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Readings Between the Lines
Father Glenn LeCompte Reflections
One of the unique features of Matthew’s Gospel is that Matthew collects a considerable amount of Jesus’ teaching into five lengthy discourses or speeches (Matthew 5:3-7:29; 10:1— 11:1; 13:1-53; 18:1—19:1; 24:1-51). Two of this month’s Sunday Gospel readings come from the fourth of the five discourses. Matthew 18:1—19:1 is referred to by many biblical scholars as the “Church Order Discourse,” because the material within it is concerned with relations within the community of Jesus’ followers.
After chapter 13 in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus’ disciples become a more distinct group. Inspired by their leaders, the uncommitted crowds that follow Jesus will end up calling for the former’s crucifixion at his hearing before Pilate (27:20-22). In addition, Matthew’s Jesus delivers private instructions to his disciples, as is exemplified by Matthew 15:15-20, where Jesus explains to his disciples the meaning of his parable about digestion of food (15:10-11). Likewise, the Church Order Discourse is directed to the disciples who will form the nucleus of the church which will continue beyond Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Matthew’s Gospel gives a lot of attention to the concept of a church, perhaps more so than the other canonical Gospels. In 16:16-20, after Peter, speaking for all of the Twelve, identifies Jesus as “the Messiah, the Son of the Living God,” Jesus declares Peter the rock on which he would build his church. The foundation of the community of Jesus’ disciples will be the faith which Peter has just expressed, and Jesus confers authority upon Peter, as leader, to “bind and loose.” In the Church Order Discourse Jesus focuses on intra-community relations. I will consider those sections of the discourse which will be read at Sunday Masses this month.
Matthew 18:15-20 depicts a process for reconciliation within the church. If a church member sins against another, the offended party is responsible to seek out the offender and attempt to reconcile. One might expect Jesus to say that it is the offender’s responsibility to initiate the reconciliation process. If the injured party bears the responsibility to start the process, that person has to forego the desire for revenge, and displays a proper care and concern for the fellow disciple.
If the offender refuses the invitation to make amends, then the offended party is urged to bring two other members of the church to help adjudicate the process. This procedure is based on Deuteronomy 19:15, which states that, “a charge shall stand only on the testimony of two or three witnesses.” The idea is that the two witnesses, assuming they are objective, can help the perpetrator to see that the charge is not simply “the injured person’s agenda,” but that if two others agree, then maybe there is substance to the plaintiff’s claim.
If the offender is not convinced when multiple witnesses are brought in, the issue is finally to be taken before the whole community. Hopefully the offender will see that the dispute brings scandal to the body of believers. If not, then the malefactor is to be excommunicated: “treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector” (18:17). This is because the wrongdoer, by persisting in malice within his or her heart, is behaving like a nonbeliever or a public sinner. As J.P. Meier (The Vision of Matthew, p. 132) observes, “ ... there is no intervention by a single authoritative leader. When the church acts authoritatively, it acts as a whole, though Matthew certainly knows the existence of church leaders ...For Matthew, church leadership does not swallow up the authority of the assembly of believers acting as one body.” The church here is given “binding and loosing” power (18:18-19). The community wields this binding and loosing power, for Jesus, who is “God-with-us” (1:23) and who will promise to be always with his church (28:20), is in their midst when they act in communion with one another.
Following the presentation of this patterned reconciliation process, Peter appears to want to know how often a community member is obligated to seek forgiveness of another. When Peter asks if seven times is enough, Jesus counters with the number 77. This dialog may reflect Genesis 4:24, where Cain’s son Lamech kills an offender and boasts about it. Yet God will avenge Lamech, whose a
Reflections
sin is intensified over that of Cain, “seventy-seven times,” even as God avenges Cain “seven times.” God preserves humanity despite its sinful tendencies.
Jesus illustrates for his disciples the utter necessity of forgiveness by means of the parable of “The Unforgiving Servant,” (Matthew 18:21-35) as many call it. Jesus tells his disciples that the Kingdom of Heaven is like the situation described in the parable, which uses earthly figures and events. A king who is settling accounts with his slaves finds one who owes him 10,000 talents, an amount of money that would be very difficult for even a wealthy person to pay back. Whereas the king’s initial reaction is to sell the slave, his family and property to try to recoup some of the bad debt, he reconsiders when the slave pleads with him to give him more time, and ends up forgiving the whole debt. Finding another slave who owes him but a
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fraction of what he owes the king, the slave whose debt was forgiven refuses to extend the same consideration to his fellow slave. This disrupts the entire household, who, saddened at the incident, report it to the king. The king then exacts justice and subjects the unforgiving slave to punishment. What is the point? Forgiveness is unquestionably essential for members of the church. Christians who are not disposed to forgiveness are acting in a way contrary to their identity as members of the coming Kingdom. This is why Jesus likens the Kingdom to the situation in the parable. In the Kingdom, forgiveness will be a norm of life, and those who do not forgive simply will not fit in.
The two passages from the Church Order Discourse I have considered tell us that reconciliation and forgiveness keep the church intact in times of internal conflict. The church is not a perfect society, yet its imperfection
does not have to lead to its demise. It is essential that all members of the church do their part to hold it together by embracing the virtues of reconciliation and forgiveness. BC
Reflection Questions
v How easy is it for you to initiate the reconciliation process when someone has injured you? Why so? v How can a commitment to reconciliation and forgiveness contribute to the gradual emergence of God’s Kingdom? v In what ways is there need for communal reconciliation within the church today? How can our practice of reconciliation set a positive example for the world around us?
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