Reflection by The Ven. Dr Deborah Broome

This is about community

 [Jesus said] “If your brother or sister sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If you are listened to, 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 that person refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church, and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything 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.”           Matthew 18:15-20

 This is a text for a gathered community that takes its life together seriously – and one that knows what can happen when one member gets offside with another.  Unaddressed conflict can cause harm.  It’s set out as a way to treat those who’ve violated the norms of the community, and it’s aimed at promoting reconciliation.  If a community member treats you unjustly, first, you’re to approach them in private, talking with them gracefully, looking to be reconciled.  If that doesn’t work, the next step is to invite a few members of the community to join the conversation, in order to awaken the other to the community’s wisdom as well as to avoid false accusation.  Any more public discussions that follow are about getting the parties directly involved to keep talking, aiming for real conversation – real listening – and real reconciliation.  Notice how many times Jesus mentions “listening.”  The call is to hear one another, to listen closely to the experiences of the other.  Jesus is encouraging communities to be ones that nurture honest dialogue, ones that don’t just sweep under the carpet behaviour that harms others.

 And remember the context of this – these words come in a section where Jesus has pointed to one who becomes humble like a child as being the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, has cautioned against putting stumbling blocks in the way of others, especially “these little ones,” those with less power in the community, and has commended the shepherd who leaves 99 sheep to go and find one who’s lost.  This is less about harsh judgement and more about caring for the whole community.

And it’s about assuring accountability while also looking after those who are most vulnerable or at risk.  This is not – to be absolutely clear – a process that advises someone who’s been abused to go and confront their abuser in private, especially where the abuser has greater power.  That situation may be unsafe, possibly even life-threatening.

And what if all of this doesn’t work, if there’s no real listening, no resolution of the conflict?  In that case, the offender is to be treated “as a Gentile and a tax collector.” 

Now isn’t that interesting!   Because let’s remind ourselves of how Jesus treated Gentiles and tax collectors.  He spoke to them.  He healed them.  He offered them new life and new freedom.  And at a time when community was clearly defined by those with whom you shared meals, he ate and drank with them, and called them as disciples.    I read this not as an ending but as a new beginning, as an invitation to keep on reaching out, to keep listening.  As a sign that Jesus’ sense of community is bigger than ours.

 Image credit: Austin Kehmeier, Unsplash