A Sermon preached on September 7th
(Pentecost XIII) at St. Augustine’s, Wiesbaden
Ezekiel
33:7-11, Romans 13:8-14, Matthew 18:15-20
I realize that
this will come as a complete surprise to you, but now and again churches
experience conflict and disagreement! No really, it does happen and it’s been
happening for a long time. You might remember the story of how the disciples
James and John want to be seated on Jesus’ right and left when he comes into his
kingdom, which makes the other ten “angry with the two brothers.” (Matthew
20:20-24) A lot of Paul’s letters, especially to the Corinthians, are about how
to deal with conflicts, both personal and ideological, in those churches. And
the fact that in today’s Gospel reading Matthew takes a whole paragraph to
describe the rules and procedure of community and for dealing with internal
conflict, shows that his early Christian community had to deal with this issue.
As you may have
heard before, the Gospels of Matthew and Luke share two common sources. Both Gospel
writers knew and used the Gospel of Mark as a basis for their own narrative. They
also knew and used another common source for the events of Jesus’ life and for Jesus’
teachings and sayings that is called ‘Q’ from the German word Quelle, which
tells us that this explanation was developed by German theologians! What is
interesting is that Luke only uses what is probably the original, brief Q fragment:
“Be on your guard! If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and
if there is repentance, you must forgive,” is what we find in Luke’s Gospel, 17:3.
Matthew on the
other hand has added an elaborate 3 stage procedure to this simple admonition. First
there must be a private confrontation: “If another member of the church sins
against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone.” (Mathew
18:15) Then the issue is to be brought up in a small group, and finally, if it
has still not been resolved, before the whole church! And don’t you love the punishment:
“If the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you
as a Gentile and a tax-collector” or publican as it is sometimes translated. (18:17)
Considering that the community Matthew’s Gospel was written for will have included
a lot of Gentiles and that the supposed author, the disciple Matthew, was by
tradition a tax collector before becoming a disciple this seems a little ironic.
But even if the use of these two groups as examples was already anachronistic by
the time of writing, they still stand for a very serious sanction, for excommunication
and for exclusion. Gentiles and tax collectors were automatically excluded from
any Jewish community.
While the Church
is supposed to be a Community of Love, we are also a human association in which
personal conflict is inevitable, which is why Matthew felt the need to lay out
a process for dealing with conflict. And conflict is not necessarily a bad
thing, on the contrary: conflict and disagreement are signs of passion and interest
and of creativity. Where there is no conflict there is often simply no real interest
in the community - no one really cares about its purpose and mission. That’s was
definitely not the case here at St. Augustine’s. The conflict you experienced
and were part of came about precisely because all parties involved cared and
care passionately about this church and about its mission and ministry, and
about the best way to serve God and God’s people in this place. That was a good
thing.
What was not so
good here, and in so many other churches, was how that conflict was managed and
what it lead to. I believe firmly that we get the readings that we are meant to
have and so even though they are being used today all over the world in many
churches, they still have a message for us here and for our situation. We are
about to make a fresh start together. Yes I know I’ve already been here for 6
months, so I’m not that fresh any more. But we are only now closing some issues
from the recent past and now is the time when we, your vestry on your behalf and
I, are making a long term commitment to working together. So clearly now is
also the time to reflect on how to deal with conflict in the future, and that’s
what today’s readings will help us do.
Procedure is
important. Matthew’s procedure, even if it seems a little formal at times,
contains some key truths. If you disagree with someone, tell them – privately, honestly,
directly, and in a spirit of love. What we don’t do is ignore the issue or try
and paper over the cracks. Avoiding conflict really just means delaying and exacerbating
conflict.
If direct confrontation
does not work, if the issue cannot be resolved, then, and only then, do we
bring in other people. Their role, Jesus calls them witnesses, is to act as objective
mediators – and if they are objective they should also be in a position to tell
the one who called them in if he or she is perhaps either in the wrong, or if
the issue is not as black and white as it appeared to be. Note that we are
still talking with the person with whom we have a conflict, not talking
about them. Long before the word ‘triangulation’ existed, Jesus is teaching us
to avoid it at all costs. Just as a reminder we have our own procedure for how
we relate with one another here at St Augustine’s, not just in times of
conflict, it is the Vestry Compact agreed in April of this year, and one of the
guidelines in that compact is “Avoiding triangulation – if we have a problem
with someone, we speak to them directly.”[1]
Finally, if the
issue is still unresolved, the larger church community is to be involved. And only
the wider community and its authorized leaders would have the authority of expulsion
as a final resort - always with the hope of and possibility of reconciliation. It
is not a coincidence that this very practical passage comes right after the parable
of the lost sheep (Matthew 18:12-14) in which Jesus praises the shepherd who
goes after and finds the lost sheep, rejoicing over it more than over the
ninety-nine that never went astray! As a community we are poorer for anyone we
lose or exclude. And one meaning of verses 19 and 20 of today’s Gospel: “Again,
truly 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. For where two or three are gathered in my
name, I am there among them” is that it is in harmony and agreement that
prayers will be answered and in unity and concord that Jesus will be present.
As (or perhaps
even more) important than procedure when dealing with conflict are the attitude
and motivation of all participants. Everyone involved must examine and question
their motivation. Is really for the greater good and will it further God’s
mission? Or are we motivated more by personal preferences, or even by power and
pride – that was the complaint about James and John wanting to sight at Jesus’
right and left hand. Even when we disagree about the means we should be ready
to recognize and acknowledge common goals. What Matthew’s procedure emphasizes is
the importance of an agreement at community level. The right solution in any
conflict will not be the one that just one person or one small group wants,
regardless of how ‘important’ that person is – Priest or Senior Warden or even
Bishop!
Our underlying
attitude in dealing with conflict is, as Paul tells the Christians in Rome, one
of love: “Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who
loves another has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:8) For Christians the new age
has already started – the day is near – and that is why we are called to live
and also argue according to the rules of God’s new kingdom, putting on the new
armor of light or simply putting on the Lord Jesus Christ to live as he lived. Now
as we know, Jesus was willing to confront people and to speak uncomfortable
truths. When he knocked over the tables in the Temple I don’t see him avoiding conflict!
But Jesus was also always forgiving, excluded no one from his love and grace, and
ultimately gave himself for all, even and especially for those who did not
deserve this gift: that’s agape or self-giving love that I talked about last
week.
So how do we
deal with conflict in future? We take reconciliation seriously at all levels. We
are direct, open, and respectful with those we disagree with. We approach
conflict with a spirit of love. We follow Christ’s example. We strive for unity
because it is when we do things together and in Jesus’ name, whether prayer, study,
decision making, or worship, that Christ will be among us. And the greatest
symbol of that togetherness and presence is the Lord’s Table that we
gather around together for Communion. No conflict should keep us from Communion
and from the healing presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Body and Blood and
Blessing that we share at that table.
Amen
[1] Compact drafted at St.
Augustine’s Vestry Retreat in Kloster Tiefenthal on 22nd March, 2014 and
adopted at the Vestry Meeting at St. Augustine’s on 19th April, 2014
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