Mt 18:15-20

4 September 2005

“Labor to Love”

            Our call to worship began with this:  “Jesus said:  Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”  That’s a very familiar verse from Matthew 18 (v. 20).  It’s sometimes used by ministers when just a few people show up for a worship service.  In fact, I’m sure Banu and I have said that!  Clearly, that’s one possible meaning of the verse.  But it’s far from the only one.

People gather in Jesus’ name for all kinds of things.  It may be to sing.  It may be to help their neighbors—perhaps by sitting with a teller at the Community of Hope Credit Union for two hours a month!  It may be to fly to the other side of the world to bring food to hungry people in Niger, or to help the refugees from New Orleans.

            That phrase never made an impact on me until one night when I joined four or five of the kids from our youth group in Tennessee.  (I may have mentioned this before.)  We were in a circle, praying, when I really sensed the presence of Jesus among us.  That verse came to mind—and I knew that Christ was there, in our midst.  I could feel the love.

            Still, when we look at the context of that phrase—“Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them”—we find it’s used in a way different from the examples I’ve given.  Our scripture reading isn’t about a worship service or getting together to help someone.  It’s about conflict.  It’s about what to do when someone wrongs us.

            Next Sunday is September 11.  It’s the first time since 2001 that that date has fallen on a Sunday.  It seems to me that our scripture reading is more relevant than ever.  William Loader has said, “Jesus became known as one who embraced those from whom most [people] felt repelled.  Some of the principles of handling conflict remain the same, whether in the church or the international arena.  When we fail to observe them we sow the seeds of our own violence and reap the whirlwind.”[1]

            I don’t want to be one of those who dwell on Rev. Pat Robertson and his suggestion that Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez should be assassinated.  Suffice it to say that I seriously doubt that Jesus would offer similar advice!  In the face of the brutal cynicism that relies on the sword for answers, Jesus offers another way.

To those who maintain that this amounts to some dreamy, wimpy, glassy-eyed way of life that ignores evil, I would beg to differ!  It’s not like Jesus and the early apostles weren’t themselves persecuted by vicious tyrants.  That’s something that our good friend Rev. Robertson cannot say!

            Well, in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m working backward from the end of our scripture text.  I think it’s important to bear in mind that when dealing with conflict, Jesus is there with us.  Do we acknowledge him, or do we ignore him?

            Still, we can’t overlook the fact that Jesus speaks of those gathered “in my name.”  Just because some Christians happen to be in the same place does not mean that they’re gathered in Jesus’ name.  It doesn’t mean that they’re behaving as if Jesus were their center.  There’s more involved than merely being physically present.

            Of course, this leads to the question, what does “in my name” mean?  In a sermon I preached this past May, I suggested that acting in someone’s name indicates acting in that person’s authority.  It means acting as that person—a rough analogy today would be power of attorney.

            Matthew also includes this verse as a comparison.  There was a rabbinical saying which promised that the Shekinah—the glory of God—is in the midst when two or three gather together to study Torah, the law of Moses.  So, for Matthew, Jesus takes the place of God’s glory.

            When we gather in Jesus’ name…when we act in his authority…when we act as Jesus—that sheds a whole new light on dealing with conflict.  When we bring Jesus into the equation, love also enters the equation—even love of enemies.  In recent times, I’ve seen the popular catchphrase—“What would Jesus do?”—altered to ask:  “Who would Jesus bomb?”

            This being the Labor Day weekend, I’ve included that idea in my sermon title.  But it’s more than a barely clever title; it really is a labor to love.  When we choose to love, every day is Labor Day!  Jesus is letting his disciples hear all about it.

            He counsels them to reject the temptation to openly attack someone they feel has wronged them.  Nor should they go behind the person’s back and recruit allies.  Instead, they are to go to that person and try to settle things one-to-one.  If that doesn’t work out, then it’s time to bring one or two others along to try to reach a fair solution.

            The idea comes from Deuteronomy 19:15, which says:  “A single witness shall not suffice to convict a person of any crime or wrongdoing in connection with any offense that may be committed.  Only on the evidence of two or three witnesses shall a charge be sustained.”  That’s intended to lessen the chance of false charges being brought.  It’s only if these private, low-key attempts fail that the aggrieved party should make the offense public to the church.

            Then, if that measure fails, “let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (v. 17).  It’s not very likely that Jesus uttered those words, since he obviously embraced both Gentiles and tax collectors.  (Matthew himself was a tax collector!)  It’s an unfortunate symbol that persisted for some time.  It was used to refer to outcasts, to “those outside the community.”

            In any event, the point is that an offense against one is an offense against the entire community.  The one who rejects all attempts at reconciliation is one who has rejected community.

            The law of love that Jesus brings is reflected in the Presbyterian Church’s Rules of Discipline, found in the Book of Order.  Chapter 1 says that church discipline is “for building up the body of Christ, not for destroying it, for redeeming, not for punishing” (D-1.0102).

            Sometimes people have thought that even horrendous crimes, like sexual abuse, should be allowed to slide.  But even what we consider to be less serious offenses, such as gossip, can have a deadly effect on community.  They spread poison throughout the body of Christ.

            So much of this becomes clear when we use patient and loving common sense.  The problem is, patience and love seem to be just too darn hard!  Patience and love call us to endure certain people—to even…reach out to them!

Jesus seems to take this stuff about community pretty seriously.  Earlier in Matthew, in chapter 5, he says, “when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift” (vv. 23-24).  There’s a good example of how we can be in church, in a worship service, and still not be gathered in the name of Jesus!

Presbyterian writer Frederick Buechner has been quoted speaking of love as “the most powerful and the most powerless of all powers.  ‘It is the most powerful because it alone can conquer that final and most impregnable stronghold which is the human heart.  It is the most powerless because it can do nothing except by consent.’

“Love is indeed hard work.  Perhaps it is the hardest work we face every day.  But we are called by God to do that work.  Any time we have to decide how to respond to another person, we are being called to do the work of love.

“Even when we are not aware of God's presence in our decision and action, God is there.  Again quoting Buechner:  ‘The kind of work God usually calls you to is the kind of work (a) that you need most to do and (b) that the world most needs you to have done.’”[2]

The work of love is not just about us; it’s also about the world.  It’s about community.  It’s about not writing people off, but keeping hope alive.

            Our final hymn today is “Blest Be the Tie That Binds.”  I’ll admit that, at times, I’ve felt rather hypocritical while singing it.  Listen to the third verse:  “We share our mutual woes, / Our mutual burdens bear, / And often for each other flows / The sympathizing tear.”

            I look at how cold and stony my own heart is, and I realize that I’m a poor example of that kind of life.  But I remember the words in the first verse:  “Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love.”  It’s not about the paltry, puny love that any one of us possesses.  The tie that binds our hearts in Christian love is the Holy Spirit.  It is the Spirit of God that takes my selfish, uncaring heart and urges me to be reconciled with those I might think of as enemies.

I’ll leave you with this:  “When you seek to love another person, even if you [don’t particularly] like that person for the moment, every day is Labor Day.  But it's a day worth celebrating!”[3]  That is when we live in the name of Jesus.

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