One Little Word

Anxiety

Lessons:
    Isaiah 5:1-7
     Psalm 80:7-15
     Philippians 3:4b-14
     Saint Matthew 21:33-46
     Semicontinuous Reading and Psalm:
          Exodus 20:1-4
          Psalm 19

Prayer of the Day:
Beloved God, from you come all things that are good. Lead us by the inspiration of your Spirit to know those things that are right, and by your merciful guidance, help us to do them, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Stewardship Text: St. Matthew 21:33-46

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ^26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ^27 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? ^28 And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, ^29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. ^30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you-you of little faith? ^31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ ^32 For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ^33 But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

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St. Matthew 6:25-33, New Revised Version Bible (C)1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

For the past week or so, the financial situation in our country has been a constant in the news. We all know by now that markets are facing an almost unprecedented crisis, and the leaders of our country seem to be overwhelmed with the task of trying to respond in a way that will move us forward.

News like this has a way of making us all anxious. What affect will this have on my retirement funds? What will happen to the value of my home? Will I still be able to afford a college education for my kids? Am I going to have to learn to live with less? If I lose my job, how will I be able to afford health care?

I write this devotional message from a Pastors retreat in Allenspark, Colorado. There has been no shortage of concern here about the economy. Will our members face increased job insecurity? Will that lead to strained relationships at home, and a troubled environment at church? Will giving to the congregation decrease? Will key leaders have to leave town to find work?

On top of this, comes this weekend’s stewardship text from Matthew 6, and instruction from Jesus that we not worry about life. (After all, he says, life is more than food and the body is more than clothing.) He goes on to ask us, “Can any of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life?”

This is wisdom with which we can’t disagree. Of course, life is more than food and the body is more than clothing. And of course, we won’t extend our lives by fretting about these things. But the truth is: this world is not always an easy one for those of us who are trying to make a living. It doesn’t matter whether you are a first century share cropper, wondering if there will be enough left at harvest time to feed the family, or a twenty-first century administrator, wondering how the bills will get paid if you lose your job or take a cut in pay. Either way, there is much in this world to make us anxious – much that we worry about. That is one of the disadvantages of living in a broken world.

So why does Jesus command us to live in this troubling world without worry? What is he asking us to do? He reveals that in the last verse of this text. He says, in effect, “Let the kingdom of God be your first priority, and all these other things will fall into place.” Or as the old Sunday School song says it: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Alleluia.”

Our human nature drives us to place our trust in ourselves. Our hard work, our ingenuity, our persistence – these are the human resources that we want to rely on for our future. But Jesus invites us to place our trust in a different source. He invites us to let our lives be shaped by a different reality. He teaches, because he knows, that God loves us deeply. And he promises us that if we place our trust in God, we will not be abandoned. God will see us through to the other side. And we will be just fine. As a matter of fact, we will be much better off, because we will be learning to trust in something that lasts forever: the goodness and the power of our loving God.

This year, as we always do, we are inviting members and supporters of Saint Peter to become tithers (someone who contributes 10% of annual income to Christian ministry). That may seem a bit frightening to some of us. I learned to become a tither in better economic times. I wasn’t worried about my future or my job. Yet it was still a scary thing to do. I had never tried to live off of 90% of my income. I worried about what I might have to give up, in order to make it work.

But my worrying was for naught. In reality, I’ve had a much greater sense of peace about my finances since we started tithing, than I ever did before. We’ve gone without a few things along the way. But more importantly: I have learned to trust God more, and to trust myself less. I have learned that God does, indeed, watch over me. And the more I stay focused on seeking the kingdom of God, the more it seems that everything else is taken care of.

So if these unsettled times are causing you to be anxious, Jesus offers a solution: Seek ye first the kingdom of God. Allow your faithfulness to be your most important priority. Know that as you put God first in your spiritual life, your relational life, your family life, and even your financial life, that “all these things will be added unto you.”

Our human instinct is to hunker down and behave cautiously in challenging times. But maybe this is just the time to extend ourselves, and be more generous in our support of Christian ministry. As we learn how to put God’s kingdom first in our lives, Jesus promises us that we will also learn how to trust in God’s good grace for all that we need in life. That is a promise on which we can rely. Amen.

David J. Risendal

Exploring This Week’s Text:

1. What kinds of situations may have caused Jesus’ first-century audience to worry?
2. How did that affect their ability to trust God with their future?
3. What did it mean that if they put the kingdom first, “all these things would be added unto them?”

Connecting with This Week’s Text:

1. What worries me most about my financial future?
2. How do these worries keep me from learning to trust God?
3. How much will I have to give away, before I am unable to depend fully on myself (and able to start depending on God)?

It’s All about Authority

Lessons:
    Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32
     Psalm 25:1-9
     Philippians 2:1-13
     St. Matthew 21:23-32
     Semicontinuous Reading and Psalm:
          Exodus 17:1-7
          Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16

Prayer of the Day:
God of love, giver of life, you know our frailties and failings. Give us your grace to overcome them, keep us from those thngs that harm us, and guide us in the way of salvation, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

^21:23 When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” ²⁴ Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.” ²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

²⁸ “What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’; but he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

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St. Matthew 20:1-16, New Revised Version Bible (C)1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

When I first moved to the Denver area in 1998, I made the acquaintance of a local businessman who, like me, had a love for flyfishing. He had acquired a 1/8 share of the “Tee Pee Fishing Club” which owns a couple acres of land, immediately downstream on the South Platte River from the fabled “Wigwam Fishing Club.” (You gotta love a group of fly fishermen with a sense of humor!) Although a bit less pretentious than Wigwam members, Tee Pee members were every bit as protective of their fishing rights, and nobody was allowed to fish their section of the South Platte without their permission.

My friend had a meeting at the Tee Pee one day, and he invited me to join him. We had a bite to eat, and when they started talking business, he invited me to head out on my own for a time. Eagerly, I made my way down to the water, and started working upstream. I had only been fishing for a few minutes, when I rounded the bend and came face-to-face with a seventy-year-old fishermen, loaded to the gills with well-used Orvis equipment. He looked at me with particular disdain, and said: “And who are you?” Not, “What are you doing here?” or, “Who invited you here?” Who are you? What authority do you have to be doing what you are doing? Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t call the police, or the game warden, and have you cited for trespassing!

When Jesus enters Jerusalem for the very last time, he is met by cheering crowds who wave palm branches and shout out, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” (21:9) He enters the Temple, and immediately throws over the tables of the money changers and of the sales staff from the local dove supplier. (21:12) The next morning he curses a fig tree that won’t provide fruit for him, and the tree immediately withers. (21:19)

After these events, a group of seventy-year-old Temple insiders comes ‘round the bend, and meets him face-to-face. They look at him with particular disdain, and ask him, “And who are you?” Not “What are you doing here?” or “Who invited you here?” Who are you? What authority do you have, to be doing what you are doing? Give us one good reason why we shouldn’t arrest you.

Jesus meets them head-on with a question about the authority of John the Baptist (a question they could not answer), and then he tells them a story about authority. It is obvious in this story that one of the characters ultimately honors the authority of his father, while the other doesn’t. As if the story isn’t clear enough on its own, Jesus explains it to them. Tax Collectors and Prostitutes are responding to Jesus’ ministry, and it is changing their hearts: they will enter into the kingdom of God. Temple officials who deny the authority of God (present in John and Jesus), and refuse to be changed: they will be left behind.

The question at hand is this: Who is giving God authority in their lives? And the answer is this: Those who are experiencing Christ, and whose minds have been transformed by his love.

The chief priests and elders of Jesus’ time are so caught up with their own authority, that they have no capacity to be transformed by God’s. The tax collectors and prostitutes are so open to the authority of God that they experienced in Jesus, that they are transformed by it.

May God’s touch in our lives have the same affect!

Amen.

David J. Risendal

Exploring This Week’s Text:

1. Why were the chief priests and elders unable to see the authority of God in Jesus?
2. What happened to tax collectors and prostitutes who experienced God as they met Jesus?
3. Why were the Temple authorities not able to see the truth, when the lives of others were being so powerfully changed by Jesus?

Connecting with This Week’s Text:

1. When do I resist God’s authority in my own life?
2. When has God’s authority turned my heart and mind around?
3. How might I share that experience with others in a way that touches them as well?

There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy
(whether we like it or not…)

Lessons:
     Jonah 3:10-4:11
     Psalm 145:1-8
     Philippians 1:21-30
     St. Matthew 20:1-16
     Semicontinuous Reading and Psalm:
          Exodus 16:2-15
          Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45

Prayer of the Day:
Almighty and eternal God, you show perpetual lovingkindness to us your servants. Because we cannot rely on our own abilities, grant us your merciful judgment, and train us to embody the generosity of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

^20.1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ^2 After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. ^3 When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; ^4 and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. ^5 When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. ^6 And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ ^7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ ^8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ ^9 When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. ^10 Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. ^11 And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, ^12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ ^13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? ^14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. ^15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ ^16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

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St. Matthew 20:1-16, New Revised Version Bible (C)1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

I find this to be a particularly irritating parable.

As a recipient of God’s grace (and, in this most holy of political seasons, as a self-acknowledged bleeding-heart-liberal), I know that I am supposed to identify with, or at least have some measure of compassion for, the late-comers in this story. Those unfortunate workers who sat around all day long wondering if they would have work that day; wondering where they would find the resources to feed their family if they were passed over by the landowners who were looking for laborers. I know that I should be relieved at their good fortune. I know that I should be impressed with the landowner, whose goodness makes it possible that the families of those who started to work at 9:00 or 12:00 or 3:00 or 5:00 would be O.K. – at least for one more day.

In all truth, I find myself thinking, instead, of those workers who realized ahead of time how important it was to have work that day. Those workers who got up early, certainly before sunrise, and made it down to the marketplace to get in line. Those workers who followed the landowner out to the vineyard, and worked hard all morning. Those workers who bore the brunt of the day, sweating it out under the beating, hot sun. I am impressed by their commitment, their tenacity, their determination… They show a will to survive that seems to demand recognition. By all rights, they should have received a greater reward than the ones who started to work at 5:00 pm, and finished up by dark.

But Jesus is not describing the American workplace in this parable; he is talking about the Kingdom of Heaven. He is not exploring the nuances of capitalist economies; but is articulating God’s Economy of Grace. He is calling you and me to look at our world through a different set of eyes: eyes that help us to see how grace and mercy are the key principles in this story where everyone who is willing to work is able to, and every worker receives enough to make it through to the next day. At the heart of this landowner’s intent is the determination to be good to all who are involved in the vineyard’s work, even if those who worked the hardest and the longest are offended by that intent.

This landowner’s grace seems to be foolish, if the bottom line is to do what is most efficient; most productive; most profitable. But during a week when Wall Street is reeling and the economic future of our own country (and its present system of financial markets) seems so uncertain, the stable, reliable grace of God looks like a much better bet for our ultimate security.

I like the illusion of being able to earn my own way. I like to imagine that my family is comfortable because my wife and I are so capable. That kind of thinking is part of what makes our economy strong here in the United States. But that is the way of this world. Such is not the way of God. In the Kingdom of Heaven there are not various levels of rewards, doled out based on our individual efforts. In the Kingdom of Heaven, we aren’t provided a position that is commensurate with the quality of our own accomplishments. Instead, everything is, as it should be, grounded in and dependant upon the amazing grace of our God. And that is a reality we can trust with far more certainty than anything we can accomplish on our own.

Frederick Faber wrote of this reality, in his hymn: There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy.

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy, like the wideness of the sea;
There’s a kindness in his justice, which is more than liberty.

For the love of God is broader than the measure of our mind;
And the heart of the eternal is most wonderfully kind.

But we make his love too narrow by false limits of our own;
And we magnify his strictness with a zeal he will not own.

Was there ever a kinder shepherd; half so gentle, half so sweet,
As the Savior who would have us come and gather at his feet?

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There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy, verses 1, 5, 11 and 12, by Frederick W. Faber; composed in the mid-19^th Century.

I still find this parable to be quite irritating. But I am grateful for its message, which reminds me of the depths of God’s grace and mercy, and the strength of God’s determination to share them with me. For that I say: “Thanks be to God.”

Amen.

David J. Risendal

Exploring This Week’s Text:

1. What is irritating about this parable?
2. Were those first hired right to protest the landowner’s actions?
3. What is revealed about the landowner’s priorities?

Connecting with This Week’s Text:

1. Do I most identify with the workers who were at it all day, or the workers who started late in the afternoon?
2. Do I prefer to think of God as a God of justice or as a God of mercy?
3. In what situation(s) is God calling me to be more merciful than I might be inclined to be?

God’s Furious Compassion

Lessons:
     Genesis 50:15-21
     Psalm 103: [1-7) 8-13
     Romans 14:1-12
     St. Matthew 18:21-35
     Semicontinuous Reading and Psalm:
          Exodus 14:19-31
          Psalm 114
          or Exodus 15:1b-11, 20-21

Prayer of the Day:
O Lord God, merciful judge, you are the inexhaustible fountain of forgiveness. Replace our hearts of stone with hearts that love and adore you, that we may delight in doing your will, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

^{18.21} Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” ^22 Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. ^23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. ^24 When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; ^25 and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. ^26 So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ^27 And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. ^28 But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ ^29 Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ ^30 But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. ^31 When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. ^32 Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ^33 Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ ^34 And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. ^35 So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

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St. Matthew 18:21-35, New Revised Version Bible (C)1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

As was the case last week, forgiveness stands at the very heart of this week’s Gospel lesson. Last week we considered what Jesus had to say about sin and division within the community of faith. When sin causes us to be estranged from one another, we are to confront the sin, and work towards resolution, so that grace and forgiveness might have the final word.

This week Peter responds. While he often gets it wrong in the Gospels, this time he gets it exactly right. He understands that Jesus is asking an awful lot of them, so he probes the issue a bit. “That’s all and well, Jesus, but how far do I have to go? What if someone keeps sinning against me? Do I have to forgive every time? Even if it happens seven times in a row?”

Jesus’ response to him is shocking: “Not seven times, I tell you, but, seventy seven times.” (The Greek is unclear here. He may mean “77″ times, or he may mean “70 times 7″ times. In either case, Jesus is commanding Peter to travel a lot further down this road that Peter ever imagined would be the case.)

Jesus then goes on to tell a story about a king who decides to settle accounts with his slaves. He comes upon one who owed him ten thousand talents (an incredible amount of money – by various estimates worth between 150,000 years and 170,000 years worth of a laborer’s wages). The king demands payment, but when the slave falls on his knees and pleads for mercy, the king is overcome with compassion, and releases this slave from his entire debt.

But the slave has hardly made his way out of the king’s court, when he bumps into another slave, who owes him a hundred denarii (about 100 days wages – no small amount, but miniscule, compared with the first debt that Jesus describes). In an ironic role reversal, the first slave demands payment from the second slave. The second slave pleads for mercy (using almost identical words as the first slave used earlier), but the first slave refuses and has him thrown in prison.

Other slaves witness this whole affair, and are distressed. They report it to the king, who becomes filled with rage, and hands the first slave over to be tortured.

If you take it (as I do) that the king in this parable represents God, we are left with two distinct images of God. We are first presented with a God who is so filled with compassion, that all plans to seek restitution are scrapped, and grace wins the day. We are then presented with a God who is so enraged by a forgiven child who refuses to forgive another, that this unmerciful one is sent off to the torturers, to be brutalized until it is all even. (And Jesus says, “So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you…”)

So which is it, Jesus? Is God a deeply compassionate being, who responds to desperate pleas for mercy? Or is God a demanding being, who flies into a furious rage when someone misbehaves?

You and I may have a preference for the former, but if we are attentive to the Scriptures, we have to admit that there is truth in both of those depictions. Our God is, as the Psalmist says, “abounding in steadfast love.” At the same time, our God is committed to righteousness and justice, and is deeply aggrieved when human beings act otherwise.

God delights in visiting grace upon us. But that grace is not designed simply to get us off the hook and give us a second chance. God’s grace is transforming grace. It is grace, intended to take hold of our hearts and change us. When we despise that grace – when we receive it, yet won’t embrace it – when we are pleased to be graced, but refuse to grace others – then we are left with nothing other than the furious wrath of God.

God is serious about grace. God is passionate about grace. God is determined that grace will win over all. Would we want to have it any other way?

When the grace that has touched our hearts so changes us that we begin to be, bit by bit, vehicles of God’s grace for others, then all of heaven rejoices with God for us.

Let us draw near to the grace of God. Let us pray that it has its transforming way with us (no matter how frightening that is). And let us go forth as instruments of grace, wishing that all of God’s people might receive the same grace that has shaped our lives.

Amen.

David J. Risendal

Exploring This Week’s Text:

1. What lies behind the question that Peter asks in verse twenty-one?
2. What is the difference between the king and his slave in this parable?
3. Why is the king’s reaction to the slave who wouldn’t forgive another’s debt so strong?

Connecting with This Week’s Text:

1. When has God’s forgiveness been important to me?
2. When have I received the gift of forgiveness from another?
3. Who is in need of my forgiveness right now, and how can I make that happen?

Not in the Church!

Lessons:
     Ezekiel 33:7-11
     Psalm 119:33-40
     Romans 13:8-14
     Saint Matthew 18:15-20
     Semicontinuous Reading and Psalm:
          Exodus 12:1-14
          Psalm 149

Prayer of the Day:
     O Lord God, enliven and preserve your church with your perpetual mercy. Without your help, we mortals will fail; remove far from us everything that is harmful, and lead us toward all that gives life and salvation, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

^18.15 “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. ^16 But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ^17 If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. ^18 Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. ^19 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. ^20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

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St. Matthew 18:15-20, New Revised Version Bible (C)1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

In the two decades or so that I’ve served as Lutheran pastor I’ve heard it dozens of times. Often it comes from someone who has become involved in the church as an adult for the first time. Usually they have become disillusioned because of conflict they’ve witnessed. It goes something like this: “Pastor, when I signed up to serve in that way, I had high expectations of what it would be like to work together with other Christians. I thought it would be different – more fulfilling – in a spiritual way. But I’ve been disappointed to find out that it seems no different than any other organization. People bicker. They bring their own self-serving agenda with them. They manipulate the system to get their way. Why is it like that in the church?”

My usual first response is to remind them that for some unfathomable reason, God has entrusted the work of the church to human beings. Human beings “are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves” (Evangelical Lutheran Worship, page 95). Human beings can bicker; can be self-serving; can be manipulative. Until God finds a better group to do the work of the church, we’re stuck with it. I encourage them to see this as an opportunity to let God develop in them the gifts of patience and understanding.

At the same time, I am aware of how important it is not to let these kinds of difficulties go unresolved. We shouldn’t be surprised that this is an issue for us. As early as the close of the first century, when Saint Matthew was writing his Gospel, he chose to remember this weekend’s words from Jesus. They are words suggesting that his community also wrestled with what to do when church members behave in ways that are hurtful and divisive. The principles our Lord shared with his followers continue to shape our response today, when we become aware of difficulty in our midst (many church constitutions include some form of these words, from Matthew 18):

• When there is sin, let the one who is wronged speak privately with the offender, and work it out.
• If the individuals directly involved can’t work it out alone, try it with one or two others helping.
• If that group can’t work it out, bring it to the church, and see if that larger group can work it out.
• Only if all three steps are unsuccessful are you free to go your separate ways.

Do you see what lies at the heart of this four-fold process? Work it out. Work it out. Work it out. Or in more theological terms: confession, absolution, and restitution. As we order our life together, Jesus counsels us to do the same work that we do every time we gather on Sunday morning. The same work we do when we seek to proclaim the Gospel. The central task of a community of faith is the naming of sin and the proclamation of God’s forgiveness. And so it is only logical that, when we find ourselves in conflict, we stay focused on that same task.

Is there bickering, self-serving behavior, and manipulation in the church today? If so, then I say: “Thanks be to God.” Not because I enjoy (or commend) this kind of behavior. But because it gives us an opportunity to do what the church ought to do best: the work of confession, absolution, and restitution. Let us be so grounded in the forgiving grace of God that we are committed to helping one another experience it day after day. Amen.

David J. Risendal

Exploring This Week’s Text:

1. What conflicts existed in the early church?
2. How did Jesus direct his followers to address those conflicts?
3. What principles do we learn from reflecting on his directions?

Connecting with This Week’s Text:

1. When have I hurt another Christian by my words or actions?
2. Who helped me to see what I had done, and did they do so in a way that invited me to experience God’s forgiving grace?
3. How do I react when someone points out my sin?