Living Questions


Sunday, September 25th, 2005
Pentecost + 19
Jerusalem Baptist Church, Emmerton VA
Matthew 21:23-32

23 When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?’ 24 Jesus said to them, ‘I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?’ And they argued with one another, ‘If we say, “From heaven,” he will say to us, “Why then did you not believe him?” 26 But if we say, “Of human origin,” we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.’ 27 So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’ And he said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
28 ‘What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” 29 He answered, “I will not”; but later he changed his mind and went. 30 The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, “I go, sir”; but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

It was a valid question.

Coming from the standpoint of the Chief Priests and Elders of the people, the combined ruling class (apart from the Romans) of the people of Judah, they were entirely justified in their minds to be asking Jesus by whose authority he did what he did.

Today’s passage skips ahead 3 whole chapters from where we were last week. We’ve moved into Easter territory. If I didn’t know it was the end of September I’d be looking for blossoms on the trees…

I’m not familiar enough yet with the background on the lectionary to be able to explain to you why the readings are set up the way they are, but there you have it.

The passage for today jumps in AFTER the triumphal entry, AFTER the cleansing of the temple, AFTER the Sadducees and Pharisees had already joined forces in recognizing that they had to get rid of Jesus. This is one of their initial attempts to derail him. In the coming few weeks, we’ll see other examples of their attempts to trip Jesus up, but we will get to those then. For now, we study the text at hand.

The issue is authority. Coming from the ruling authorities, it was not an idle question. It seems straightforward enough. “Jesus, tell us, by what authority do you come in here and get crowds clamoring at your entrance, and then come into the temple and run amok with our vendor/partners? Who gave you the right to do those things?”

In his response, Jesus demonstrates for us that he knew whom he was dealing with – and more than that – he knew where THEY were coming from, what was motivating their question, and he asked the precise question that exposed that motivation.

What is fascinating about the exchange is that, within a few deft sentences, Jesus pulls the situation into perspective for us. It’s been about three years since his cousin John was murdered, but the message he preached is still at this point, very much alive in the lives of the people. They have not forgotten what John preached and practiced.

Jesus asks the priests and elders, ‘did the baptism of John come from heaven or is it of human origin?” Admittedly, there are times when the Gospels present what can sometimes come across as an almost-cartoon version of the characters involved in the story of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, especially when it comes to the disciples. In this case, we catch a glimpse into part of the reason WHY the Elders of the people and the Chief Priests WERE who they WERE.

They were not naïve. They were not intellectually challenged. They understood the world they lived in. They had a lot to do with why it WAS the way it was. The thought process is spelled out, again, in just a few words, from the second half of verse 25 to the first half of verse 27.

‘If we say, “From heaven,” he will say to us, “Why then did you not believe him?” 26 But if we say, “Of human origin,” we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.’

Here we have their discussion – certainly among themselves – it would be interesting to know HOW Matthew got the scoop on what they were saying, wouldn’t it be? Perhaps an elder who later became a follower of Christ, or a temple priest who, like Saul, at some point later on came face to face with the risen Lord. In any case, here’s their dilemma. Jesus has them coming and going. There is no way they can answer this question and come away winners. The polling data is not coming back in favor of either answer.

You see, that was their whole point in asking THEIR question. They didn’t REALLY want to know the answer to the question they were asking, they simply wanted to trap Jesus into (in their eyes) blaspheming, or showing himself to be a delusional egomaniac. To the innocent passers-by, the general public, their question would be an acceptable one, and to not answer it would ALSO make Jesus look bad in the eyes of the people who had been indoctrinated into believing that everything the Sadducees and Pharisees and Elders and Chief Priests said could well be AND SHOULD BE taken to be the proclamation from the Lord God of Hosts, the Almighty himself. After all, they WERE the leaders and the scribes, were they not?

What they DIDN’T count on was Jesus knowing their hearts better than they did.

When the Priests and Elders come back at Jesus and refused to answer, he also refused to answer their question. The confrontation is a draw, sort of.

Jesus goes on to drive the point home.

He tells a story.

A man has a vineyard, and two sons. He asks one son to go out and work the vineyard. The son, who is probably sitting on his bed engrossed in reading the latest Harry Potter book, answers somewhat insolently, “I don’t want to.” And the father goes on about his business, maybe shaking his head and wondering what today’s kids were growing up to be. He comes upon his second son, who is playing a video game in his room. “Son, can you please go out to the vineyard and work it for me?” The second son answers “Sure Dad!” with an eager smile on his face, “be right there!” and turns back to his game and promptly forgets what he just said as he tries to get Mario to jump up to that next level…

Meanwhile, son number one has had time to think about how he answered his Dad, and realizes he really should go out and work the vineyard after all. He marks the page, sets the book down, and heads out to do the work requested.

Jesus’ question is simple: Which one of the sons did what his father asked? The one who said “no,” and then DID, or the one who said “yes” and then DIDN’T?

The answer was obvious to everyone there. Even though he initially refused, the first son to be asked obeyed. His actions spoke louder than words. The second son’s actions spoke louder than HIS words as well, only in a DISobedient manner.

I can see Jesus shaking his head and looking at the men standing in front of him. They just answered the question, but they are totally missing the point of the story. Even though they answered it correctly, they could not fit their brains around the notion that THEY were like the SECOND son, who paid lip service to his father, but in truth couldn’t care less for what his father expected of him, and chose rather to do things HE wanted to do.

They just didn’t get it.

Jesus tries to make them understand one last time – to shock them into awareness – in bringing up the tax collectors and the prostitutes who recognized their unrighteousness, sin, and separation from God and chose to follow him. Admitting their need.

As we’ve seen before, tax collectors and prostitutes were the epitome of what the Priests and Pharisees wanted NOTHING to do with. They were categorically unclean, beyond redemption, and therefore not worthy of attention, or time, or addressing, to say nothing of sitting down to a meal together.

That was, if you recall, what Jesus had gotten in trouble with so often before. For having treated people as … PEOPLE, regardless of what they’d done. His ‘socializing’ was what scandalized the self-righteous pillars of the community. The completely missed the fact that in engaging EVERYONE, Jesus called them into obedience to the heart of God. He did not leave wrong as wrong. He didn’t tell the woman caught in adultery ‘go on about your business’, he told her ‘this way your living is going to kill you … it almost DID, just now. Go and sin no more.’

Frank Stagg, New Testament professor at Southern Seminary, put it this way:

“Radical demand and limitless mercy come together in the teaching and manner of Jesus”

Radical demand. The word ‘radical’ means ‘root’. Think “Root canal”, think “radical change”, “the root of the problem”. Jesus is not playing around with window dressing when he deals with our lives. He is not making cosmetic changes so we will appear more acceptable to society… or to other churchgoers. He is dealing with our hearts, our innermost being.

So what does this mean for Jerusalem Baptist Church at Emmerton?

What is our response to Jesus’ question? After all, Jesus is asking us the same questions today. That is why they are living questions. They are being asked of us today, and have been asked of every believer over the last two thousand years.

Who has the authority in your life? Are we going to pay lip service to the father, put on the good face, say we’re going to do this and that, eloquently describe what it means to be children of God, be a light to the nations, be a factor of change in our community, and then just come and sit on Sundays?

Or are we going to put our words into action, recognizing that we have failed and will fail time and again, but that isn’t the point. The point is that we are and can all be recipients of God’s limitless grace if we only ask for it! The message of the story is that it doesn’t matter what’s come before. There is a second chance and a third chance and a fourth chance for all of us. God’s grace does that.

God wants us obedient, not pretty.

Let’s pray.

Wages

Sunday, September 18th, 2005
Pentecost + 18
Jerusalem Baptist Church, Emmerton VA
Matthew 20:1-16

1‘For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. 3When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 4and he said to them, “You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.” So they went. 5When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. 6And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, “Why are you standing here idle all day?” 7They said to him, “Because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You also go into the vineyard.” 8When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, “Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.” 9When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. 10Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. 11And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” 13But he replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 14Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” 16So the last will be first, and the first will be last.’

The cartoon that came this week was pretty funny. It’s from the lectionary comic strip “Agnus Day”, a play on the latin words that mean ‘the year of our Lord’, only Dei D-E-I, meaning Lord, is spelled D-A-Y for the strip. I get a weekly email that draws it’s inspiration from one of the passages to be read for today.

The two sheep, Rick and Ted (Rick's the one with the dark nose and the cup of coffee) are talking to each other, commenting on today’s Gospel reading.

“Let me get this straight.” Says Ted, “The last guys get paid the same as the first who thought they’d get more?”

“Yes,” says Rick.

Ted continues, “And Jesus is saying that this is a picture of life with God?”

“Yes,” Rick says again.

“Is it okay,” Ted asks, “to say that God is bonkers?”

“No” Rick responds.

And that’s where the strip ends. It’s rarely more than 3 or 4 frames.

But I have to tell you, since I first read that parable, I ALWAYS thought the same as Ted. On the one hand, I can understand the justification on the part of the landowner. It IS his money, his land, his property, and he is perfectly entitled to spend it as he wishes.

It’s the justice issue that I had to struggle with. The fairness issue: how can a JUST and FAIR God give the same reward to those who’ve done so little in relation to those who’ve done so much?

Any way you turn this story, it STILL seems unfair. Even allowing for the right of the landowner to do as he pleases. You see, IN that allowing, there is a human sense of disgruntledness. It’s a way of acknowledging, but still not agreeing with, what has happened. It is fundamentally unfair to pay someone who has spent a full day working the same amount as one who has only spent an hour working.

How can we reconcile that with our vision of a just God? How can we relate that response of “isn’t that what we agreed to?” to an extravagantly loving God, who gave himself for us in a way that it will take us our entire lives and MORE to understand?

As we saw last Sunday, it all depends on whom you identify with in the story. There are laborers who were hired early – at 6 and then at 9 O’clock in the morning, and there were others who were hired at noon, another group at three and another group at five.

For as long as I can remember, I always identified with the 6 O’clock or the 9 O'clock group. After all, I can’t remember a time when I DIDN’T go to church as a child. Neither can my parents, and I would venture to say that their parents before them were the same way.

The point is, as humans, we think in terms of the span of our lives and measure things in relation to that. So, our lifetime seems a long time. There’s an understanding, of course, at least on an intellectual level, that in the grander scheme of things, our lives AREN’T that long, but it is only on rare occasion that that piece of information truly sinks in and we grasp it. While our heads can understand the concept, it is not so easy for our hearts to do so.

I’ve thought that maybe a few of my friends who chose to follow Christ as teenagers might identify with the nine o'clock or the noon crowd. They understand the struggle of coming into a situation where there’s little or no common background to fall back on. Especially at that age, when so much other stuff is happening in and around them, to have to deal with becoming a Christ follower in the midst of all those other changes is definitely a daunting task.

Then there’s the three O’clock crowd. These we could identify with if we were to have come to faith as an adult. A goodly portion of our life has already gone by. We might have had some involvement around the edges of faith, or in the church, but nothing lasting, nothing true, until somehow, someway, Jesus came by, looked us straight in the eye and said ‘Come, follow me.’ If we live an average lifespan, there’s a chance we might be able to spend the second half of our life for Jesus, but there’s an equal chance that it might be considerably less time than that which we’ve already lived. So it goes.

Finally, we get to the five O’clock loafers. These are the folks who’ve just been hanging out all day. Not really doing anything, and just as the sun starts to get low in the sky, the man comes around and calls them into the vineyard to work. These are the lucky ones. The ones who get the nine o’clock crowd most disturbed when they find out they are all being paid the same wage. And rightfully disturbed! Bonkers! That’s a great word for it, don’t you agree?

But here’s where we get to the heart of the matter. What are we talking about, when we talk about the laborers who begin working in the fields at 6 or 9, and those who begin to work the fields at 5? What work is it, exactly? And what wage? What landowner?

I realized as I was going over this in my mind that as I was identifying myself with the workers who began working at nine, there was an unspoken word that sat at the back of the room and whispered to me “you DESERVE more because you’ve DONE more.” It’s that same voice that also can be heard to whisper “you’re BETTER than they are…” “you’re worth more, you count more, you’re respected more, you’re a more valued member of society … than they are …” it’s that insidious thought that ties in with our desire to EARN our way into the kingdom. That IS what the 9 o’clock workers were saying, after all, when they said, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.”

There we go again, wanting to create barriers where God is trying to break them down. There is something in us that wants to create these distinctions between people that simply are not there in the eyes of God. We want to be paid more, be recognized more, be valued more, be treated differently, than others. How else can we establish our worth?

How else indeed?

Let’s try this. Let’s recast the story, retell it, and this time, intentionally place yourself in the place of one of those 5 o’clock workers.

You are a day laborer. You get up, get your shower, get the kids up and dressed and ready for school, and then jump on a bus that is supposed to get you to the pick-up site, only it gets caught in traffic, there’s a big wreck on the interstate, and you end up getting there AT NOON. There’s still a huge crowd. Some people get picked up just as you get there, you wait a couple of hours, and another bunch get picked up ridiculously late in the day, it’s probably not even going to be enough work for them to be able to pick up something to eat on the way home, but they go anyway. Then, just as you start to look for the bus home, the man in the truck swings by again, and asks if you want to work, and you say yeah, of course. It’s going to put you home late if it turns into an evening project, but the kids have fended for themselves before, they know the drill.

You get to the vineyard, and get to work. It seems like just a few minutes later you are called in along with everyone else. You realize that the day is over. And you wonder how there’s any way that this is going to end up being worth your time and frustration, what with the bus and traffic and all … and you’re told to get at the head of the line, since you were the last to be hired.

You walk up to the foreman, and he hands you a Hundred and fifty dollars. You are stunned along with everyone else. Because everyone else, as they go through the line, gets the same amount. Those who you can tell from looking at them that they’ve been out in the hot sun all day, and those who are a little – only a little – less worn out – who’ve been there since noon, and then those who are only a little more rumpled than you are … and then there’s the rest of the group YOU came in with. You’ve hardly broken a sweat, and you look at each other and sheepishly grin, trying to hide the smile.

So what exactly are we talking about again?

Salvation, of course. Salvation and grace, here and now as well as there and then. The gift of life – true, abundant life – that God gives us freely. And here’s the secret to the parable:

Everyone came to work at five.

Paul reminds us in his letter to the Ephesians “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” (2:8-9)

There’s a sense of entitlement that creeps into our thinking when we first read the passage, a sense of just rewards that’s supposed to be followed in the parable. It’s ingrained in us, isn’t it? Even as … or especially as moral beings, it is right and appropriate to expect that to happen.

There are those of us who have seemingly worked long and hard all our lives for the landowner – for the Kingdom – and there’s something deep down inside that is telling us that because we did that, we should get a greater wage – a greater reward.

But we need to remember what we are talking about. If this WERE an earthly master, with workers in a field, then it would be understandable to expect that scaled pay – more pay for more work, less pay for less work.

But we’re not talking about an earthly master, are we? And we’re not talking about wages for working in a field. We’re speaking of eternity. We’re speaking of a God who is transcendent – whose thoughts are not our thoughts, whose ways are not our ways. We are speaking of an eternally loving, giving, suffering God who does not see our shortcomings and failures, but rather sees his beloved children and desires to give them ALL the most precious gift of all.

What does this mean for Jerusalem Baptist Church at Emmerton?

It means that we have work to do. But the work we are to be about is the work of letting all the other laborers know that even though we’re starting work at 5 o’clock, even though we have done nothing to earn it, the landowner is paying everyone the same wage.

There is no room in God’s economy to stand on what we have done, what we’ve accomplished what we’ve added to the kingdom, because it hasn’t been our doing. Yes, we have been and are instrumental in that spreading of the kingdom, but we are not rewarded for that. We are rather rewarded for the love of God – BY the love of God – for us all.

And that is the heart of the Gospel. That is the gospel of Grace. That is the message we can bring. It’s not about whose been here the longest. This isn’t a race, and it’s not a contest. We’re not doing a fundraiser for the kingdom. If you get 174 or more converts you get a personal DVD player. Nope. This is a family. And we are all on the journey together. Supporting each other, encouraging each other, sustaining one another in humility and love. And the greatest reward of all is waiting for us all.

Let’s pray.

From Your Heart

Sunday, September 11th, 2005
Pentecost +17
Jerusalem Baptist Church, Emmerton VA
Matthew 18:21-35

21 Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ 22Jesus said to im, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. 23‘For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; 25and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. 26So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” 27And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. 28But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, “Pay what you owe.” 29Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.” 30But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. 31When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. 32Then his lord summoned him and said to him, “You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?” 34And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. 35So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.’

Where do we begin to talk about forgiveness in the Christian faith?

Do we go back to the Old Testament and begin there, with the multitudes of times that God forgave the children of Israel – sometimes with some prodding from Moses – for wandering not only through the wilderness but also away from Him?

Or do we move forward, and begin with God and King David, who time and time again let his lower instincts get a hold of him, and yet, God still reckoned him a man after God’s own heart even at the end of his life?

Or should we go no further back than John the Baptist, preaching repentance for the forgiveness of sins to the people of Israel shortly before Jesus came on the scene?

What about only going so far back as the Crucifixion, with Jesus asking God to forgive them, because they don’t know what they are doing?

How many different places in scripture do we find forgiveness? How often is forgiveness the central point of the story, such as in today’s passage?

The events in the story in the text never actually happened … Jesus is again presenting a parable of the Kingdom. See there in verse 23, Jesus says, “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to…” That’s our clue to the fact that Jesus is again painting a picture of what God’s Kingdom is like.

So what do we have? We have a King, and a slave who owes him 150,000 years’ worth of salary. A talent, in some conversion tables, was the equivalent of 15 years’ wages. In short, Jesus wasn’t telling the story in a way that people could actually conceive of it truly happening – REALLY happening – in their context. It’d be as if I owed Governor Warner 4 Billion, 800 Million dollars, roughly. Give or take a few bucks. He was using exaggeration to make the point. The figure is an unreal sum, for an individual.

The central issue quickly becomes the actions and attitudes within the story. The King demands his repayment, the slave falls on his knees begging the King for more time to pay, the King takes compassion on him, and forgives the debt. He doesn’t work out a payment plan, he doesn’t reduce the debt, he voids it, eliminates it completely, erases it entirely.

Now remember, Jesus is painting a picture of the Kingdom for us. People are already assigning roles and names to each character in the story. Folks are listening in, cruising along, they’ve got their pens in hand, with their notebooks, and they’re jotting down the notes as they listen to the story.

The King, of course, is God.
Check.
The slave who owes him more than can even be imagined is … me.
Check.
Fearing the wrath of God for the debt owed, is DEFINITELY me.
Check.
Begging for time to pay it off, that’s gotta be me as well.
Check.
The King forgiving the debt? THAT debt?!
Wow.
If that’s what God is like, then yeah!
Check! I want that !

Unfortunately for us, the parable doesn’t end there. We follow the slave who has just had this huge weight lifted off his shoulders out of the palace, where he runs into another man who owes HIM twenty bucks.

We’d like to think that, having just experienced a once-in-a-lifetime releasing from an obligation that was going to be impossible to repay any other way, the man may have gained some perspective, may still be glowing from the magnanimity, the graciousness and generosity of the King, and would react almost instinctively in the same manner in which he had just been treated.

Not so.

What we have instead is someone who responds from a point of total disconnect with what he’s just lived through. He seemingly received the forgiveness, and then left the palace with the weight lifted, but his actions betray his heart, and show that what tears he may have shed were crocodile tears, never truly sincere.

So we come to the shadowside of the parable. The part that always makes me uncomfortable, because I don’t – I simply do not enjoy reading of the wrath of God.

Listeners at the time would be be-bopping along, checking off the items as they heard and identified them, and then they’d get to this part.

Slave runs into other slave who owes him money.
Check. Yeah, I can think of a couple of people who owe me.
Maybe not money, but certainly an apology.

Slave beats the one who owes him a couple of bucks and has him thrown in jail.
Oops.
Would I really do that?

What are we talking about?

Forgiveness. What are we talking about forgiving? Anything. Everything. Whatever.

There’s no qualifier. The parable mentions money, but the enduring truth in the story is the action, the attitude of forgiveness. And we find that, though this first slave received forgiveness from HIS master, he didn’t understand the concept, even having been the recipient of it.

Understanding the concept means that we are able to grasp the significance, the impact, the difference it has and will make in our lives and pass that on.

You see, forgiveness is not something that we just receive; it is something we extend as well. It is part of what we DO as Christians. It is not something we keep track of, either. That was the whole purpose of the parable. Not to tell us that we are to forgive … to a point, beyond that, we are not responsible for continuing to forgive. It is, again, an example of a counterintuitive aspect of the Gospel, something that doesn’t mesh with how the world works.

Here’s the thing. We need to decide, and it is the most important decision we will ever make. We have Kingdom behavior on the one hand, and what the world tells us to do on the other, and we are always going to be faced with the question ‘which will I choose?’

We can sit in relative comfort in this sanctuary and talk about it and listen to the issue being discussed, and nod in agreement with the ‘correct’ or ‘biblical’ answer, but what happens when we leave the room? When we walk out of the building and are confronted with:

A woman who climbs behind the wheel of her car drunk and slams into another car, killing an entire family?

A man who regularly beats his wife and children?

A man who sells drugs to addicts, and flaunts the law in the process?

Men who regularly declare that the United States is the great Satan, and maneuver and organize a concerted attack in which over 3000 people are killed.

A man with whom you had a disagreement in the midst of what turned out to be a heated meeting, and you ended up raising your voices and stomping out.

A woman who said some things about you that were hurtful and untrue.

A family that you befriended, but who later, for some unexplained reason, pulled away.

What is the Christian’s response to that?

According to Jesus, it is forgiveness. But not forgiveness for forgiveness’ sake alone.

Peter was asking his question from a literal by-the-book legalistic reading of scripture. Jesus turned the law around. In Genesis 4:23-24, the reference is established by which the number is invoked. Lamech is quoted as telling his wives, if one man was killed to avenge Cain, then seventy-seven will be killed to avenge me.

It seems to have established a pattern that is still followed to this day in the middle east. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. If you are identified as having perpetrated a terrorist attack on an Israeli, your family’s home will be bulldozed to the ground.

It is a cycle of violence that has been perpetuated for centuries, had been already in Jesus’ time. And Christ is calling us to break the cycle of violence. Because the purpose of forgiveness is to move beyond the event and seek RECONCILIATION.

How we forgive is a direct reflection of how we have perceived God’s forgiveness of our own lives. How we respond is a direct manifestation of how WE respond to God’s calling us to reconciliation to him through Christ.

That is where our heart comes into play.

If we have truly accepted God’s forgiveness in our hearts, it will show in our actions and attitudes towards others. We will seek justice, and not allow injustice to continue. We will seek peace, not war. We will seek harmony, not strife. We will seek reconciliation, not revenge.

What does this mean for Jerusalem Baptist Church at Emmerton?

It means that we HAVE TO start here. The pattern of the great commission is just that, the pattern to follow. In Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.

So we start close to home, close to our own hearts, where it is sometimes the hardest. Let’s examine ourselves. Examine our hearts. The Psalmist writes ‘search me, O God, and know my heart’ and that must be our prayer today. God, uncover in me anything that I might have been hiding all these many years, and let me come clean. Give me the courage to speak in love to my brother or sister and seek forgiveness, in order to come to a reconciliation. Because it is only in being reconciled HERE that I will be reconciled with YOU in Heaven.

Let’s pray.

Wherever


Sunday, September 4th, 2005
Pentecost + 16
Jerusalem Baptist Church, Emmerton VA
Matthew 18:15-20

15 ‘If another member of the church 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. 16 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. 17 If the member 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. 18 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. 19 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. 20For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’

Again with the hard reads.

After a week that has been marked – and marred – by an almost-surreal viewing and experiencing of what the underside of our society is capable of, I was hoping for a chance to stand before you this morning and dwell on one of the nicer aspects of the Gospel. Circumstances and events over the last 6 days have proved that an impossible task. We go with what we have before us, and hope for the promise of redemption in the midst of desperation and sorrow.

The title of today’s message refers to that portion of this passage that I, at least, often quote in prayers. “Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” I don’t think I’m the only one that does that, but it is always good to be reminded of the context in which a phrase appears before we spend too much time quoting it by itself.

So what is the context of this phrase? It is at the conclusion of a passage where Jesus is explaining how a congregation should deal with someone in it’s midst that is out of … sync … out of step … I don’t exactly like the sense that those two words convey, that we MUST somehow conform to a preset idea of what we are to act, speak, and think like. I am too much of an individualist to do that comfortably. There is no expectation that we be cookie-cutter Christians. In fact, I believe the opposite to be true. God made us as individuals, unique and special in our own way, and there is cause for celebration within that diversity. It is a direct reflection of the richness of God’s grace and creativity. But there IS a unity of purpose that we are to exemplify, a unanimity in agreement about what we are to be about if we are to be considered a single body of believers. So we do need to study what Jesus is saying in order to understand where he was coming from and where he was going.

Jesus’ concern for the individual is evident. He described four options in dealing with a wrongdoer in the Church. None is motivated out of a legalistic sensibility, or in a punishment “mode,” but the main concern is to salvage and strengthen, not to expose, or dispose of someone who has done wrong.

Before getting into the steps described, it bears noting that Jesus expected the one who INITIATES the reconciliation, or the ATTEMPT at reconciliation to be the one who suffered the wrong, not the one who committed it. It goes against the grain of our culture, doesn’t it? To expect the victim, as it were, to bear the responsibility for correcting the wrong? Usually it’s the other way around. The one wronged has little to do but sit and wait for the one in error to (eventually) come and beg forgiveness. But then, this is the Gospel, the Kingdom of God, not the world. The very fact that the one who committed the wrong COMMITTED it leaves them impaired from recognizing the wrong they’ve done. Another way of saying it is that the person is not aware of the wrong they’ve committed for the simple reason that they don’t see that they did anything wrong. It’s an obvious answer to a sometimes vexing question. Why hasn’t he asked forgiveness? Because he simply doesn’t know he needs to.” Going to someone who has wronged you and letting him or her KNOW what wrong has been committed is the quickest and most direct way to get the issue resolved.

If that doesn’t work, the text goes all Baptist on us and says ‘take one or two others along with you’ – in other words, form a committee! If there is some resistance on the part of the one who committed the wrong to recognize the wrong, then bring a couple of people along who saw the same thing you did, and see if the corroboration from people other than yourself brings the realization home to the offender.

If THAT doesn’t work, THEN take the issue to the church, and have the church as a body address it. Frank Stagg, longtime professor of New Testament Interpretation at Southern Seminary, put it this way: “Concerned discipline is not antithetical (out of character) to the nature of the church, but proper to it. It is to be assumed that the same motive and spirit would govern the church as should govern the individual or committee (in reference to the small group of 2 or 3 coming in the second attempt) in seeking to gain the brother.”

Lastly, if even after the body as a whole has confronted the person and he or she remains … entrenched in denying any wrongdoing, then there comes a point when the church doesn’t so much withdraw from the individual, as it is that the church recognizes that the individual has withdrawn from the congregation, that there is no fellowship left there.

At first read, the comment Jesus makes about treating that person as a gentile or a tax collector seems harsh, and on some level, it is. It reflects the fact that Jesus spoke and lived and moved about in what was primarily a Jewish society. One occupied and governed by gentiles, but one in which the principal cultural ‘poles’ were the gentile and Jewish ones. But think about it. All things considered, it may not seem so harsh if we break it down.

First of all, three steps seeking reconciliation are presupposed. In other words, this is after some pretty exhaustive attempts have been made to reconcile with the person.

Secondly, it’s not so much an exclusion on the part of the church as it is a refusal on the part of the individual to ‘belong’ to the church.

Third, how DID Jesus treat gentiles and tax collectors? With kindness and openness. There was never a closed door when a gentile came to Jesus. Zaccheus comes to mind. The way Jesus treated gentiles and tax collectors more often than not got him in trouble BECAUSE he was kind and open with them.

For the church to recognize that one who refuses to listen is already an outsider does not close the door to his or her reception when he or she is willing to be received as a brother or sister.

Here’s the sequence: each of us is responsible for each other. The whole church is responsible for each member, and each member is responsible to the whole church. We are never more a part of a family than when we voluntarily become accountable to each other in love.

Verse 18 echoes what we heard Jesus tell Peter just a couple of weeks ago, but this time, he’s speaking to the church as a whole, not a single individual, but all of us. The emphasis is on the agreement between what is happening here on earth and what would happen in heaven. It’s a … testimony to that unity of spirit – UNDER the GUIDANCE of the Holy Spirit – that reassures us that if we are truly acting IN the spirit, we’ll ‘get it’. We will understand, we will agree. And God will honor that agreement, God will bless that agreement, that unity of spirit, that one-ness of purpose.

So we get back to the ‘two or more’ phrase. It comes by way of a discussion of what it means to be a member of the body of Christ on earth, and what that entails. The responsibilities are not easy. We are called to be a part of each other’s lives, not in a nosy, snoopy way, but in loving concern for our collective spiritual growth.

This morning we had a commissioning of our Sunday School workers and teachers. Some of you may have gotten out of the habit of coming to Sunday School. If the idea strikes you as childish, then think of it as – or call it – Sunday Morning Bible Study instead. Coming to worship is important, it might even be critical. Not to your salvation, but to your growth as a Christian. But if worship is important, what happens in Sunday Morning Bible Study is even more so. It is where you develop relationships with your brothers and sisters in Christ that, however long we make it, the Jerusalem hand of welcome doesn’t give you time to do. Besides, the choir starts singing and we have to get on with the service. Sunday morning Bible Study is where you develop your spiritual muscles and learn to be part of the community. It is where you exercise your brain and engage your heart, where you wrestle with the questions that this style of worship doesn’t always lend itself to allowing. We could try that sometime, but that’s a discussion for another day.

And what about that word, Wherever?

It’s a comprehensive word. There are no exclusions under wherever. Wherever means WHEREVER. If your Sunday Morning Bible study happens on Tuesday nights, more power to you. If it happens on Saturday afternoons, go for it. The thing is to be involved in a small group that readily and eagerly engages with the word of God and draws out of it meaning and relevance for living in today’s world.

What does this mean for Jerusalem Baptist Church at Emmerton?

It means that we can think outside the box. Wherever can be just that. And the promise still holds. We gathered this morning and learned of the Conely family in our community having lost everything in a house fire. Things are already in motion to help them get back on their feet. As a congregation, we voted to send aid – above and beyond the individual contributions collected – to disaster relief efforts in the states affected by hurricane Katrina. Jerusalem may be a small church in numbers, but we are big at heart. When we gather, sometimes it’s not that many MORE than two or three … and the promise still holds. As a part of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, we join with over 1300 other churches across the commonwealth, in the name of Jesus, and the promise still holds.

You, as a Sunday School teacher, may have only one member show up on some Sundays. But remember: the promise still holds.

Let’s pray.