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12. Sunday after Pentecost, 09/04/2011
Sermon on Matthew 18:15-20, by John E. Priest
18:15 "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." [ESV]
Clergy in a Clump
Let me tell you something about clergy - especially when they get together in a clump. I don't know, by the way, what the "technical" word is for a group of clergy. Cows come in herds. Fish have schools. But what do you call a group of clergy? I'll call it a clump. Seems about as good a word as any.
So let me tell you something about clergy when they get together in a clump. Sometimes we talk about numbers. Numbers - as in "how many members do you have in your congregation?" Or "what's your average attendance?" Except that second question is often asked these days in an odd sort of way - especially when you're in a clump of clergy. "How many people do you worship on Sunday morning?" Normal people know the only appropriate answer to that question is, "we don't worship any people; we worship God, the one and only."
But there you have it. This is what clergy do when they're together in a clump. They count noses. They're into numbers, assuming that bigger's better. Which is, I say, a bad habit. Not that bigger's bad. It could even be good. But it's not necessarily better. As Jesus says in today's Gospel reading: "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." Which means that Jesus isn't much concerned with the numbers, at least not like we can be.
Two or Three, But Not Only One
Of course that's not to say that I'd be happy if only two or three of you showed up on a Sunday morning. It's only to say that that would be enough because it's the gathering itself that matters, not the size of it. We're looking with worldly eyes if we think that bigger is automatically better or that faithfulness to Christ can be measured by counting the people in the pews. On the other hand, we're looking with worldly eyes also if we think we can worship God and enjoy his presence all by ourselves, as a single individual all alone. One person doesn't do it. It takes at least a couple - because it's the gathering itself that counts. "Where two or three are gathered together," says Jesus, "there am I among them."
But why not only one? The question is important because there's a trend amongst Christians today - and the public at large - to emphasize the absolute importance of the individual, the self. The so-called "religious" version of this is the notion that someone doesn't really need to go to church to worship and be filled with the presence of God. It can just as well be done at the top of a mountain with a beautiful view or in the quiet hush of a forest clearing. In fact maybe better done there without all those distractions you find in church: crying babies; all that music, half of which is not to my taste any way; and Granny Schultz, the dreaded, obstreperous Granny Schultz, with whom I can't get along, nobody gets along with her. How am I supposed to get in touch with God with all that commotion going on: unruly children, that silly hat so-and-so is wearing; and Granny Schultz? It breaks my concentration, distracts me from my meditation. Better to head on up to the peace and quiet of a mountaintop where it's just me, myself, and I - and God.
And Jesus says, "well, I don't know what so-called god you're looking for up there in your splendid isolation, but it's not me. I'm not there - at least not in the way I want to be found. I'm where two or three are gathered together in my name. That's where you'll find me. And the two or three just might include the dreaded Granny Schultz."
God in the Midst
This little verse from the Bible tells us so much about our God. For he has always been a God who promises to be present in the midst of his people. From Adam and Eve in the garden, to the children of Israel wandering through the wilderness, to the coming of Christ himself, his promise has always been, "I am with you, in your midst."
Our God has never existed in splendid isolation. Why, even before the worlds were made, God was not alone. For the Christian faith teaches that God has always been three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Never alone, God has always had company to keep. But even so, God chose to make a universe and fill it with people. And when we, the people, turned unruly, he did something even more incredible. Instead of abandoning us and retreating to some splendid, isolated, heavenly mountaintop, he became one of us, so determined was he to be in the midst of his people.
Bethlehem was crowded when Christ was born. That's why he was born in a stable, which was soon filled to capacity with unruly shepherds who worshipped him.
Jerusalem was crowded too when Christ the Son of God came into the midst of her. Soon they were shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" Little did they know they were crucifying their God. They cast him out. But Christ was still determined to be with his people, amongst them.
True to form, after his resurrection, Christ kept appearing in the midst of his disciples. For the promise was true then - and is still true now: "where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." This is where we find him, not in splendid isolation, but wherever his people gather.
The Gathering
Which presents us with a challenge, because whenever people gather, there's going to be trouble. Unruly sinners that we are, our gatherings are always going to have their rough edges. So-and-so is going to offend so-and-so. Person A is going to do something that bothers Person B. And Person C is just a jerk, and everybody knows it. And yet these are the people Christ promises to be in the midst of!
So we're just going to have to find a way to get along. Either that or give up gathering. Which is the last thing we can do because then there will be no two or three for Christ to be in the midst of. So we're just going to have to find a way to be charitable, to thank God for the unruly child because he's here. He's one of the two or three. So is even the obstreperous Granny Schultz, whom nobody can get along with. Because she's here, Christ is here. We might want it another way. But Christ insists otherwise. As St. Paul says: "owe no one anything except to love one another." Why? For the sake of the gathering.
The gathering is so important, because that's where we find Christ. And because the gathering is so important, Christ even gives us some very practical instructions on how to handle the rough edges so we can continue to gather together.
"If your brother sins again you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone." Please note Jesus says, "between you and him alone." Not a crowd. Just the two of you. But because it's the two of you gathered together, there is Christ in the midst of you. That is why you can do this, because Christ is there. Christ is not there if someone hurts you and you stew in your juices all alone. But he is there if you go to him who sinned against you and tell him his fault - the whole point being to be reconciled with each other, which is Christ's specialty after all.
Would that we faithfully and consistently followed this first step! I'm not even going to go into the second and third steps Jesus proposes, because I do truly believe that, if this first step were followed, the others wouldn't be necessary 99.9% of the time.
So who's your obstreperous and by now infamous Granny Schultz? Who are the people in the community of faith here at Immanuel who have bothered you, hurt you? Whoever they are, go to them in Jesus' name to be reconciled. Just the two of you. Except that it won't be just the two of you, because Christ will be there too. That's his promise, "for where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."
In the name of Jesus. Amen.