Is Big Brother Watching You?
Sermon
Questions Of Faith
Gospel Sermons For Sundays After Pentecost
Introduction
A popular television show in 2000 was the CBS program, Big Brother. It was a reality--based show that allowed the viewers to watch and then vote on who should get booted out of the house. The first contestant to be expelled by the viewers was a man by the name of William, a 27--year--old youth counselor from Philadelphia. He got the boot because he had spent his first two weeks fighting with fellow housemates.
Today's Gospel deals with discipline in the church. If someone doesn't conform after being warned, they get the boot and are kicked out of church, or at least that is what it sounds like. Is that the way we should deal with sinners in the church? If we did, who would be left?
A pastor told some boys who had been making some obscene telephone calls from the church that no matter what they did, they would not get kicked out of confirmation class. Legally they might be in trouble, but the church was one place they were accepted no matter what they did. We hate the sin, but we love the sinner. Was that a good response or should they have been given the boot and kicked out of confirmation classes for a time?
Another situation that caused a great deal of debate in a church in a neighboring community was whether or not a certain woman should be allowed to teach Sunday school because she was having an affair with her boss, a married man. That same question came up in terms of a pastor. Should a pastor be allowed to continue serving a church, if he admits to having sex with one or more parishioners?
What do you think? Are there some standards or values that we must uphold as a church? And when they are ignored, are we to call each other to account? Are we our brother or sister's keeper?
Dealing With Sin
Apparently the early church had its problems with wayward members. Many of Paul's letters are written to churches to help them work through their problems. And in the Gospel reading this morning from Matthew 18, Jesus advised the church what to do in these circumstances. I believe that the advice is as good today as it was in Jesus' day.
Jesus sets forth four steps for the church to follow when there is conflict among believers due to sin. The first step was to go alone to the one who has sinned against you and tell him or her. If that doesn't bring repentance and reconciliation, go a second time with one or two witnesses. If the person still refuses to listen, a third step is to take it to the church. If these steps are done in a spirit of love, open communication, and a willingness to forgive, there is a good chance that there will be repentance and reconciliation. But if nothing happens, the fourth and last resort is excommunication from the community for the sake of the health of the church and its witness in the world.
Actually these four steps can also be used in our families. Often family feuds will go on for decades, spoiling family gatherings and never getting resolved. This happens because instead of confronting one another in love, we sit back and nurse our hurt privately. We wait for the other to apologize, and if he or she doesn't we withdraw and ignore the person. Is this happening in your family or with a friend? If so, the scripture is clear that it is the responsibility of the one who feels offended to take the first step and go to the person who has sinned against them. Often this is all it takes for a minor conflict to be resolved and families to be reunited.
A more serious sin and conflict may require that there be witnesses. Witnesses are needed so that you cannot be misquoted later. This is particularly true in families and church families where there has been abuse. The easiest way may seem just to ignore it and get on with your life. But that doesn't happen. Both the abuser and the abused need help for healing to take place.
Not too long ago, the lead article in a local newspaper was the story of a former pastor in the community being accused of sexual misconduct while serving in a town in central Minnesota. The abused in this case, as well as all such cases, is not just the victim or victims but the whole congregation who have put their trust in that pastor or church leader. That is why church discipline sometimes requires the third step of informing the whole church in order for the church to take action. This would be true of abuse in a family, as well. The whole family needs to know, no matter how embarrassing, because the whole family is betrayed if one member abuses another. This does not mean that we force the sinner out of the home church, but that he or she is taken out of a position where he or she can do further harm.
Some Words Of Caution
It is not always easy to be our brother or sister's keeper. The process Jesus recommended for dealing with sin within the church is not as easy as it sounds. Often when there is a conflict it is not clear cut as to who is the one in the wrong. Sometimes, if not often, both have sinned. But then either one can take the first step.
The conflict in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America over the acceptance of the historic episcopate in order to have full communion with the Episcopal Church is an example. Those against it believed that Lutherans did not need pastors ordained by bishops nor did they need bishops installed in the historic episcopate. They were afraid if it were accepted with no exceptions, the practice would one day become as essential to Lutherans as the Word and the Sacraments. This conflict, which did not necessarily have a right or wrong side, was wrong because it hurt the witness of the Christian church in the world.
As part of a church's long range planning process, there were some discussions that uncovered some minor differences of opinion. For instance, some thought members should clap after music offered by children, and others thought that we should not clap because then it becomes more of a performance than an offering to God. Another difference uncovered was concerning the exchange of God's Peace in the service. Some wanted it, and others did not want it as they felt it interrupted the flow of the service and was a way of passing germs in the cold season. Then there was the feeling expressed that the church was a social club and not an out--reaching arm for Christ. Some commented that one of the church's strengths was its focus on mission, while others commented on how well the members care for each other. There was truth in all these observations.
These different perceptions people have of the church are understandable. We come from different backgrounds and have different perspectives. Many churches are made up of people who have nothing in common with each other except their love for Jesus Christ. Yet God has called us to be the church together, despite our differences. Thus we have no right to try to remove from the church those who are different from us, but it does mean we can learn from each other and work together on the essentials - a Word and Sacrament ministry that witnesses to the love of God in Jesus Christ.
Last Resort
There will always be disputes in the church because the church is made up of humans. On rare occasion there may be a time when we have to follow Christ's advice: "If the member refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector." Gentiles and tax collectors were despised outsiders in Jesus' day. To treat a person as a Gentile and a tax collector, in the Jewish sense, would mean they were to be ignored. But then we need to remember that even if Jesus said that, he gave his life for sinners. He ate with sinners and even called a tax collector, Matthew, to be his disciple. Also it was Jesus who said:
"Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."
- Mark 11:25
"Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?" - Matthew 7:1--3
I think when Jesus says to treat someone as a Gentile or tax collector, as he does in Matthew 18, he is saying either that this must be the very last resort if all else fails or that we are to look upon the person as a Gentile or tax collector who needs to be reconverted.
As sinners we need to hear the law and the gospel so that we are both convicted of our sins and saved by Jesus Christ. If anyone is excluded from the community, how will he or she hear the Word that condemns and restores? I believe God will not allow the church to be destroyed by one or two sinners who refuse to repent and change their ways.
In the second chapter of Ephesians we are reminded that it is God who established and preserves the church and it is God who calls very diverse people together and makes a new family to be the church. Even Jews and Gentiles, who were once enemies, are no longer strangers and aliens in the church. They are members together in the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.
Conclusion
There are expectations of us who profess to be Christians. We are expected to be moral, honest, and decent people. We are to be our brothers' and sisters' keepers. We are to look out for the weak and the voiceless. We have the responsibility to care for those not only inside of the church family but also those outside of the church and our own families.
Today's Gospel gives us good advice for dealing with each other as the church and as a family. There is a good chance that these steps will work if they are done in love and in the name of Jesus Christ. The passage ends with the much--quoted verses:
"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."
Is big brother watching you? Yes, big brother, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, is watching you and me. He knows we are all sinners, yet he loves us and calls us to repentance. He calls us to be the church witnessing in the world for the sake of the gospel. Amen.
A popular television show in 2000 was the CBS program, Big Brother. It was a reality--based show that allowed the viewers to watch and then vote on who should get booted out of the house. The first contestant to be expelled by the viewers was a man by the name of William, a 27--year--old youth counselor from Philadelphia. He got the boot because he had spent his first two weeks fighting with fellow housemates.
Today's Gospel deals with discipline in the church. If someone doesn't conform after being warned, they get the boot and are kicked out of church, or at least that is what it sounds like. Is that the way we should deal with sinners in the church? If we did, who would be left?
A pastor told some boys who had been making some obscene telephone calls from the church that no matter what they did, they would not get kicked out of confirmation class. Legally they might be in trouble, but the church was one place they were accepted no matter what they did. We hate the sin, but we love the sinner. Was that a good response or should they have been given the boot and kicked out of confirmation classes for a time?
Another situation that caused a great deal of debate in a church in a neighboring community was whether or not a certain woman should be allowed to teach Sunday school because she was having an affair with her boss, a married man. That same question came up in terms of a pastor. Should a pastor be allowed to continue serving a church, if he admits to having sex with one or more parishioners?
What do you think? Are there some standards or values that we must uphold as a church? And when they are ignored, are we to call each other to account? Are we our brother or sister's keeper?
Dealing With Sin
Apparently the early church had its problems with wayward members. Many of Paul's letters are written to churches to help them work through their problems. And in the Gospel reading this morning from Matthew 18, Jesus advised the church what to do in these circumstances. I believe that the advice is as good today as it was in Jesus' day.
Jesus sets forth four steps for the church to follow when there is conflict among believers due to sin. The first step was to go alone to the one who has sinned against you and tell him or her. If that doesn't bring repentance and reconciliation, go a second time with one or two witnesses. If the person still refuses to listen, a third step is to take it to the church. If these steps are done in a spirit of love, open communication, and a willingness to forgive, there is a good chance that there will be repentance and reconciliation. But if nothing happens, the fourth and last resort is excommunication from the community for the sake of the health of the church and its witness in the world.
Actually these four steps can also be used in our families. Often family feuds will go on for decades, spoiling family gatherings and never getting resolved. This happens because instead of confronting one another in love, we sit back and nurse our hurt privately. We wait for the other to apologize, and if he or she doesn't we withdraw and ignore the person. Is this happening in your family or with a friend? If so, the scripture is clear that it is the responsibility of the one who feels offended to take the first step and go to the person who has sinned against them. Often this is all it takes for a minor conflict to be resolved and families to be reunited.
A more serious sin and conflict may require that there be witnesses. Witnesses are needed so that you cannot be misquoted later. This is particularly true in families and church families where there has been abuse. The easiest way may seem just to ignore it and get on with your life. But that doesn't happen. Both the abuser and the abused need help for healing to take place.
Not too long ago, the lead article in a local newspaper was the story of a former pastor in the community being accused of sexual misconduct while serving in a town in central Minnesota. The abused in this case, as well as all such cases, is not just the victim or victims but the whole congregation who have put their trust in that pastor or church leader. That is why church discipline sometimes requires the third step of informing the whole church in order for the church to take action. This would be true of abuse in a family, as well. The whole family needs to know, no matter how embarrassing, because the whole family is betrayed if one member abuses another. This does not mean that we force the sinner out of the home church, but that he or she is taken out of a position where he or she can do further harm.
Some Words Of Caution
It is not always easy to be our brother or sister's keeper. The process Jesus recommended for dealing with sin within the church is not as easy as it sounds. Often when there is a conflict it is not clear cut as to who is the one in the wrong. Sometimes, if not often, both have sinned. But then either one can take the first step.
The conflict in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America over the acceptance of the historic episcopate in order to have full communion with the Episcopal Church is an example. Those against it believed that Lutherans did not need pastors ordained by bishops nor did they need bishops installed in the historic episcopate. They were afraid if it were accepted with no exceptions, the practice would one day become as essential to Lutherans as the Word and the Sacraments. This conflict, which did not necessarily have a right or wrong side, was wrong because it hurt the witness of the Christian church in the world.
As part of a church's long range planning process, there were some discussions that uncovered some minor differences of opinion. For instance, some thought members should clap after music offered by children, and others thought that we should not clap because then it becomes more of a performance than an offering to God. Another difference uncovered was concerning the exchange of God's Peace in the service. Some wanted it, and others did not want it as they felt it interrupted the flow of the service and was a way of passing germs in the cold season. Then there was the feeling expressed that the church was a social club and not an out--reaching arm for Christ. Some commented that one of the church's strengths was its focus on mission, while others commented on how well the members care for each other. There was truth in all these observations.
These different perceptions people have of the church are understandable. We come from different backgrounds and have different perspectives. Many churches are made up of people who have nothing in common with each other except their love for Jesus Christ. Yet God has called us to be the church together, despite our differences. Thus we have no right to try to remove from the church those who are different from us, but it does mean we can learn from each other and work together on the essentials - a Word and Sacrament ministry that witnesses to the love of God in Jesus Christ.
Last Resort
There will always be disputes in the church because the church is made up of humans. On rare occasion there may be a time when we have to follow Christ's advice: "If the member refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector." Gentiles and tax collectors were despised outsiders in Jesus' day. To treat a person as a Gentile and a tax collector, in the Jewish sense, would mean they were to be ignored. But then we need to remember that even if Jesus said that, he gave his life for sinners. He ate with sinners and even called a tax collector, Matthew, to be his disciple. Also it was Jesus who said:
"Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."
- Mark 11:25
"Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?" - Matthew 7:1--3
I think when Jesus says to treat someone as a Gentile or tax collector, as he does in Matthew 18, he is saying either that this must be the very last resort if all else fails or that we are to look upon the person as a Gentile or tax collector who needs to be reconverted.
As sinners we need to hear the law and the gospel so that we are both convicted of our sins and saved by Jesus Christ. If anyone is excluded from the community, how will he or she hear the Word that condemns and restores? I believe God will not allow the church to be destroyed by one or two sinners who refuse to repent and change their ways.
In the second chapter of Ephesians we are reminded that it is God who established and preserves the church and it is God who calls very diverse people together and makes a new family to be the church. Even Jews and Gentiles, who were once enemies, are no longer strangers and aliens in the church. They are members together in the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.
Conclusion
There are expectations of us who profess to be Christians. We are expected to be moral, honest, and decent people. We are to be our brothers' and sisters' keepers. We are to look out for the weak and the voiceless. We have the responsibility to care for those not only inside of the church family but also those outside of the church and our own families.
Today's Gospel gives us good advice for dealing with each other as the church and as a family. There is a good chance that these steps will work if they are done in love and in the name of Jesus Christ. The passage ends with the much--quoted verses:
"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."
Is big brother watching you? Yes, big brother, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, is watching you and me. He knows we are all sinners, yet he loves us and calls us to repentance. He calls us to be the church witnessing in the world for the sake of the gospel. Amen.
