Sermon: Matthew 18:15-20 (Proper 18A)

4 September 2005, Christ Church Riverdale

The Rev. Robert C. Lamborn, Rector

 NRSV Matthew 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."

             “The promise of Christ’s presence, even if only two or three are gathered, has long since been extracted from the judicial context of making disciplinary decisions and extended as a general blessing upon every Christian community.”  So reads one of the commentaries I used in preparation for this sermon.  It goes on, “Such a wider claim on verse 20 is not out of order and certainly accords with the church’s experience everywhere.”[1] 

             But what about New Orleans?

             “If two or three of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven”?  Haven’t there been people praying for the Gulf coast?  Of course there have been, even though it’s reported that one prominent evangelical has claimed that Hurricane Katrina is God’s wrath against a sinful New Orleans.  Now don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying there has been no sin in the situation–far from it.  Sins of omission in failing to plan for a natural disaster like this that the experts said was coming; sins of commission in the violence some have used to take advantage of the chaos. But to claim that God sent a hurricane in a certain direction based on the relative sinfulness of a city isn’t just nonsense, it takes the name of God in vain, is blasphemy, treating the God of love more like a thunderbolt-throwing Zeus.

             So it’s a good thing it’s not out of order, to extract the last couple of verses of today’s Gospel from their judicial context because that’s exactly what I’m doing.  This is not to say that the context is not important and valuable–in dealing with human sin in the church, people are to act with soberness and respect and circumspection.  But Jesus’ words at the end of the passage provide a message of hope that transcends their initial context.  “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.”  Heaven and earth are not divorced from one another, but are joined.  Heaven is not an escape from earth, but both are part of God’s good creation.  (And yes, I do believe that God is the Creator of all, and also trust in the scientific theory of evolution, but that’s a topic for another time!)

             “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."  I read yesterday about the cheers that broke out when the Superdome evacuation was finally complete, but I can tell you this, that the man in the Houston Rockets cap wasn’t the last to leave the filth and stench and violence of that makeshift shelter, but the One who promised to be among us even when only a few of us gather.

             The Gospel holds powerful words of hope and renewal, and yet it can be too glib to say that they certainly accord with the church’s experience everywhere--at least in an immediate sense–when tragedies like the aftermath of Katrina take place despite our prayers.  (To be fair, the authors of the commentary cannot have anticipated Hurricane Katrina.)  But if we look to the deeper meaning of Jesus’ words, they can strengthen us to respond to experiences of chaos and despair.  Names in the Bible are more significant than just something to call a person, but were considered to reveal something about the character of the person.  Thus the name Yehoshua, or Jesus, as we say, means, “The Lord  saves.”  Being gathered in Jesus’ name means more than just an opening prayer and down to business.  Being truly gathered in Jesus’ name means adopting his mindset, living out his character--acting as he would act; doing the things he would do.

            When we pray in that spirit–watch out! because it will provide the inspiration and focus to do God’s work of transformation.  Praying in that spirit will take the energy of the anger many of us feel, and put it to productive uses including providing immediate assistance on the ground, holding leaders accountable for their decisions, and working to insure that things are changed so that the human component of this disaster is not repeated.  Praying in that spirit will mean staying involved in the long term once the flavor of the month has become something else and people are tired of hearing about the Gulf coast and Katrina.  Praying in that spirit, I believe, is conveyed by the words of our Presiding Bishop, Frank Griswold:

“Life affords us very few securities and yet deep within us, often revealed in the midst of profound vulnerability and loss spring up a hope that contradicts the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Such hope emerges from the depths of despair as pure and unexpected gift.  This is the way in which Christ accompanies us and seeks to share our burdens.”[2]

 Being gathered in Christ’s name–in his character–and agreed in our prayers may not turn a hurricane away or keep overwhelmed levees from breaching but it is a way of living out the unity of God’s creation of heaven and earth and the steadfast and loving presence of Christ powerfully in our midst.