Living in Harmony
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23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”
24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”
They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”
27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
Introduction
Do you remember those school playground fall-outs? “ You’re not my friend anymore” someone runs off. Then instead of working things out, things spiral out of control. Things like that happen with adults too.
This is a difficult bible passage to understand. It seems out of place in the middle of those two well-known stories (after the parable of the lost sheep). Seems a bit harsh coming after the parable of the lost sheep. Doesn’t really sound like the words of Jesus, it sounds more like the words from a PCC meeting! Jesus giving instruction about how to respond if one member of the church sins against another member. The message is clear, church discipline is important. In the early Christian church the communities were small, some not much bigger than this chapel service today 20? House church 50ish and disputes amongst the members weakened the group as a whole. Unity is vital. There may have been disputes in your church, in your family/friends - there is a danger of a split that we may still see ourselves as 2 sides rather than one body/family and the message today is as important as it was to the early church – we must resolve disputes in a loving, proper & firm matter; ‘if a person sins against you..’
Today we may tend to ignore it if a person sins against you, or bear a grudge or maybe gossip to someone else but these are sinful responses themselves. The reason sin must be dealt with rather than ignored is because breakdown in relationship between Christians puts the body, Christian community at risk. Conflict isolates you, it affects your judgement, it affects you emotionally & physically (stress/depression/anger >> heart & health problems).
[Illustration] It is said that Leonardo da Vinci, when painting the Last Supper, painted Judas’ face as the face of someone with whom he was angry. But he found he could not paint the face of Jesus until he changed the face of Judas.
So Jesus lays down a procedure for mending broken relationships.
[1] Deal with it ASAP [2] Go personally VIP = face to face (letters, Emails and texts cause problem) [3] Go with a wise (neutral) person [4] consult the Christian community.
In a spirit of Christian love & prayer & fellowship, personal relationships can be put right.
1. Prepare with prayer. Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
2. Do it ASAP! Don’t put off the conflict in the hopes that it will go away. It will only get worse as the anger and bitterness takes root in your soul.
3. Approach with mercy.
4. Aim for restoration and reconciliation. The relationship with the offender and their spiritual maturity is more important than your hurt. Your commitment to forgiveness is key.
5. Start with affirmation. Affirm the relationship. Let the person know that you are seeking to resolve the conflict, not to assign blame. Let the person know up front how much they mean to you.
6. Make observations, not accusations. To accuse puts someone on the defensive. Say what you have seen and felt. 7. Aim for resolution. The point is not to win, blame or prove someone wrong. The point is to restore harmony.
8. Express kindness...... Proof that you have forgiven him/her.
[Move 2]: “Where two or three are gathered in my name , there I am in the midst”
It’s one of those well known sayings….. In context Jesus will be alongside us when we try to resolve difficulties in our relationships.
If someone sins against you …you are to talk to that person privately…. (if you have done it in a loving/gentle way) and if they listen to you , you have won back a brother or sister. Notice it doesn’t say a ‘friend,’ this is about the body (Christ is head), this is about Christian brothers and sisters living in community (living in harmony). It’s is a powerful thing to remember that he is ‘in the midst’ as we seek to love one another and seek reconciliation and peace when there is conflict.
[Move 3]: “Where 2 or 3 are gathered in my name , there I am in the midst”
Take encouragement from this; Jesus is present in the small gathering as much as the large. Jesus isn’t a slave to numbers (human nature puts more in to big crowds v small) – He gives all of himself to each of us - all of the time. Significance is that Jesus is in the home, the hospital, the community centre, in the church. Jesus is where believers meet, he is the unseen guest.
Here Jesus is referring to his resurrection, his unseen presence (post Easter). Pre Easter he was in one place at one time Post Easter he is Omnipresent.
Take courage, he is with us as we meet together in the Holy Communion service today, He is here (Prayer-partners/triplets/small groups) it’s Powerful stuff !
