Sermon from 10am Sunday Worship by Seminarian Felicity Thompson, 9/10/2023 Matthew 18:15-20
Are you having financial disputes? Are you afraid that AI will eliminate your job? Are you having personal conflicts? Are you fighting over worship styles? Are your leaders acting like dictators? Are doctrinal differences threatening to tear you apart in Church? Are you avoiding family gatherings? Are you sick and tired of the political divide? Have you had enough of the echo chambers of MSNBC, CNN and FOX news? Are you tired of reading about race and reconciliation instead of acting on solutions? Are we ready to bring our children to church instead of complaining about their absence? Is our reaching out to our neighbors, for real? How about gun violence, are we sitting on the sidelines? Are the burdens of mental health challenges getting to us? Are we avoiding family gatherings? What about not treating our neighbors as ourselves? Jesus gives us the playbook for dealing with conflicts, big and small.
We are moving through the section in the Gospel of Matthew, where we are talking again about how we treat each other. After listening to the gospel, all of us can identify some of the people we need to forgive, and the reality of what it means to be a community of faith.
What makes a congregation a community of faith? According to Alban at Duke Divinity school, a congregation becomes a real faith community “because members of the congregation center their lives together on rituals of meaning and confession”.
But are we one of the communities that keep forgetting who we are? Are we one of the communities that keep forgetting why we are here? Are we fond of washing our neighbor’s dirty laundry in public?
Last week Father Chris reminded us that to live a life of purpose, we have to stay focused on God, seeking God with all our hearts. We need to be able to listen to God, as God talks to us through scripture, through our friends and through our community. Whenever you need answers, search in scripture, listen to scriptures with your friends and discern scriptures in community. Don’t disgrace each other. Live in the moment and act upon the Word addressing sin privately.
Our gospel for today takes us through a sequential process of reconciling and ends with “where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them.” The purpose of this passage is not to blame each other. This passage tells us how to remove the stumbling block that stands between gossip, accusation, and regret - not to automatically blame each other. This passage guides us through the steps to have meaningful conversation, healing and peace. It shows us how the other can be protected spiritually and physically and build relationships. It is not just about how we behave to each other on Sunday, it is also about how we interact with each other Monday through Saturday.
This is about the vulnerable. This is about behaving the way we know we’re supposed to behave, even when the cameras are turned off. Let’s look at how we behave on email threads and on social media. How do our actions speak louder than our words? If this is your space where you are using your inside or outside voice? If this is where you put forward your witness? Are you behaving as if Jesus is watching? Are you behaving as if Jesus is reading your Facebook posts, or do we need Jesus to step in and edit a post or two or maybe remove a whole thread? Do the right thing now, now, now. Don’t wait till later! Don’t be a lone Ranger. Call in the Baker’s Dozen.
Why am I talking with you about a Baker’s Dozen? Are we taking a cooking class or Shopping at Zingerman’s? Stay with me here. The Baker’s dozen is Jesus and his twelve buddies. Jesus anointed his 12 disciples to go out and spread his Word. They did so in thought, word, and deed. They shared Jesus’s teachings with us through their writings. So we hear Jesus’s words through the writings of his disciples and their friends. Christ is the Baker who gives us the bonus of mercy, grace, and love. So don’t be a lone ranger and call upon the Baker’s dozen.
Usually during our man-made conflicts there is a winner and a loser. The winner boldly struts on the stage greedily displaying the spoils of warfare. The loser is lustily stomped into the dirt, you know, a zero-sum game. Is this following the playbook that Christ gave us through the gospel reading?
Where the heck is God’s example of mercy, God’s example of grace, God’s example of love. Ezekiel 33:11, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.” Feeling boxed in, we lash out by oppressing others, and it goes on and on and on. Mercy! Grace! Love! Don’t be a Lone Ranger. Call in the Baker’s Dozen.
Remember our Psalm for the day, as is a tradition here at Saint David’s let us pray it together: Psalm 119; verse 35, “Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight”. We are told to keep conflict private. Verse 39, “Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good.” Mercy! Grace! Love! Disgrace follows after terrible conflict is exposed. Take care of the matter within the community; all in, not out.
And remember, don’t be a lone ranger, Call in the Baker’s Dozen!
In Matthew 18:15, “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone.” Where do we get the courage to follow this rule? When do we invite Jesus into our midst? Call in, don’t call out.
Don’t be a Lone Ranger. Call in the baker’s dozen!
The promise of Jesus' presence is a lovely image and a comforting promise. As I pause with that image in my mind, I see a table where everyone is on their best behavior. May I say, best outward behavior. On the surface, everyone is polite, agreeable, and nice. There may be some conflict but there is no finger pointing or wagging. There is no calling in or calling out.
Now let’s change the scene. Imagine how different things would be when that gathering is a place of conflict or a place where reconciliation is not happening, tensions are high and there is no forgiveness. Harsh words are flying and othering is the order of the day. Can we handle the pressure? Don’t be a loner. Call in the Baker’s Dozen.
And if Jesus truly is sitting here, at this table of forgiveness, what language, what tone, what feelings would you exchange with each other? So, knowing Jesus is at that table, how would we speak to each other, coming from a place of faith and love?
Don’t be a lone Ranger, call in the Baker’s dozen.
Let’s read our Bibles and act on what we read. Act now not when it’s too late.
My last couple of weeks have been filled with activity. My seminary classes started last week. So while I was prayerfully hearing the words of this sermon, in my heart and head, walking past one of the meeting rooms at the Ecumenical Theological Seminary, I heard lots of upbeat voices and imagined Jesus was at the table with his disciples, all twelve of them.
How would the conversation be different if everyone intentionally invited Jesus to help resolve their conflicts? Not a far stretch of the imagination in a seminary. But I wondered how many people were actively thinking about that like I was then? Jeremiah 33:3, “call to me and I will answer thee”. Intentionally call upon the Lord.
Do it now, don’t be a lone ranger, Call in the Baker’s Dozen!