20^th September 2011

Rev Dr Max Champion at St John's UCA Mt Waverley Sunday 4 September 2011

Lessons -- 1 Samuel 12:19-25; Galatians 6:1-3; Matthew 18:10-22

When things are not going so well in the church it is tempting to hark back to a time when we think that faith was simple and disciples got on well with each other. This passage tells us something very different!
Obedience to Christ and disciplined Christian living is not a given.
Disciples often get it wrong. There are many temptations. The harmony of the community is shattered by poor behaviour unworthy of members of the body of Christ.

In such circumstances leaders must discipline wayward members. Today, we are uneasy talking about 'discipline'. It smacks of restricting individual freedom, intruding into our private lives and punishing people for being 'different'. We may be hard on public figures like politicians or priests who behave badly. But in our own fellowship, being anxious to maintain harmony at any cost, we usually turn a blind eye to misbehaviour. We know how unpleasant it can be to confront those who have done us wrong. Better to ignore what has happened and move on than to cause a fuss!

Sometimes we are unsure whether simply to put up with misbehaviour or confront it head on. Either way, we fail to deal with each other in the light of the Gospel.

* A sinful person is to be treated both with respect, that comes from knowing that 'all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God', and with gravity, that comes from knowing that the 'mercy of God' requires us to obey Christ's command to display the new life of righteousness and mercy in the community of faith.

When communion between Christians is fractured by ungodly or unethical behaviour, steps must be taken to face the guilty person with what they have done to the aggrieved person or to the community as a whole. The purpose is not for (infallible) Church leaders to be severe on other
(fallible) members, but for a (fallible) member to be restored to the Body of Christ by repenting of a particular wrong done to another person.

* If this still sounds too blunt, we need to read the passage in context.
Jesus has been teaching the disciples the way of true freedom. They are to receive the Kingdom of God with humility (like a child) -- no place for arrogance! They are to take up the cross and deny themselves -- no place for self- assertion! They are to seek the lapsed brother or sister (lost
sheep) and return them to the fold (Church). There is no place for self- righteousness! The aim of Church discipline is reconciliation!

Therefore we should come to this passage with the word of grace ringing in our ears. These disciplinary processes are 'forms of grace' designed to win back a fellow Christian who has wronged a brother or sister or the community as a whole. They are not legalistic rules to be applied in a censorious way.

* This does not mean that 'everything is to be tolerated just to keep a brother or sister in the community' (G Dicker, The Year of Matthew, p68).
Parishes often make this mistake on serious matters. Whenever such things have been done they have 'driven a wedge into the community . . . so that the fellowship is seriously weakened' (Church and Nation 26/8/81). While all must be done with minimum fuss and maximum secrecy to heal a rift in a parish -- no gossip, no character assassination, no public humiliation -- matters must not be swept under the carpet. The Church does not exist to simply accept everything that a person believes or a group does in the interests of 'keeping the peace'.

Indeed, as our text makes plain, in extreme situations, where attempts at reconciliation fail, a person is to be excommunicated! The Church cannot condone the misbehaviour of folk who, despite the persistent and heart- felt pleas of their fellow Christians, remain obstinate in opposing the Gospel of reconciliation. Tough and distressing decisions must sometimes be made. If avoided, the ministry and mission of a parish or a Church is
weakened!

* Still -- to re-emphasise the point -- the goal of 'pastoral discipline'
is to reconcile a person(s) to the 'body of Christ'. Matthew reinforces this point by placing the dialogue about forgiveness at the end of the section (vv 21,22). Lest anybody thinks that they must rid the Church of unrighteousness simply by following 'correct procedures', Jesus reminds Peter (and all fallible Christians) that showing mercy to those who have wronged us cannot be measured. The impossible figure given by Jesus (77) -- far more than the seven times suggested by Peter or the three times permitted by law -- shows the astounding mercy of God and exposes our
calculating approach to reconciliation.

When it comes to discipline, everything depends on whether we have 'learned from Jesus the depth of God's concern for us and all our brothers/sisters' (Eduard Schweizer, The Gospel according to Matthew, p369). In his ministry and on the Cross, Christ forgives sin and bears its consequences. As he is in solidarity with sinful people like us and restores us to our true humanity, we must empathise with fellow Christians who have done wrong as if it were our own sin.

As Paul puts it, we are called to 'bear another's guilt' (burden) and so 'fulfil the law of Christ' (Galatians 6:2). The 'burden' here is referring, not to tough situations as such, but to self-righteous and self- indulgent behaviour that fractures Christian unity (5:16-21).

* This approach to discipline in the community of faith is not confined to interpersonal relationships. It also applies to the community itself (Israel and Church). Many prophets, priests and pastors have been called to discipline communities of faith acting badly. In exercising pastoral authority, their suitably harsh words have been most unwelcome.

Consider the prophet Samuel. Faced with the people's desire to forsake worship of God and go along with the practices of their pagan neighbours, he calls them to 'repent of evil'. What they are doing is a serious breach of their calling. So he reminds them to put their trust in God's mercy and patience but not to count on God's grace by continuing to ignore God's claim on their whole lives. The God of mercy will not be mocked if they continue to act unrighteously!

In this remarkable passage we learn that sin in a community of faith is serious; that God's grace abounds, that repentance is necessary and that there is no place for self-righteousness.

When Samuel calls the people to repent and experiences their hostility, he is also mindful of his own temptation: 'Far be it for me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you and ceasing to instruct you in the good and right way (v23).' His compassion for God's foolish people and his hope that they may turn to God is shown by his persistent prayers and faithful instruction, even when it is rejected. Thus he foreshadows Christ's ministry and the Church's calling to 'love enemies and pray for those who persecute us' -- even in the Church (Matthew 5:43ff).

* How is it possible for us to live with 'integrity matched by grace' (B
Hill) in our local and national churches? How can we speak the truth in love when gossip, back-stabbing and resentment are all too common and when Church decisions and the beliefs of many Christians often reflect the ungodly and unethical values of popular culture, instead of our calling to obey Christ by preaching the Gospel of grace and reconciliation?

There are seldom easy answers to situations of conflict and our text does not provide a blueprint for every situation. We are called to move beyond harsh condemnation and easygoing acceptance of wrong to costly reconciliation with wrong-doer(s)! We must not respond to misbehaviour either with a legalistic or a libertarian attitude to our 'fellow sinners'. As Samuel brilliantly shows, we share the guilt of the wrongdoer if we refuse to stand firm in the truth or refuse to pray for a hostile member of the community of faith or a church that has forsaken the Gospel.

Church discipline is an essential part of pastoral ministry. It is vital that the truth continue to be preached and taught with integrity -- no matter what the opposition -- so that relationships in congregations and Churches are shaped and preserved in conformity with God's reconciling goodness and mercy, as embodied in Christ.

At a time when many of us have a 'live and let live' attitude to faith, it is crucial that we challenge false teaching, confront bad behaviour and pray for those who refuse to listen -- even when patient attempts at reconciliation (locally and nationally) are rebuffed and tough decisions must be made about membership in the Church!

It is fitting that we consider church discipline as we come to celebrate our unity as the body of Christ in Holy Communion. In this Sacrament of Grace, we confess that all of us have been forgiven 'in Christ'. We are free to gladly confess our own sins, to grieve over the sins of others and to recommit ourselves to being reconciled to one other, knowing that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting our sins against us and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19).

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Rev Dr Max Champion is minister in the St John's Uniting Church, Mt Waverley, Victoria, Australia.

Dr Champion is Chair of the Assembly of Confessing Congregations within the UCA.