Our brother’s keepers
Readings: Matthew 18. 15-20 & Romans 13. 8-14
How are we to be responsible for one another in the church? Is there any responsibility? In the words of Cain in Genesis; am I my brothers, or sisters, keeper?
There are broadly speaking two approaches to wrongdoing in our day and culture. Ignore it as it’s not your issue, move on, like that relative who seems to say the most inappropriate things. Or, shout it from the rooftops, shame them and then cast them out of the collective with no chance to explain and no way back, often how the internet approaches these things.
In that reading we just heard from Matthew, Jesus tells us we’re to do neither, that there’s a different and better way.
Now right off the bat before we get into things I want to cover two textual and translation issues we have here. The first is about the word church. The original word in Greek is ecclesia. Now, it makes perfect sense to translate it as church, but it basically means an assembly of people, a community. It makes sense to translate it that way, church, but the issue with doing so is that we drag in a lot of assumptions with the word church don’t we. The institution, the building, the structures, the hierarchy which masks what Jesus is getting at here. Jesus isn’t talking about any of that, he’s talking about the community of believers, gathered around him and his word.
The second issue is about the phrase ‘against you’, ‘if your brother or sister sins against you’. In the earliest manuscripts it simply says ‘if your brother or sister sins’ (you’ll spot a note to that effect in the footnotes of most Bibles). Now, when translating the Bible experts with far more knowledge and insight than me have to make decisions about variations like this. What is more likely, is it that the original said sins against you and it was lost but some manuscripts copied from it remain but are later. Or that against you was added in later, perhaps to harmonise it with verse 21, or because it was uncomfortably broad?
The translation we’re looking at, the NIV as published in 1984 includes the words, but when republished in 2011 (which is what is linked above) they moved ‘against you’ to the footnotes.
Having done some reading of different commentaries exploring the issues it seems more likely to me that ‘sins’ without ‘against you’ is the original so that’s what I’m going to address, suffice to say what follows could easily be simplified for the other reading.
Now before I go further I should note that if the sin you become aware of is illegal, you should contact the police. If it’s a safeguarding issue you should contact the Church in Wales safeguarding team or social services. With that said, let’s continue.
So, what are you to do when you become aware of the sins of another member of the community here. The British response, as I say, is often to ignore it, it’s not your problem. Or you’ll tell someone else about it, they’ll tell someone else and it’ll become the stuff of gossip, perhaps distorted beyond the original offense and be round the community before dinner.
Neither is what Jesus calls us to. Instead we’re to go to that person and speak to them about it privately. And we’re not there to catch one another out, to call each other out publicly, in all our dealings with one another we’re sinners supporting other sinners. So we’re to be compassionate, loving and gracious in how we approach it. As Paul reminds us we’re called to love one another. And loving one another is about wanting what is truly best for them and, properly lived, that includes challenging one another when we go wrong. But in going to them personally you’re caring for their dignity, seeking to win them back without it becoming the stuff of gossip.
But perhaps the person you’re speaking to doesn’t see the issue, or perhaps they’re quite content in their wrongdoing and don’t want to change. Well then you bring one or two others to support you. If the infraction is against you they can help arbitrate and perhaps resolve the issue. The focus is still on keeping things small, wanting to preserve the dignity of the one who has fallen. Hopefully you win them back at this point.
If that doesn’t then things end up becoming public. Paul writes about this quite a bit in his letters. The point in addressing it publicly is twofold, to once again try to win the person back, to remind them of the seriousness of what they’re doing, but also to ensure that such sins don’t become rife in the community. If one person is a serious gossip and it’s never challenged before long that will be rife throughout the community. Or the failure to address on persons wrongdoing opens the gates for others to do as they wish because it would be hypocritical to call them out when we haven’t addressed the first. And the church by its inaction becomes complicit. In bringing it into the open we pray the person will repent, come back to Jesus.
But if not then finally, Jesus says, if they still don’t listen, let them be like a gentile, someone who is outside of the community of faith, or a tax collector, someone who has betrayed the community of faith. They’re cast out, not at the first infraction, not without being able to give their side. But at the point that they are so stubbornly pursuing a course which does not line up with the standards and values of God’s people, the values and standards he calls us to, that we’re faced with no other option.
But even this, even this final sanction is with the hopes of winning them back. That, like the prodigal son, left to their sins they will soon realise the futility of their actions and come running back. And we, when they do truly repent and come back, are to mirror the Father in that story, to react like God does in that story, welcome them back with open arms and help them to move forwards.
At its heart Jesus’ teaching here is about how we’re to be responsible for one another. Are we our brothers and sisters keepers? Yes! Jesus says. Our faith isn’t just between us and God, it’s amongst us too. Relating to God and one another. If we’re to be a people pursuing Jesus, a people pursuing holiness and righteousness we need to gently pull one another up when we fall short. Gently point one another back to Jesus and away from sin.
And if someone is struggling, repenting each time but falling again and again we’re to encourage and support them as they struggle. Jesus isn’t saying to cast out those who struggle, he’s calling us to challenge those who unrepentantly and deliberately go down paths which are not what Jesus calls us to, which are not aligned with how we are called to be.
Which means journeying with one another, being honest with one another, loving one another enough to challenge them when they’re doing or saying things they shouldn’t or failing to do or say things they should. We’re to be generous with mercy and grace and forgiveness when they accept our correction. And this includes me by the way. If I mess up in some way and you become aware I’d hope you’d gently call me to one side and pull me up on it.
As a community here we’re to be responsible for one another, responsible for one another’s growth in faith and holiness. Responsible for one another’s journey of faith. We’re to gently and lovingly nudge each other back on course when we live more (as Paul says) as people of darkness than as people of the light. We’re not to meddle, dig into one another’s lives because we’re nosy, that in itself is a sin, let us be on guard against that, but as we become aware of one another’s sins we’re to challenge, that together we are casting off the darkness and daily putting on Jesus.
My brothers and sisters, our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed, so let us throw off the deeds of darkness, and help and support one another in doing the same, so that, when Jesus returns or calls us home we are found as those living for the day which is dawning, pursuing Jesus above all else.
Amen.