I Am There Among Them – Matthew 18

A text – Matthew 18:15-20

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.
18:16 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.
18:17 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.
18:18 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.
18:19 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.
18:20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

A reflection:

Here Jesus is not simply talking about church fights. The first verse is more often translated “brother” than “another member of the church” – it could easily mean “fellow believer” too. Maybe Jesus intended to instruct the disciples how to relate to one another. But it is about the power of relationships, the communities within which they take place, and the power of Jesus within every meeting. 

I have been in the room for church fights that left many people bleeding and bruised. Some of us are, a long while later, still holding profound anger and stunned disbelief that people we thought we could trust would use their power and influence the way that they did. Solutions were agreed upon, life has gone on, calendar pages have blown off, and we are all putting one foot in front of the other. And who knows? Perhaps what has come of those times of disruption will actually have more profound and joyous consequences than we yet know.

But I have to wonder, since Jesus promises to be present whenever two or three are gathered in his name, whether the folks I knew in conflicts who were pushing a particular outcome at the direct, painful expense of others, I wonder if they noticed at the time that Jesus was there in the room with us. If they did, they might have imagined Jesus to be cheering when they won their points. I believe I noticed him close to me, holding my elbow so I did not lose my balance as I was spun around in the turmoil. And I believe the profoundest victims were held in the Lord’s embrace during the ordeals every time.

Conflict is never easy and rarely pretty. But the Lord is always with us, in the midst of such distress.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for your constant company in our darkest times. Thank you for hanging on to us while we’re undergoing the torture of broken community and sad loss. Help us to see that you care for us and will see us through to the other side because you love us.  Amen.