For all the haters out there – let me go on record as saying the church is not perfect. The church has never been perfect – and the church will never be perfect here on earth. (That declaration is in no way an excuse for our behavior.)
Yep call us hypocrites, it’s ok, we can handle it….and we can take it…its nothing we haven’t been called or heard before.
We are nothing more than an “imperfect community” living in an “imperfect world.” But we, for our parts, are trying to change that…one day at a time…one person at a time.
We live in a world of “conflict,” “disorder,” “pain,” “sin,” “disagreement” and “hurtful feelings”…that is a given.
Our world is filled with “conflict” and oh so “many problems”…problems within the family unit, conflicts at school and problems galore in the workplace. Problems are just about everywhere to be found.
It is called “realism.”
But we believe that Jesus is in our midst. He is present with us, even as he has promised. We are not abandoned and we are definitely not alone. We have hope.
We ARE working on “it”…and on ourselves.
Like all passages of scripture, scholars are divided on it and its meaning. For centuries and centuries it was taken at face value to be about “conflict resolution” within the church.
Today, scholars are looking at these passages anew.
Chapter 18 of Matthew – may or may not be a discourse on “How The Church Is To Flourish” – but it certainly tells us a lot about “who Jesus is” – and “what matters most in the kingdom.”
It seems to me that it is saying that there is no room for hate, there is no room for estrangement…but there is plenty of room for forgiveness and reconciliation and for “talking about things…”
It kind of puts excommunication up in the air – because excommunication means “without conversation” or without “communication.” There is no communication. All communication has ended, stopped, ceased. People are forever shunned. People are denied the sacraments. People are cut off. People are totally and completely ostracized.
Rather, I see it as emphasizing “reaching out in humility and in love” – doing everything possible to save a wounded or broken relationship…and keeping the conversation going…
The glass is half full.
It is about creating community, not destroying it…or causing separation within it.
We are to see ourselves as “united by the presence of Jesus among us.”
As the scripture understands humanity – we are all broken, weak, and fallible people who are totally and completely dependent on God’s forgiveness.
As Paul points out – we are sinners all.
There are no exceptions. We all have fallen short of the glory of our God.
Sometimes, quite frankly – we can be a mess!
We hold grudges.
We look for the worst in people.
We can be oh-so-judgmental.
We do not know what to do with our anger or with our hurt.
We do not know where to go with our hurt, what to do with it…do we carry it or do we bury it? Or do we talk to someone about it?
And yes, sometimes we “lash out” in harmful ways.
We are not perfect. We are not always honest. We are not always good.
We can be very productive and sometimes not so productive at all.
The way of the church is to be the way of love, even if we forget that sometimes…
It is the way of Jesus…
The way of forgiveness…
The way of reaching out…
The way of discussing and conversing…
The way of being open…
The way of welcoming…
This what Jesus came for and gave his life for…
That we might have hope…
That we might reach out…in love…and with understanding…
There is a gentleness to it all. We have been called to “love one another” – even as our God has loved us.
And when things seem impossible: “Go totally radical – and – love ‘em anyways.”