Mt 18, 15-20
The second section of Matthew’s teaching on the church in chapter 18 (Mt 18:15-20) raises some truly challenging issues about the church as community. It is much more complicated than just having an accurate parish list.Forgiveness and acceptance of the sinner is the coin of the realm for any authentic Christian community. On the other hand, there must be a righteousness that goes beyond that of the Scribes and Pharisees (Mt 5:20). The kingdom, which is the heart of Jesus’ teachings, entails ethical demands for those who are committed to live and proclaim it. Balancing these three items of inclusiveness, forgiveness and true righteousness is a never-ending challenge for any Christian community faithful to the teachings of Jesus.
This portion of Mt. 18 (Mt 18:15-20), calls us to a community life which demands meaningful and costly interaction. God values the sharing and personal commitment among one another. The give and take of living in community is clearly part of the divine plan for salvation. When the interaction takes place between flawed and sinful people, there will assuredly be conflict, even between brothers and sisters striving to live the values of the kingdom. God uses our brokenness to set us free from a narrow, ego-driven world. Jesus’ message is first directed to sinners. Saints hopefully come into the picture later in the journey.
The gospel-mandated community must have standards. These norms need to guide the lifestyle of the individuals. People are not free to set their own rules. Likewise, no community can avoid facing up to damaging personal hostilities between individuals. Habitual violation of community values has to be confronted. There must be a structure of reconciliation to address these situations.
A Christian community cannot simply disregard its standards by giving free sway to any level of behavior. This denial of values has consequences. Fraternal correction is the great test for the Christian community: to maintain gospel values among a people who are flawed and sinful yet called to holiness. Jesus assures his presence in this struggle to preserve the humility and service that will maintain the loving community in spite of the sinful members. Prayer will draw the members into the presence of Jesus. “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in their midst” (Mt 18:20). This presence will be a formidable force for the necessary confrontation. It will also bring needed consolation and celebration.
Love must be the overall driving force of fraternal correction. All finger pointing must start with the finger pointed at oneself. The other must be approached with a sense of one’s own vulnerability. Love does not seek to antagonize the disruptive member, but love agonizes with that person. It calls forth. It does not put down. The goal is that all are involved in a deeper experience of Gods mercy.
When the conflict happens, Jesus asks us to approach it with humility and radical forgiveness. Recall the advice from the Sermon on the Mount (Mt.5-7). These special chapters contain multiple teachings about forgiveness and reconciliation. One really relevant one is fraternal correction: “Remove the wooden beam from your eye first, then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.” (Mt 7:5).
Secondly, Jesus advises us to bring the conflict or hurt out into the open, into the light of day. Going to the one who offends in loving and open dialogue helps us to see another point of view.
Jesus’ teaching will keep us from the vocation of being the victim. The victim seeks to divide not to heal. When we are the victim, we escalate the problem by telling others how we have been hurt. In this way we further disrupt the community. What we are really doing is seeking power to control the other, ultimately making the healing of the community less likely.
The heart of Mt 18:15-20 offers a program of discipline to address conflict, whether it is between individuals or involves significant and continuous violations of community values. This search for harmony is not possible without the spirit of love. There are four steps in Jesus’ structured approach to fraternal correction. The goal of this intervention is to prevent all from personal shame, to seek personal growth for all, and to highlight the need for prayerful forgiveness that builds up the community rather than tears it down in division and hostility. It hopes to build bridges over the walls of isolation and separation.
Here are the steps:
- A person-to-person approach seeks a healing dialogue recognizing that there most often are many sides to any issue.
- If there is a failure to heal the breach at the initial level, two or three witnesses are asked to join the dialogue.
- When this is not sufficient, the issue must be brought to the larger community.
- Finally, when the community sees a continuing violation of the core values, the individual is asked to leave until there is a change. The departure is never considered permanent and always is done in a loving and forgiving manner.
