Matt 18:15-20
This is a very familiar passage of the Gospel of Matthew that every Christian should know. Jesus is telling His Disciples how they are to deal with strife and disagreements within their community. Jesus says:
"If another member of the church{ or community} 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 {or community}, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. "
This is how we Christians are to deal with small sins against each other. At first we are instructed to talk with the person whom we feel has offended us. If that does not resolve the issue, the next step { according to Jesus}is to take one or two other community members with you and talks with the person AGAIN. And if this approach fails, then we are to bring the community into the conflict resolution. And if THAT fails, then Scripture says that we are to treat the offender as one would a 'Gentile or tax collector'. That is, we are to figuratively or literally " cast him or her out".
How many communities of any kind follow this model of conflict resolution? how many even TRY to follow this model? In my opinion, far too few human communities Too often we humans would rather gossip behind our friends, family members and work associate's backs than respectfully approach him or her with our complaint. Admit it---all of us are guilty of this sin. Those of us who are Christians know better yet still we persist in backhanded " conflict resolution" that too often creates bigger and more numerous conflicts.
Why? Why can we not live honestly together and be open to authenticity? What good does backhanded, gossipy "conflict resolution do in the long run? Are we REALLY in such pain that we seek to hurt our sister & fellow community members just because we do not agree with them?
It is not popular to tell the truth in this society. When one is living or working in a community, decision-makers especially rarely take well to being called out on their misdeeds. Bosses do not wish to be told by their subordinates that their business practices are unethical. Teachers do not wish students to tell them that they are teaching according to a particular political agenda. The list can go on & on....
Yet in order to live authentic lives as members of communities, we must be open to practicing Jesus' model of conflict resolution.
Amen.
Showing posts with label Scripture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scripture. Show all posts
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Welcome, " Come Well"
We say "Welcome" in greeting whenever someone comes to our home or place of worship. But have you ever thought about how the world " welcome" is really two words? When we welcome someone { be it to our home or our church} we invite them to "come and be well"
Being authentically welcoming, as Christ commands of we His followers, is risky business. To be truly welcoming, we are { or should be{} at our most vulnerable. We invite others to com be with us, and the radical hospitality that Jesus commands we modern-day apostles to practice includes accepting other for who they ARE, not whom we wish them to be. radical hospitality to we Christ-followers demands that we put aside our prejudices, expectations and other preconceived notions of what we wish people to be when we meet them.
Manners are important, especially for meeting and/or entertaining someone for the first time. Social conventions dictate that we strive to follow a set of " norms" in order to be hospitable. But Jesus commands us to follow an entirely different hospitality. We are to love each other as He loves us. Radical hospitality is more than putting the correct number of forks on the supper table settings.
Love is costly, and the love described by an emulated by Jesus includes putting another's needs first, regardless of one's own idea of what is " normal & " acceptable".
In other words: Do not judge, and try to understand someone else's point of view when it comes to confronting differences of opinion. We humans need not always agree on eveyrthing in order to be kind to one another. We Christians, especially, need to accept each other as we are . After all, Christ accepts us without questions or reservations, so should we not follow His Example?
Amen.
Being authentically welcoming, as Christ commands of we His followers, is risky business. To be truly welcoming, we are { or should be{} at our most vulnerable. We invite others to com be with us, and the radical hospitality that Jesus commands we modern-day apostles to practice includes accepting other for who they ARE, not whom we wish them to be. radical hospitality to we Christ-followers demands that we put aside our prejudices, expectations and other preconceived notions of what we wish people to be when we meet them.
Manners are important, especially for meeting and/or entertaining someone for the first time. Social conventions dictate that we strive to follow a set of " norms" in order to be hospitable. But Jesus commands us to follow an entirely different hospitality. We are to love each other as He loves us. Radical hospitality is more than putting the correct number of forks on the supper table settings.
Love is costly, and the love described by an emulated by Jesus includes putting another's needs first, regardless of one's own idea of what is " normal & " acceptable".
In other words: Do not judge, and try to understand someone else's point of view when it comes to confronting differences of opinion. We humans need not always agree on eveyrthing in order to be kind to one another. We Christians, especially, need to accept each other as we are . After all, Christ accepts us without questions or reservations, so should we not follow His Example?
Amen.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Pray, Fast, Give Alms
This evening Best Dude and I switched things up and attended a neighboring parish where our friend is the rector. As usual, it was a lovely service, but tonight's meditation was a tool for the Holy Spirit to speak to me.
The gist of the sermon was " Pray. Fast, Give Alms. In Lent, especially, we Christ-followers are called to focus on doing these three tasks. The Gospel lesson for today compels us to do these things not to " be seen" by others { as did the Pharisees } but to do these things quietly so that the God who is our Creator will reward us. We are not to show off our piety, but to quietly pray and give alms in the name of Our Lord.
What really struck me in this evening's Gospel is the part where Christ commands us to give alms " in secret" and " so that the left hand will not know what the right hand is doing". To me, almsgiving is in itself an act of prayer....when I give alms, I do so not because I determine that the receiver is 'worthy' of help or because she or he is ' just like me' but because doing so pleases Our Lord.
We need to remember that Christ calls us to BE His hands & feet on Earth. Charity should not be about the giver...there is not need to sound the proverbial trumpet to let others know of our gifts. Christ knows , and that should be enough for His followers
Amen.
Ash Wednesday, 2014
The gist of the sermon was " Pray. Fast, Give Alms. In Lent, especially, we Christ-followers are called to focus on doing these three tasks. The Gospel lesson for today compels us to do these things not to " be seen" by others { as did the Pharisees } but to do these things quietly so that the God who is our Creator will reward us. We are not to show off our piety, but to quietly pray and give alms in the name of Our Lord.
What really struck me in this evening's Gospel is the part where Christ commands us to give alms " in secret" and " so that the left hand will not know what the right hand is doing". To me, almsgiving is in itself an act of prayer....when I give alms, I do so not because I determine that the receiver is 'worthy' of help or because she or he is ' just like me' but because doing so pleases Our Lord.
We need to remember that Christ calls us to BE His hands & feet on Earth. Charity should not be about the giver...there is not need to sound the proverbial trumpet to let others know of our gifts. Christ knows , and that should be enough for His followers
Amen.
Ash Wednesday, 2014
Friday, September 6, 2013
This week's Gospel lesson...and looming war drums
There are many reasons why I am against the war drumming that President Obama has been beating lately.
Sunday's Gospel lesson is ...interesting.
Read this:
"Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand. If he cannot then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace."
{Luke 14:31-32}
First, let me admit that I HATE prooftexting Scripture. More conservative Christian denominations use this technique to justify their hatred of people" not like us" , so I am very wary of anyone prooftexting Scripture.
Secondly, my EFM studies have taught me that this passage really is NOT about war, it is about the cost of following Jesus.
But if I WERE clergy , and I am clearly not of the order of priests, I would struggle with the urge to preach an anti-war { and some would say an isolationist} message. Anyone who knows me at all knows how I feel about our great military's continual involvement in foreign conflicts. I have never believed that the place of a world superpower such as the United States is to " police" other nations and punish them for not accepting the Western worldview of life. call me a " dirty Libertarian" if you wish, but the verbs OFFENSE and DEFENSE are not synonymous.
Taking out bin Laden is defense. Bombing Syria is offense.
I do not see Jesus, if He were walking the Earth today, wielding machine guns and waging war against anyone who disagreed with Him. So at the risk of sounding terribly dated and cliche, I ask
What is it that Jesus would do?
Clearly I do not know the answer to this question. {If I did, I would for sure not be sitting in this po-dunk beach town, I'd be teaching graduate-level courses at a top-notch university.}
It is true that the cost of discipleship is great & that he requires much from those who follow Him. yet I doubt that He would authorize a war against a rogue nation--a rouge nation located in a part of the world that has suffered conflict since before the time of Jesus Himself. Would Jesus want His disciples to wage war against those who do not accept His teachings? I doubt it. Perhaps he'd encourage more genuine diplomacy between two nations with opposing ideas regarding what is " right"?
The Syrian government is committing atrocities against her own people & that is morally wrong. Yet will the bombing of Syria by Western superpowers really convince the regime in that nation that using chemical agents as war weapons is wrong? It will not.
Amen.
Sunday's Gospel lesson is ...interesting.
Read this:
"Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand. If he cannot then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace."
{Luke 14:31-32}
First, let me admit that I HATE prooftexting Scripture. More conservative Christian denominations use this technique to justify their hatred of people" not like us" , so I am very wary of anyone prooftexting Scripture.
Secondly, my EFM studies have taught me that this passage really is NOT about war, it is about the cost of following Jesus.
But if I WERE clergy , and I am clearly not of the order of priests, I would struggle with the urge to preach an anti-war { and some would say an isolationist} message. Anyone who knows me at all knows how I feel about our great military's continual involvement in foreign conflicts. I have never believed that the place of a world superpower such as the United States is to " police" other nations and punish them for not accepting the Western worldview of life. call me a " dirty Libertarian" if you wish, but the verbs OFFENSE and DEFENSE are not synonymous.
Taking out bin Laden is defense. Bombing Syria is offense.
I do not see Jesus, if He were walking the Earth today, wielding machine guns and waging war against anyone who disagreed with Him. So at the risk of sounding terribly dated and cliche, I ask
What is it that Jesus would do?
Clearly I do not know the answer to this question. {If I did, I would for sure not be sitting in this po-dunk beach town, I'd be teaching graduate-level courses at a top-notch university.}
It is true that the cost of discipleship is great & that he requires much from those who follow Him. yet I doubt that He would authorize a war against a rogue nation--a rouge nation located in a part of the world that has suffered conflict since before the time of Jesus Himself. Would Jesus want His disciples to wage war against those who do not accept His teachings? I doubt it. Perhaps he'd encourage more genuine diplomacy between two nations with opposing ideas regarding what is " right"?
The Syrian government is committing atrocities against her own people & that is morally wrong. Yet will the bombing of Syria by Western superpowers really convince the regime in that nation that using chemical agents as war weapons is wrong? It will not.
Amen.
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