Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Talk with the Preacher

Home
Progressive Christian
All We Need Is Love

All We Need Is Love

Last updated on: September 13, 2017 at 7:25 am by Amy Butler

All We Need Is Love 2017-09-13T07:25:26-04:00 Amy Butler

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

love

Matthew 18:15-20

Our world is literally swirling around us, and so many of us are preoccupied both with the daily rush of life and now our worries about friends and family in the path of hurricanes…and earthquakes…and fires…and deportation…and lost healthcare…and so many things. As we begin the sermon today, I want to ask you to join me in just a few moments of silence, time in which you can perhaps take a deep breath, still your rushing thoughts, and focus on our work in this space, right now.

Let’s rest for a moment in the hands of the One who holds the whole world, even us.

There are lot of weird rules in the Bible. I don’t know why anybody even debates that anymore; it’s just objective fact.

In the book of Exodus, for example, we’re reminded never to boil a baby goat in its mother’s milk. (Check.)

In Leviticus there are lots of rules, including the strict prohibition of owl-eating (Also, check, as far as I know).

In Deuteronomy we learn that one of the worst things you can do is build a house with an unsafe roof—you’re not allowed to let people fall off your roof. (So far, so good).

But unusual rules aren’t unique to the Hebrew text; in what Christians often call the “New Testament,” there are lots of rules, too, and I admit I didn’t fare too well there.

You should always return a runaway slave to his owner, Philemon says. (Well, with our own country’s stained history and present, and all kinds of human slavery on the rise around the world, I don’t think I want anything to do with that one.)

1 Peter says that women shouldn’t wear jewelry—(which I know will be devastating to Miss Vera, since she and I regularly vet each other’s earrings).

And 1 Corinthians states very plainly that…women should keep silent in church. (Oops).

These rules and others that are woven throughout our holy text are part of the reason that we, as Marcus Borg says, take the Bible seriously, but not literally. Many parts of the biblical text were written to address specific situations in cultural settings that you and I would find quite strange as twenty-first century Americans in one of the largest cities in the world.

Today, however, we hear a passage from Jesus that is unusually specific and prescriptive for him. It’s also very uncomfortable, not wholly unlike that whole “women do not have authority over men” thing you can find in 1 Timothy….

But as we look at the gospel text I’d like to suggest that looking at today’s passage, we should take the Bible seriously AND literally, because Jesus has some very direct words for his disciples and for us. His advice was as good back then up on a Galilean hillside as it is today in a New York City subway station.

You may recall that this is the second week of several weeks where we find ourselves “On the Way With Jesus,” trying to imagine what it might have been like to be his first disciples. They’d signed up to follow him for various reasons—most likely the hope of political power—but he kept saying things that just didn’t make sense within the narrative of overthrowing a corrupt government and claiming political power for themselves.

In fact, he kept saying things that hit them right here in the heart—in very personal ways—and pushed them so far out of their comfort zones, you know they must have spent most of their time walking around looking puzzled. Today our journey is a journey of community, listening carefully to Jesus’ rules for how to build and nurture personal relationships.

“Why is she talking about the rules of relationships?,” some of you may be thinking. “Why is she talking in church at all—she’s a woman!?,” others might still be thinking. The things that are on our minds are big things, like hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, an eclipse…if my theology allowed, I might even say that Someone up there must be reeeeaaally angry about something. Huh. Wonder what that could be?

But you and I both know that’s not how our God of radical love works in the world.

Still, hear me clearly: there are consequences to the behavior we choose—our exploitation of the environment has caused undeniable climate change that is devastating some of the world’s most vulnerable.

Our election of this current administration has thrown our country into fear and enabled our contempt for one another to come even further into the light of day.

Our rampant overconsumption has left a large part of this world in abject poverty.

And, as Jesus points out today: our failure to build relationships and community that reflect God’s love results in us—people of faith—living lives in relationships and communities that are sick and conflict-filled.

The result? We become totally ineffectual in the sacramental work of healing the world.

You might imagine that the disciples were up on a hillside listening to Jesus teach. Maybe they were feeling a bit smug—chosen to be disciples and a tiny bit better than everybody else. And maybe there were some in the group already plotting their own rise to power in Jesus’ ranks. And likely—it was a group of at least 13—there must have been tension somewhere.

So Jesus begins: “If another member of the church…”

We’ll note that this is the second and last time that the Greek word “ekklesia” appears in the gospels—the other time was from our passage last week, when Jesus told Peter he was the rock on which he would build his “ekklesia,”—church, it’s translated. Of course the Church as we know it would not come to be until much later, but perhaps Jesus was speaking to those who were gathered there, and meant something like “this beloved community”—those who claimed to be his followers. Like…us.

And Jesus said, when someone in your beloved community—your family, your church, your group of friends, offends you, here are the steps you should follow to move toward reconciliation:

Step one: go to the person with whom you’re angry, or who has hurt you, and tell them how you feel. Directly. One on one.

Step two: if that person is unable to hear your concerns and move toward truth and reconciliation, bring one or two others with you to try to help resolve the conflict.

Step three: if that doesn’t work, it’s time to bring the unacceptable behavior out into the light of day—don’t hide unresolved resentments in your community, whispering in side hallways, because they only fester and end up destroying the bonds of love.

And if that doesn’t work, Jesus says, well then, the offender becomes like a tax collector. Or Gentile.

Notice Jesus did not say: if someone in your beloved community offends you, go straight to the people you know who agree with you gossip about it.

He also did not say: set up a phone tree or an email chain for the purpose of complaining behind someone’s back.

And, he did not say: just avoid the person who offended you until they either get the message and apologize, or just leave.

No, Jesus was very direct, directions we take seriously AND literally: three “easy” steps to ending conflict in communities.

Right?

I can’t begin to count the times I’ve had someone say to me: “I left the Church because people who claim to be Christians are so mean to each other.”

Tell. Me. About it.

Of course people behave badly at church. Why? Because churches are human institutions made up of flawed humans. In short, the good news is that Jesus is showing us a way toward reconciliation and beloved community, if we will only take the journey. The bad news is that all of our human communities include a lot of people who are just as difficult, fear-filled, angry, hurting, and even mean, as you and me.

So how are we going to tend our communities in such a way that they reflect that radical love of Jesus?

Well, the most important thing to remember when following Jesus’ direction here is that he is actually not talking about the three steps to kicking someone out of a community. Many churches have interpreted Jesus’ words this way, but that isn’t what he means here. If these steps fail, Jesus says to view the offender as a tax collector or Gentile.

Remember who Jesus persistently reached out to, inviting them to dinner and talking with them and offering them a new way to live?

Right.

Tax collectors and Gentile.

And we should note that this passage is flanked on the front end by the parable of the shepherd that leaves 99 sheep and goes out to find the one lost sheep in his flock, and at the end of this passage Jesus teaches about forgiveness. Today’s little group of verses contains steps toward reconciliation, because when we do the hard work of taking Jesus seriously AND literally—and I do mean hard work—we can finally understand how deeply and sacrificially God loves us. Jesus is inviting us here to do the hard work of reconciliation.

One of my predecessors in this pulpit, Bill Coffin, said, “[We are]…free to do good, free to sin. So when in anguish over any human violence done to innocent victims, we ask God: How could you let this happen? It’s well to remember that God at that very moment is asking the same question of us.”

It’s much easier, as Dr. Coffin said, to lament the state of the world than it is to actually change it, which would require listening carefully to Jesus here and taking his words seriously…AND literally, knowing that the health and thriving of our beloved communities are worth all the work that real love requires.

We choose—Jesus points out—where we’ll put our energy. What is bound on earth is bound in heaven. What is loosed on earth, is loosed in heaven. What kind of beloved community will we unleash on this world?

It seems overwhelming, doesn’t it?

In fact, now that I’ve asked all of us to take Jesus literally, I’m a bit worried about looking at my inbox this afternoon, because people often complain there directly and I can’t imagine what will happen if the people that don’t complain directly, start. Overwhelming.

But don’t lose heart in the work of love; look at the way Jesus ends. Where two or three are gathered—well, we already know. There’s bound to be disagreements and hurt feelings. But Jesus reminds us, that where two or three are gathered…it’s also true that God, the source of all love, is there. God is there.

That means, that God is here.

Will we take the journey of community and do that hard work of love? When we follow the rules Jesus has laid out for us here, we’ll find quickly that our hearts will soften and we’ll surprise and maybe even delight each other. And little by little we’ll heal ourselves, each other, and the world around us because…all we need is love. And if we look hard enough, there’s a whole lot of that right here.

Amen.

Speaking from the Pulpit

Uncategorized

Previous Post

September 3, 2017

I Have Decided

Next Post

September 11, 2017 A Prayer for Sunday

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Answering the Call Being the Church Curating Wisdom Laughing Out Loud Living in Relationship Practicing Discipleship Reclaiming Baptist Speaking from the Pulpit Uncategorized

Select a Month July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005

Search for:

All We Need Is Love

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Meta

What was the name of the Roman governor who sentenced Jesus to death?