How many of you have heard someone say, “Why do I have to go to church? Can’t I be just as good of a Christian at home, reading the Bible, doing good deeds, praying by myself, maybe watching a favorite preacher TV in the comfort of my own living room? Why should I bother getting up on Sunday morning when I can get all the spiritual nourishment I need without it?
Do you know what to say to people who talk like that? Forty percent of all the people in this country who claim to be Christian, to believe in Jesus Christ, don’t even regularly attend a church, much less make the commitment of belonging to one. So the question really does need to be asked, “Why should we go to church? Why should we join?”
Fortunately for us, there is a simple answer. We go to church because God commands it. And of course, claiming to be a Christian while ignoring what God says is kind of a contradiction in terms, isn’t it? But that begs the question, “Why did he command it? What’s in it for God, to have us gather together and sing and pray and listen to somebody talk? Wouldn’t God be just as happy if we did all that stuff at home?” The fourth commandment - “Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy,” [Ex 20:8] doesn’t say how we’re supposed to remember the Sabbath, except of course that we’re not supposed to work. But back in Old Testament days they didn’t have Bibles. Or if they did have a scroll or two, there certainly weren’t very many, and of course not all people were literate. So if you wanted to hear the word of God you had to go to where the word was and hear it from someone who knew how to read.
But things are different nowadays, aren’t they. Everybody has a Bible, at least in this country. Sometimes three or four. And everyone can read it for themselves, although surprisingly few do. And we can listen to religious music on the radio or put on a CD or two of anything from worship choruses to Gregorian chant. So, many say to themselves, “I can get my dose of spiritual input without having to worry about getting dressed or dealing with traffic or the weather or any of that stuff.”
And even beyond the question, “What’s in it for God, to have us gather in a particular place on a particular day?” For far too many of us, an even more important question is, “What’s in it for me? What do I get out of coming to church?”
We could come at that question from a whole variety of different angles. One reason shows up in the letter to the Hebrews, which tells us, “Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another.” [Heb 10:24-25] That’s an important reason to come to church. If you’re so spiritually mature that you don’t need the encouragement and support of your fellow Christians, then they - we - certainly will benefit from your example!
But the most important reason to come to church, to belong to a church, is that it is through the gathered people of God that Christ does his work in the world. The Greek word "eklisia" - the word we translate as church - means “the gathered ones.” “[God] has put all things under his feet and has made [Jesus Christ] the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” [Eph 1:22-23] It is only when we are connected to one another that we can function as Christ intended us to when he created this new kind of community called “church.”
There are all kinds of things that the church is called to do in the world. From feeding the hungry to witnessing to God’s love, each one is as important as the other. And the church has done so well at them over the last 2000 years that most people in America have forgotten who started things we take for granted: like equality for women, caring for the sick, providing for the poor. But there is one task that we have forgotten or neglected in the last few decades. And that is what in some traditions is called the “Office of the Keys.”
That term, the Office of the Keys,” comes from a different part of Matthew’s gospel: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” [Mt16:19] But as you can see it’s clearly just longer version of today’s text, “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” [v. 18]
This almost forgotten function of the church is the authority to forgive sins. The authority of Christ to forgive sins works through the church. Contrary to popular belief, the church does have authority. It’s not political authority, or legal authority, or even moral authority. But it is a very real authority over matters of eternal importance. We have so individualized our faith here in the U.S., so privatized our Christianity, that we forget that Christ himself established the church through the disciples and gave it the power to forgive sins, to go along with the commission to baptize people in Christ’s name.
Many so-called Christians act like the man in a boat who began to bore a hole in the section of the ship where he was sitting. The other people on board ask in some alarm, ”What are you doing?” And he responds, “What’s it to you? I can do what I like in my part of the ship!” They reply, “But the water coming in at your end will sink the ship under all of us!!!”
Americans have gotten so infected by our culture of self-fulfillment and personal autonomy that we forget how very much our actions affect those around us. When we pursue an individualized faith that puts allegiance to the gathered people of God second after our own personal agendas, we lose not only the fellowship, but also the power of the church.
We’ve forgotten that we haven’t just been called; we’ve been called together, by God, in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit to be a new creation - not just as individuals but even more importantly as a community. Most people, if they think about it at all, resent the idea that the church might have authority in their lives. John Knox, in the Scottish Confession, defined the true church as one where the Word of God is truly preached, the sacraments are rightly administered, and church discipline upheld. Most American churches leave off the last one. Some do so out of fear of losing members, others for fear of alienating the very people who most urgently need the support and example of the church, others. What we seem to have lost sight of is that the very thing people need the church for most, forgiveness, is only available to those who repent. The whole point of church discipline is to bring people back into fellowship with God when, for whatever reason, they have fallen away.
In this passage Jesus is giving a chemistry lesson to his followers. He is showing how two people - or more - can be undergo a life-changing transformation through the careful blending of ingredients. But, like most chemical interactions, it won’t work unless we’re careful to get the right ingredients mixed in the right proportions. There are two things to be particularly careful about.
First of all, the person to be confronted must be a brother or sister. This must be someone with whom you are in a family relationship - that is a relationship of trust and accountability. The second qualifier is that the brother/sister has sinned. A lot of church confrontation takes place over things that have more to do with differences in personality or style than with sin.
Some people hold up a third caution. The Bible says “if your brother sins against you.” Some earlier manuscripts do not have this qualifier—they just say “if your brother sins, go and show him his fault.” I tend to think this is more accurate in the context of the entire Scripture. Was David sinning against Nathan when Nathan confronted him about his murder of Uriah and his affair with Bathsheba? Were Ananias and Sapphira sinning against Peter when he confronted them about dipping into the church treasury? No and no. David confessed to God, “against you and you alone have I sinned.” [Ps 51:4] Peter told those offering robbers they “have not lied to men, but to God.” [Acts 5:4] Listen, if your brother is having an affair, even if it’s not with you or your spouse, go to him!
So, Jesus gives a very clear, practical way of dealing with a brother or sister who sins. Step 1: Go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. The purpose here is to win your brother over. If our purpose is the same as Jesus intends, we will not discuss with others the sins of our brothers. We really, really do not need to publicize one another’s sins.
Step 2: If she will not listen, take one or two others along. The purpose here is not to establish the matter and make it a permanent record. The purpose is still to win your sister over. We take along two or three witnesses to establish the fact that step 1 has been taken and, if necessary, that step 2 did not work either. Your motive must still be, entirely, to restore your sister. Unless it is, don’t go to step 2. And until it is the only thing left, don’t go to step 3.
Step 3: Tell it to the church. What is the purpose of this? The purpose is still to win your brother or sister over. The church has established lines of authority who will - or at least should - take responsibility for correcting your brother. Once this step is done, your responsibility is finished and, if your heart is right, you will have already forgiven your sister if you needed to do so. Hopefully, the offending brother will recognize the authority of the church and respect those who watch over him, making him more apt to listen and more receptive to being won over. If not, the overseers will proceed to step 4.
Step 4: Treat him as you would a pagan or tax collector. How did first century Jews treat pagans and tax collectors? They didn’t associate with them! That’s why, when Jesus hung around them, the religious people accused him of being a “friend of sinners.” They wouldn’t dream of doing such a thing! The sole purpose of excommunication is still reconciliation. It is done by making the point that refusal to listen is not acceptable for a brother. The church has been given authority to make that call - it is the opposite side of the coin of forgiveness.
This teaching is a gem, largely because it is so very clear. But it’s not so wonderful unless it is put in the right setting. Think, sinner, do you feel as though you can cast any such stones? Would you be completely comfortable having a sister or brother confronting you with your sin?
The beauty of this lesson lies in its setting. Jesus is still responding to the disciples' question about greatness. “Who is the greatest?” they asked. Jesus replied, “Whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Eventually Jesus tells them what to do if a brother sins against them. In so doing, he describes the power of humility to build a supernatural, kingdom-quality community.
Think about the humility it takes to go through the steps of restoring a brother who has sinned. It takes humility for us to discern sin from differences in style or personality. It takes humility not to talk about a brother’s faults. It takes humility to go, sinful as you are, and show your brother his faults with the purpose of restoring him. It takes humility to be approached and won over. It takes humility to find two or three respectable witnesses to approach your brother again. Again, it takes humility for him to be approached by three or four and listen. It takes humility to turn it over to the church without judgment or bitterness. It takes humility to submit to the authority of the church—to listen even at this later stage and finally be won over. And if it comes down to it, it takes humility to tell a brother they are no longer a brother. Maybe to realize perhaps they never were.
This kind of humility does not exist in your workplace. It doesn’t exist in any organization, club, or any other kind of community. Unfortunately, it doesn’t exist in a lot of churches. But when humility wins out—when people come together to restore one another and to be restored, if necessary, humility has the power to build a community like none other.
How many of you have read or seen The Fellowship of the Ring? Do you remember when the 9 decide they have to go through the mines of Moria in order to get where they’re going, but the door is locked? The wizard Gandalf translates the elvish runes carved around the entrance: “Speak, friend, and enter” and tries a whole lot of powerful door-opening words, none of which works. At last he simply says “friend” and the door opens.
The keys that open the door of the kingdom can only be wielded by the person with the humility to recognize their own equal, continual, ongoing need for God’s forgiveness.
Why is it that we come to church?? Why do we attach ourselves to a group of people some of whom who may irritate us or disagree with us or make demands on us? Why do we open ourselves up to the possibility that we might have to confront ourselves, to repent and even to change?
As many of you know, my middle godson has been having some serious discipline problems. While I was there, I read the file of his interviews with the school specialists in difficult children. The thing that struck me the hardest was when they were exploring whether or not he felt loved by his family. His response was “Well, I know they love me, but when I’m bad nobody does anything.”
We go to church to receive, as members of God’s community, that which we cannot find anywhere else. In the church, we hear and experience God’s revelation for us. In the church we are fed with the sacraments. The presence of God is experienced among the gathered community in a way not possible on our own. Jesus says: ”Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I will be also.” [v. 20] He meets us in our interaction with others. In the church, we are faced simultaneously with our fallen humanity - mirrored in one another - and the love and forgiveness of God - mirrored in one another. In the church, we are loved enough for someone to do something.
