Sermon preached at St. Alban's, Spirit Lake, on September 7, 2008
(Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A, BCP Lectionary)
by the Rev. Carl D. Mann

Texts:   Ezekiel 33:(1-6)7-11
Psalm 119:33-48
Romans 12:9-21
Matthew 18:15-20

Deuteronomy 6:4 Shema Israel, Adonai elihenu ictha! Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! This is known as the Shema prayer in Judaism.

During a service at an old synagogue in Eastern Europe, when the Shema prayer was said, half the congregation stood up and half remained sitting. The half that was seated started yelling at those standing to sit down, and the ones standing yelled at the ones sitting to stand up.

The rabbi, learned as he was in the Law and commentaries, didn't know what to do. So his congregation suggested that he consult a housebound 98-year old man, who was one of the original founders of their temple. The rabbi hoped the elderly man would be able to tell him what the actual temple tradition was, so he went to the nursing home with a representative of each faction of the congregation.

The one whose followers stood during Shema said to the old man, "Is the tradition to stand during this prayer?"

The old man answered, "No, that is not the tradition." The one whose followers sat asked, "Is the tradition to sit during Shema?"

The old man answered, "No, that is not the tradition."

Then the rabbi said to the old man, "What am I to do? The congregation fights all the time, yelling at each other about whether they should sit or stand..."

The old man interrupted, exclaiming, "Yes, THAT is our tradition!"

Today we continue with our road map to living the Christian life. Specifically, Jesus is teaching us, as the Body of Christ, how to deal with other members of the Body of Christ. He doesn’t want us yelling and fighting but recognizes that as fallen creatures we are prone to doing just that, usually over the pettiest of things such as standing up or sitting down during prayer.

If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If you perceive that someone has caused you offense, talk to that person directly. Find out why they did what they did; discover the intention behind the action. Don’t go complaining to another person about how so and so did thus and so. That is idle gossip that develops into rumor and innuendo which is the seed and the fertilizer from which dissension and division begins to grow.

It is extremely important that you first go to the other party involved because you may have misconstrued something they said or did and consequently your perception may be the cause of the offense.

Regardless of fault, it is far better to retain a healthy relationship through mutual forgiveness and reconciliation in the beginning rather than waiting until the emotional wound festers and becomes infected, especially if the wound is actually self-inflicted.

But let’s say that the person did intend to offend you, and would not listen to reason, then take one or two others with you from within the same community in order to confirm the accuracy of the ensuing conversation as unbiased witnesses.

This is another reason not to complain to others first. Once the grapevine begins to grow, gossip and rumor may bias them against the other unfairly, which could result in an unjust decision. They are present primarily to observe and mentally record the facts from both sides. Plus, as unbiased witnesses, they will be able to observe whether or not you may be the cause of the offense and not the other, in which case it is again prudent to patch the worn spot in the fabric before it becomes a full blown rift.

Now if this doesn’t resolve the problem, then would be the time to alert the rest of the community of the situation, and if the offender, either you or the other, doesn’t listen to the collective wisdom of the whole, then the offender should be treated as a Gentile or a tax collector. In other words, they should be treated as an outsider; one who is not of the community.

Now this is where it gets interesting! How does Jesus treat outsiders? Previously in Matthew’s Gospel we find that Jesus had dinner with Matthew, who was a tax collector, and we are told that many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. And later on in the same Gospel we are told that according to the rumor mill Jesus is called a friend of tax collectors and sinners. And later still Jesus warns the chief priests and elders that the tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom of heaven before them if they persist in not believing in him because the tax collectors and prostitutes were listening to his message, believed in him, and were changing their behavior as a result!

Now the Greek word used here for sinners is better translated as one who has missed the mark; they’re aiming for the target but can’t quite hit the bull’s eye. Isn’t that a perfect description of Christians? We have been taught what to do, and we keep on trying but as hard as we try, we can’t get it right. We are capable of hitting the target but we just can’t nail the sweet spot.

But God is aware of this problem, which is why He sent His Son to die on the cross. For it is by the cross, and its former occupant, Jesus Christ, that we are able to take aim and achieve the goal of being reconciled with God the Father thus giving us the opportunity to be in perfect relationship with Him for all eternity.

And that’s really what it’s all about. Relationships! God wants to be in a relationship with each and every one of us. He sent His only begotten Son to be one of us; to die for us, shedding his blood for the forgiveness of our sins; to atone for those thoughts, words, and deeds in our lives which obstruct our aim causing us to miss the mark. And Jesus did this willingly, in obedience to the Father, in order for us to be reconciled to God, the Father of us all.

But one of the biggest obstacle to being in relationship with the Father is by being in broken relationship with each other, and that is what today’s lesson is all about; how to prevent broken relationships, how to repair broken relationships, and to keep alive the hope that all broken relationships can be salvaged and reconciled through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior if only we, as the Body of Christ work together as one to that end.

You see, God doesn’t want our tradition to be that of yelling and fighting. He wants our tradition to be that of shouts and acclamations of praise and joy. He wants our relationships with each other to be one filled with love just as He loves each of us.

So let the love of our relationships be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor and respect. Do not lag in zeal, but be ardent in spirit, serving the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. And remember to contribute to the needs of the saints; and extend hospitality to strangers and outsiders.

God wants us to be one with Him just as He and the Son and the Spirit are one. He wants us to be one with each other. This is the will of God! This is what we are called to do as followers of Christ! This is our mission in this life!

These are but a few of the mile markers that we will find on the road map to Christian living. By the grace of God and following them closely, we will be able to focus our aim, overcome the obstacles along the way, and ultimately reach our destination in full communion with God and our neighbor. Gloria Patri