statement about two or three gathering in his name comes as the conclusion to
his teachings on discipline within the community of faith. In the biblical tradition at least two
witnesses were required to establish the truth of a matter. The method of discipline described here
takes this requirement seriously.
At the same time it entails showing care and respect for the one who has
sinned against you.
The
first step is to go and point out the fault discreetly to the offender. If the offender listens to you, then the
requirement for two witnesses is met.
The offender functions, in effect, as the second witness, a witness
against him or her self. When the
offender acknowledges the offense, then the broken relationship can be mended
and restored.
“But if
you are not listened to,” says
Jesus, the next step is “to take one or
two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence
of two or three witnesses.”
Once again the concern is to call the offender to account in a caring
and respectful way.
If the
offender still refuses to listen, then you are to take it to the church—that is,
the local congregation. If the
offender still will not listen, then he or she has excluded him or her self from
the community of faith. So one has
to begin again and reach out to him or her as one would to a Gentile or a tax
collector—that is, to those not part of the community of
faith.
In the
Christian tradition a number of churches have employed this method of church
discipline, especially in smaller church communities. In situations of persecution such
discipline may be essential to the survival of the community and its
members. No one can be allowed to
compromise the well-being of the community by their
behavior.
In our
time and place, however, such church discipline is almost non-existent. As Richard Donovan writes, “discipline is not a popular concept these
days. We have a live-and-let-live
attitude that is uncomfortable with the idea that anyone has a right—much less a
responsibility—to discipline anyone else.”[1] Another practical factor limiting
church discipline is that our church communities are not close knit enough to
practice it well. We gather
together once a week for an hour or two.
At most we may have half the congregation together for worship. Effective church discipline requires
well-developed relationships and more significant time
together.
Nevertheless,
sinful behavior ought not to be ignored.
If we saw someone heading unwittingly over a cliff we would grab them and
pull them back; or if we could not reach them, we would yell and tell them to
stop. When we see someone heading
over a spiritual cliff, we need to warn them. It is the loving thing to
do.
Matthew
In
implementing church discipline the place to begin may be with those we are
closest to in the community of faith.
Where two or three are gathered in Christ’s presence, Christ is at work
among them seeking to heal broken relationships. Perhaps the exact method outlined in our
gospel reading cannot be followed.
But caring, respectful, discreet discipline can still be ventured to
bring healing of relationships. As
Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes in Life
Together, “nothing can be more cruel
than that leniency which abandons others to their sin. Nothing can be more compassionate than
that severe reprimand which calls another Christian in one’s community back from
the path of sin.”[2]
As
brothers and sisters in Christ, we are called to bear the burden of one
another’s sin. Confronting a
brother or sister in Christ who has sinned will not be an easy task. But it is part of bearing one another’s
burdens. It is a wonderful service
that brothers and sisters in Christ can provide for one another. The key again is to do so in a discreet,
caring, respectful way. In
Galatians 6:1 Paul counsels: “My friends,
if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit
should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness.” In other words, as we call one
another to account, we are to do so as if Christ is truly present. And indeed, Christ assures us that he is
present where two or more are gathered in his name.
In our
gospel reading the focus is on church discipline. Jesus’ assurance of his presence where
two or three are gathered in his name also has significant implications for how
we approach ministry and mission.
On this Welcome Sunday we are highlighting various ministries and mission
projects of the people of St. Andrew.
One way to pursue ministry and mission is to develop a highly structured
programmatic plan with appropriate committees in place to implement this
plan. The committees are
accountable to the council. This
approach has been used with success in the past.
But I
sense there is a longing emerging for a more organic approach to ministry and
mission. The first step is for
someone to discern that they have a particular passion for ministry. They may or may not have some specific
idea of how they could pursue that passion for ministry. The next step would be to share that
passion with one or two others they think may share a similar passion for
ministry. Together they may develop
an idea for how they might begin pursuing that passion. They may consult with staff, lay
leaders, and others who would offer encouragement and help them discover how
they may pursue their passion for ministry and how it connects with the ministry
and mission God has given the people of St. Andrew.
An
organic approach to ministry is a grass roots approach. Ministries are allowed to emerge from
the passions God has instilled in the hearts and minds of the
people.
The
Welcome Team is one example of how a ministry has emerged in an organic way here
at St. Andrew. Two or three people
shared a passion for engaging in a welcoming ministry. Neither the Council nor the staff handed
them a plan and told them to implement it.
They began to meet, action ideas started emerging, staff and other
leaders were consulted, and ministry has been happening. They have not developed a master
plan. Instead, they will continue
to do what seems to be working, to try new ideas, and to invite others to join
them in pursuing welcome ministry.
Another
example of a ministry emerging in an organic way is the Green Team. For some time I have thought it would be
nice to have some group in the church focusing on environmental issues. But not much happened until several lay
people at St. Andrew who shared a passion for environmental ministry came
together and began to consider how they might pursue that
passion.
Another
emerging ministry is a grief support group. Suzanne Warnes and Pauline Siekas have
each dealt with the loss of a beloved spouse. They have appreciated the support of the
people of St. Andrew. But they both
sensed that they would have benefitted from gathering with others in the
congregation who had experienced similar losses. From their experience a passion for
grief ministry began to emerge.
They shared this passion with members of the healing ministry team. The healing ministry team did not offer
them a prepackaged program, but encouraged them to pursue this passion by
gathering together some others who share their grief and their passion. This Wednesday they are gathering for
the first time, and they will be open to what emerges.
These
emerging ministries are examples of putting into practice what Jesus tells his
disciples in Matthew 18:19: “if two of
you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father
in heaven.” Where two or three
are gathered in the name of Jesus, amazing things can happen. It will be exciting to see what other
passions for ministry God will instill in the people of St. Andrew and to
witness the ministries that will emerge.
In
Jesus’ name, AMEN.