PROPER 18, YEAR A

Sunday 6 September 2026

Sts. Matthew & Mark, Barrington, R.I.

 

Matthew 18:15-20

 

The international relations scholar Kenneth W. Thompson once remarked that to understand the dynamics of conflict among nations and peoples, one need only spend a month in a typical parish choir. In addition to being an accomplished political scientist, Thompson was a Christian thinker of considerable depth, and I suspect he spoke from experience. (I hasten to add that I’m not talking about our own wonderful choir here at Sts. Matthew & Mark, who all seem to get along extraordinarily well!)

 

In any case, life in the Church – not just the choir but every part of the parish – does not always reflect the harmony, peace, and love to which we know we’re called as Christians. Today’s Gospel explicitly acknowledges this hard reality. Jesus is under no illusions. Short of Heaven itself, conflicts will occur even among members of the same congregation. Moreover, for much of the Church’s history, the people with whom one worshiped on Sunday were also one’s family, friends, and neighbors: the people among whom one lived and worked, bought and sold, and socialized and played throughout the rest of the week. So conflict within the parish could be divisive and disruptive to the entire community.

 

To avoid such division, our Lord gives clear, practical directions for what to do when another Church member hurts, offends, or wrongs us. These instructions consist of three steps.

 

First, “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.”

 

In other words, the person with the grievance needs to take the initiative to resolve the problem. Yet how often is this not what happens! We suffer an insult or injury and, instead of taking the matter up with the perpetrator, we start sulking, feeling sorry for ourselves, and nursing a grudge. Or, worse still, we complain to everyone but the person who’s offended us. On some occasions in the past, I’ve inadvertently upset someone, only to discover weeks, months, or even years later that the person told everyone about it except me! Nothing stirs up division and dissension in a community more than people grumbling and complaining behind one another’s backs. But our Lord’s words are clear: If someone offends you, first take it up with that person: directly and privately. You might reach a mutual understanding and achieve reconciliation without stirring up trouble or making the situation worse.

 

Sometimes this direct approach works; sometimes it doesn’t. So the second step: “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.”

 

The biblical background is that the Old Testament repeatedly requires that no one be condemned for wrongdoing except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. One witness alone is insufficient without corroboration. The New Testament carries this principle into the life of the Church, as when Saint Paul writes in his Second Letter to the Corinthians, “Any charge must be sustained by the evidence of two or three witnesses” (13:1). 

 

As an aside, every so often a parishioner will come to me with an accusation against another parishioner: so-and-so said this and did that! Almost always, my instinctive response is that I really can’t do anything about it unless and until I’ve heard from at least both sides. Otherwise, it’s an uncorroborated allegation, and I can’t begin to get to the bottom of what’s really going on.

 

So, our Lord is saying that if we can’t resolve our differences one-on-one, then bring one or two others into the conversation. There’s always the possibility that these third parties might help us see something we can’t see on our own and mediate between the two points of view. 

 

But if this process of mediation fails and our witnesses agree that we’ve been wronged, step three is to “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.” 

 

The early Christians took the command to “tell it to the church” literally. When members of the congregation had personal complaints against one another, they would stand up in church on Sunday morning to air their grievances. The whole congregation would listen and try to mediate, arbitrate, or render a judgment. The Eucharist could not proceed until one of two things happened: either both parties were reconciled and exchanged the kiss of peace—or else the guilty party, if unrepentant, was expelled from the assembly.

 

Needless to say, this procedure caused more problems than it solved, and was soon abandoned. But it survives in symbolic form in one place in our liturgy: the Passing of the Peace! Having just been reconciled with God in the Confession and Absolution, we express our reconciliation with one another, and with all our brothers and sisters in Christ, before we dare approach the Lord’s Table.

 

But what can it mean in today’s world to “Tell it to the church”? The understanding that eventually gained acceptance was that telling it to the church could be accomplished just as well by telling the church’s authorized representatives, namely the clergy.

 

In other words, if another member of the parish hurts or wrongs you so badly that it threatens to destroy the relationship, then first, take the matter up with that person directly. If that doesn’t work, try getting one or two friends to mediate. If that doesn’t work, bring the matter to your priest. I say this not because we priests relish the thought of meddling in our parishioners’ disputes—we don’t, believe me! Yet discord among the members wounds the whole Body. So, we clergy have a legitimate interest in promoting forgiveness and reconciliation among the members of our flock. One of the gifts priests receive at ordination is the ministry of reconciliation. Frankly, when people in the parish are at odds with one another, it is the clergy’s business.

 

Even within the Body of Christ, conflicts and disputes are inevitable. We’re all still sinners, after all, and we’ve all got a long way to go before God is finished with us. What makes life in the Church distinctive, however, is not the absence of conflict, but rather the ability to achieve forgiveness and reconciliation when conflicts arise, as they inevitably will. 

 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives practical directions for working through conflicts toward forgiveness and reconciliation. The point is to do everything we possibly can to be at peace. The goal is not to cast anyone out, but rather to keep everyone within the fold. On the cross, Christ shows us his love by forgiving us and reconciling us to God. And it’s precisely in mutual forgiveness and reconciliation that we show that same love to one another and the world.