Proper 18A’26
6 September 2026
Matthew 18.15-20
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
North Little Rock, Arkansas
The Rev. Carey Stone <+>
“I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.” Amen. -Psalm 122.1
When we think about the practice of medicine we can think in terms of four basic types: 1) Preventative medicine where medications and other interventions attempt to prevent disease. 2) Curative medicine where medications and treatments are prescribed to cure disease. 3) Maintenance medicine where a disease isn’t prevented or cured but is for the purpose of managing a disease and 4) Palliative medicine where the goal is not to prevent, cure or manage a disease but to provide comfort as a person is actively dying.
Today in our medicine chest of gospel remedies we are offered a powerful preventative medicine for preventing disease in the body of Christ, the church.
St. Paul use of the body as a metaphor for the church is effective. Like the human body, each part is important. Some of you remember the story of me breaking my little toe while on my honeymoon. I had no idea of its importance for maintaining balance until it was broken. Believe me, my whole body ended up hurting and be affected by that one little bone!
In the body of Christ, especially on the local level of a parish, each member is important and affects the rest of the body for good or ill. When good things are happening with one member we can rejoice! Like when Blanton Matthews was recently nominated for an Emmy award – go Blanton we are rooting for you. When a member is hurting due to a major disease like cancer or a long recovery after a surgical procedure we hurt with them. There are also times where members can become infected with diseases of the soul like greed, envy, slander, gossip, and unforgiveness and these can act like a virus that attacks the body and attempts to spread and go viral.
Like the gossip girls on the hit variety show from the 1970s “Hee Haw” used to sing:
Now, we’re not ones to go ’round spreadin’ rumors,
Why, really we’re just not the gossipy kind,
No, you’ll never hear one of us repeating gossip,
So you’d better be sure and listen close the first time!
These diseases of the soul prove to be quite costly to a congregation far beyond what they could ever imagine, it costs: the loss of members, the loss of money for the operation of the congregation, and loss of good reputations.
Whenever you have two or more human beings in a relationship you also have not only the potential for conflict but the inevitability of conflict. Jesus understood this would be the case in the church, and the also understood that “an ounce of prevention was worth more than a pound of cure.”
In today’s gospel Jesus starts by saying:
“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone.”
My dear friends, this is the first word in preventing the spread of the diseases of the soul within a congregation. But the thought of going to someone directly can feel uncomfortable and can produce anxiety, and we fear what the individual might say to us or how they might retaliate. So, we take what we believe to be an easier road by bringing a third person into the offense. In social science it’s called a Triangle. We all know how this goes, Sally has a problem with Kevin, so Sally doesn’t go to Kevin with her offense, she goes to her fellow parishioner Terry: “Hey Terry you won’t believe what Kevin said to me the other day, I couldn’t believe it they were so cruel, heartless, mean, uncaring (fill in the blank_______).” Then Terry expresses shock, dismay, or outrage, one person’s offense now becomes two persons offense. Terry now knows something that is concerning and it might be too juicy not to tell someone else. This is where the information gets shared with others often in the form of a “prayer request”: “Now don’t tell anyone else but please pray for Kevin he has really done Sally wrong and Sally is hurting.” Now it really spreads, and as stories are told and retold some of the facts get changed or left out and it becomes a much bigger problem with alliances being formed and an “us vs. them” dynamic setting in.
Jesus says
“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.”
Jesus also understands that sometimes people follow his advice and they do the right thing but it doesn’t work, the person after being confronted doesn’t stop the offending behavior or try to make things right. Jesus then offers this counsel:
“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.”
This gives the offender another chance to understand what it is they have said or done and have an opportunity to make things right.
But if the person refuses Jesus advises the following:
“If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church;” this would be calling on a representative of the church, the clergy, and if the issue is with a clergy, then the Sr. Warden could be consulted and vestry if need be. If it needs to go beyond vestry, the wardens would reach out to the bishop or his or her designee, and they would be the mediator and final arbitrator.
If all of this fails Jesus said,
“If the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”
If things have to go to this level, then the local congregation has often lost their good reputation and the word on the street becomes,
“Oh, that church, you don’t want to go there, do you know what all has gone on there!”
This will result in the loss of more members, loss of more money to operate, and will prevent new members from wanting to join.
Some of us in the room at one time or another has lived through this, if not then consider yourself blessed.
So, what can we do as individuals to prevent this end result from happening?
- If you are the offended person practice the Matthew 18 rule given by Jesus and go directly to the individual you have the issue with. Do all that you can to explain how their behavior has impacted you. By doing this you can restore fellowship with that person and prevent unhealthy conflict from spreading.
- If you are the offender/accused and are approached by the offended party, listen, hear them out, do all within your power to make things right with them. If you were wrong, apologize.
- If you are a bystander and are approached by the offended person. When the offended seeks to draw you in by telling you of the other persons offense the first question needs to be, “Have you told the person who offended you?” Encourage them to follow a direct approach. Tell them to give it another try with them, and remind them that if it doesn’t work at that level that they will need to take one or two others with them. Refuse to tell anyone else about the offense not even through a prayer request.
- If you are the offended and have followed direct communication. Take another mature and safe member of the congregation with you to address conflict. If the person doesn’t respond then it’s time to bring in the Sr. Warden and vestry.
Jesus leaves us with his promise that he will be with us in this process:
19Truly 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.”