Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 10, 2023
Matthew 18:15-20
Rev. Neli Miranda
In the Gospels, the word “Church” is mentioned only twice, and it occurs only in Matthew in Chapters 16 and 18. The English term Church is derived from the ancient Greek term Ekklēsia, which in the Roman Empire referred to a local public assembly, much like a town meeting. These assemblies, Ekklēsias, were constituted only by citizens who discussed local political concerns, assigned elders, and offered prayer and worship to Caesar, among other activities. The same word was used by the early Christian communities to refer to the participation of Jesus’ followers in the Ekklēsia of God, an alternative society to the Roman Empire order (Claiborne & Haw, 2008). Thus, “Church”, Ekklēsia, meant a group of people called by Jesus to form a new community of life and love in a world infected with violence and hatred. This community was called to fulfill the dream of God for a humanity living in equality, justice, and peace.
Today, Matthew tells us about Jesus encouraging this community to live out the values of love, peace, inclusion and reconciliation. Jesus knows that this is not a perfect community but a human one which faces continuous conflicts and disagreements, and its members often commit offenses and sin intentionally or not, against others. Faced with this situation, Jesus commands dialogue, but this is not the usual dialogue where the offended person waits for the offender to ask for forgiveness. Instead, Jesus says, “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone” (18, 15).
This first approach is the offended person’s responsibility, and it opens a dialogue between two people. This specification could indicate that it may be likely that it was not the “alleged offender’s” intention to hurt the offended person. In any case, this approach clarifies the situation and both make peace. Jesus adds, “If the member listens to you, you have regained that one” (18, 15). What a wise practice! The offended person looks for a solution by him/herself; he/she does not spread the offense among the whole community and recovers the relationship that had been lost.
If the first approach fails, once again Jesus commands the offended person, “Take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses” (18, 16). The presence of witnesses refers to the Jewish law that required two or three witnesses to uphold a legal complaint (Dt. 19, 15). The witnesses may also have played the role of judges and after hearing both sides, they could conclude that the offended person was wrong or confirm the offender’s responsibility. The role of these witnesses could be related to the following verses, “… I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything (a legal complaint?) 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” (18, 18-20). So, where two or three are gathered in Jesus’s name and hold a dialogue based on equality and mutual respect, analyze a conflictive situation among the community that causes division, assume responsibilities, seek a just solution, and promote forgiveness and reconciliation… “I am there among them,” Jesus says.
If the conflict does not end as expected and the offender refuses to listen to the call of the community, there is another way of reconciliation: Jesus says, “If the offender refuses to listen even to the church [Ekklēsia], let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (18, 17). Gentiles and tax collectors were despised people in Jesus’ time, but Jesus held special attention for them. He sat and ate with them and taught them. So, what Jesus teaches the Ekklēsia is that those considered offenders should not be excluded or expelled from the community but should be taught with love, once again, about the values of the Kingdom of God lived in the church.
Dear sisters and brothers, what a challenge to live in Jesus’ community! What daily effort is needed to maintain peace and unity through the practice of dialogue, understanding, respect, humility, and continual reconciliation!
Conflicts and
disagreements are part of our communities and sometimes we offend others intentionally
or unintentionally or feel offended by others. Jesus calls us today to face these
situations as the Ekklēsia of God, with wisdom and in Jesus’ love.
More than a list of steps or a protocol to promote peace and reconciliation,
Jesus teaches and commands that we love, have mutual respect, dialogue, be inclusive,
and continually seek reconciliation. By practicing
these values and being the Ekklēsia of God in the world, we come closer to approaching the day when our
divided humanity will become one humanity again in Jesus Christ. Amen.
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