AU United Methodist Community

Rev. Mark Schaefer
Kay Spiritual Life Center
September 4, 2011
Matthew 18:15-20

Matthew 18:15-20 • “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. But 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. If the member refuses to listen to them, 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. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, 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.”

I. BEGINNING

I am a Generation-X’er.  In pretty much every way.  I don’t know that I understood the depth of that generational identification until I read Douglas Coupland’s novel Generation X, from which book the term came.  But even more than the story and the characters (many of whom I recognized from my own life) it was the entertaining glossary definitions that appeared throughout the book in the margins that fascinated me most.

Among my favorites were:

McJob: A low-pay, low-prestige, low-dignity, low-benefit, no-future job in the service sector. Frequently considered a satisfying career choice by people who have never held one.

Café Minimalism: To espouse a philosophy of minimalism without actually putting into practice any of its tenets.

Option Paralysis: The tendency, when given unlimited choices, to make none.

But by far the one that has stuck with me the most was the definition of “Meism”: A search by an individual, in the absence of training or traditional religious tenets, to formulate a personally tailored religion by himself. Most frequently a mishmash of reincarnation, personal dialogue with a nebulously defined god figure, naturalism, and karmic eye-for-eye attitudes.

I always liked that because I had a couple of friends who were clearly Meists and now I knew what to call them.

Of course, Meism exists not only as a separate home-made religion but as an ever growing branch of Christianity.  It reflects a hyper-spiritualized, hyper-individualized brand of faith that is concerned almost entirely with the individual’s experience of salvation and seems much less interested in anything having to do with community or collective responsibility.

People become concerned with their own individual revelations of the truth or personal messages from God rather than looking to the community of the church for guidance.  People worry about their own individual salvation rather than concerning themselves with the fate of their brothers and sisters.  Christian Meism may look a lot more Christian than a mishmash of reincarnation, naturalism, and karma, but it’s just as Meist.  Faith becomes about what I get out of it.

It is the brand of Christian faith that makes me wish I could add one extra commandment to the list of ten; it’d be: “It’s not about YOU.”

II. THE TEXT

The text makes it clear, that Christianity is not a solo enterprise.  If it were, there would be no need for the kind of instructions that Jesus gives here.

Jesus is instructing the disciples on a matter of church discipline.  “If a member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone.”  Jesus reminds us that maintaining right relationship is important and it is much easier to maintain right relationship when you discuss issues privately than publicly.  It’s somewhat staggering to contemplate what would happen if people actually did this.  I mean, what would happen to the whole industry of passive-aggressive Facebook status posts?

But if it should turn out that the problem isn’t resolved, then another meeting should be held, this time with a couple of members of the church, who can provide some impartiality and some witness.  If that doesn’t work, then the complaint is brought before the whole church.  If that doesn’t work, then the person should be asked to leave the community.

What is clear from these passages, is how important the well-being of the community is.  Communities can be open, loving, and welcoming of all, but they are not expected to tolerate behavior that is disruptive and hurtful to its members and to the community as a whole.

This passage is an appeal for harmony and healthy relations in the church.  But it is more than that, too.  It is a reminder that Christian faith is not a solo endeavor.  Christian faith is not a solitary enterprise where one is free to do whatever one wants, free of having to take into consideration other members of the community.  And that is why Jesus reminds them: “Where two or three of you are gathered in my name, there I am among you.”

III.  THE COMMUNITY OF FAITH

It has become something of a cliché to note that a church is not the building, it’s the people in it.  And it’s true: in the New Testament, the word that means “church” means “assembly”, a gathering of people.

Illustration by Kathleen Kimball

But what often goes unnoticed is that while we understand that “church” is a communal enterprise, we don’t necessarily understand faith that way.  We tend to understand faith as something individual, something personal. Wesley said that the “Gospel of Jesus Christ knows of no religion, but social; no holiness but social holiness.” In spite of that, it’s hard to see faith as community.

Especially when we live in a culture that tells us that we are best when we are atomistic individuals, neither depending on or supporting others.  When we live in a culture that caters to individual whims and desires.  When we are fed a steady diet of rugged individualism and where most people mistakenly believe that the phrase “The Lord helps those who help themselves” is in the Bible.  It’s not.  It’s from ancient Greece by way of Poor Richard’s Almanack, which, importantly was written by a Deist who didn’t believe God intervened in human affairs and so whose understanding of grace may have been lacking.

And so in a culture that is becoming increasingly individualistic, cut off from one another, isolated and atomized, the Church has an uphill battle establishing its own relevance for people.  When an institution is defined by a communitarian value, it’s hard to compete in a culture that is more and more about the individual.  It’s hard to remind even Christians that Christ is present “where two or three are gathered”.

And so the church engages in all kinds of questionable strategies to lure people in.  To ensure its own survival as an institution, the church figures: “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”   It caters to cultural expectations and seeks to meet those needs.  In so doing, it fails to be what it’s meant to be.  Because in recognizing that the church is where “two or three are gathered” not enough attention is paid to answering the question: gathered for what?

IV. WHAT THE CHURCH IS NOT

A. Entertainment

Perhaps it’s because church is boring that people don’t come any more, some think.  We need louder music, a video screen, and maybe a laser show.  It’s hard to compete with television, movies, and the internet.  Church needs to be more of a spectacle.  Plus, young people like that.  If we have better production values, then we’ll have more young people.

Now, I want to be clear that there is nothing wrong with contemporary worship or having a praise band or video clips.  The problem lies in the belief that what the church is lacking is flash.  That the church has failed to be relevant because it has not kept up with the times in terms of how it presents its worship experience.  No, the bigger problem is having bought into the idea that church is meant to be entertaining.  That our product—an entertaining way to spend a Sunday morning—can’t compete with Meet the Press, Face the Nation, golf, or soccer practice.

Church shouldn’t be boring.  But what makes church boring is when nothing important is said and nothing meaningful is done in it.  All the light shows in the world can’t change that.

B. Fire Insurance

There are those who have decided that what the church can offer is a guarantee that when you die, you don’t go somewhere you don’t want to.  And so, the church becomes a retailer of “fire insurance”.  We have the ultimate insurance program.  It’s a little bit longer than 15 minutes, but you’ll save a hell of a lot more.

This is the marketing strategy of those churches who put up billboards that say things like, “When you die, where will YOU go?”  and “After you die, you will meet God”, “Have you read my #1 Best Seller?  There will be a test” signed “God”, and my favorite: “You think it’s hot here…”.  All of these signs are basically threatening you with the same sense of inadequacy that every television commercial does as well:

“Do you have off-white teeth?  Don’t you know that having teeth that are anything less than blindingly white—so white that deer will stand transfixed and cars will careen off the road—is a serious personal failing?  Fortunately, our whitening toothpaste can make up for this terrible gap in your human character.”

The church, sadly, falls into this trap all the time. “Don’t you know that you’re going to hell?  God has told us that you are going to hell! It’s true!  Just look at how much money we spent on this billboard to tell you! How can you avoid this fate?  Become one of us and your life—which is far worse than you ever realized—will be better because you’ll have salvation!  Why take the chance?  Call now!”

C. Self-help Plan

There are other phenomena of culture that we mimic as well.

There’s something that we do as human beings when we encounter the challenges of the world: we create narratives.  Some narratives we tell ourselves: “I didn’t get that grade because my professor is out to get me” or “I’m sure that a relationship with that person would have been more trouble than it’s worth, so it’s just as well that we’re not going out.”

And we often tell narratives to one another as a way of softening the blows of life’s challenges.  When a child cries at the doctor’s office or having skinned her knee, we say, “Oh, you’re so brave” when the opposite is really true.  When a child comes in last at a race, we tell him, “You were so strong and fast, you really had them going for a while”.  Rarely, if ever, do we say, “Well, kid, you probably don’t have what it takes to be a runner.”  And we understand why we use these narratives, to make ourselves and one another feel better.[1]

But let me ask you: suppose I don’t get the good grade because it turns out I’m a lousy student or that I don’t study well or that I have several interpersonal issues that I need to work out.  Have I helped myself by telling myself a narrative like that?  If I tell my child she’s the best at something she isn’t, have I helped her in the long run or will she have to tell herself a different narrative when her expectations of herself don’t come true?

Too often the church tries to enter into the self-help industry by telling people that they’re okay.  We have the best self-help product: God. (I sometimes even imagine God with one of those little trademark symbols after it.)  Is your life miserable?  You need God™.  Are you having trouble getting that promotion?  You need God™.  Do you wish you could get your life together?  You need God™.  And lucky for you, we have God™.  Oh, you didn’t get that promotion: that’s okay, it’s all part of God’s Plan™.

The biggest problem with that is that it all sounds good but not that many people believe it.  People come in with serious problems and then get told that now they’ll all go away because now they have God™.  But do they really feel better? Or are they now compelled to act like they’re better even when they’re not, because that’s what everyone expects?  And are they really transformed, or have they just bought another narrative that they’re trying to tell themselves?

This isn’t the church.  This is just another product.  This is just another narrative that we’re selling people to make them feel better.

D. Hide Out

And sometimes the church not only forgets what we’re supposed to be, but where.

On my vacation this summer I came across a storefront church.  Now, I like the idea of a storefront church: present, right in the middle of the neighborhood.  But then I saw the name of this church: “The Refuge”.  All I could picture were all the poor Christians, huddled inside, hiding from the world.  This church was offering even more than fire insurance or self-help.  It was offering escape.  World got you down?  Come join us!  But—be quiet: we’re hiding!

V. WHAT THE CHURCH IS: A MEANS OF GRACE

These things are not what the church is meant to be.  The church is not an entertainment option. It is not fire insurance.  It is not a hideout or a self-help program.  It is the body of Christ and as such, is a means of grace.

It is meant to embody the same grace that Jesus embodied.  It is not a place that is about entertaining you.  Oh, there are certainly elements of performance in a worship service—I’m doing one of them right now.  But these elements are only valuable if they convey meaning.  I could tell jokes up here all night and I could kill, but if no grace has been conveyed in anything I’ve said, then I haven’t preached the Gospel and you haven’t been to church.  At the same time, a preacher can give a thoughtful sermon, unremarkable in terms of its presentation, and a congregation can be captivated because it meant something.

The church is meant to embody grace, not scare the hell out of people.  Our job is not to scare you into thinking you need something so that we can offer you the cure.  We’re not in insurance.  We’re in advertising.  Advertising love and grace for all people.  It’s why our mission statement here in this community is “Love God. Serve Others. Welcome All.”

And that speaks to the self-help point.  What if the church got out of the self-help business?  We’ll never be as good at it as Tony Robbins is and we’ll never have teeth that white.  But what if instead of telling people that they didn’t have any problems or that their problems were okay because now they had God™, what if we told them that they were loved for who they were, in spite of their problems?  What if we gave them the space to confront what was really going on inside them?  What if we allowed people to face their brokenness—personal, spiritual, emotional, mental—knowing that they could do so free from guilt and shame?  What if the church were, you know… like Jesus?

The real beauty of that model of community is that it is only when we get rid of our false narratives, the stories we tell ourselves to feel better, that we are actually able to begin to heal.  We can tell ourselves we’re better or blameless or whatever all we want, but it’s only when we acknowledge how broken we are that we begin the journey toward healing.  And in that journey we encounter God.  Not as a product.  Not as a self-help guru.  Not as an insurance policy.  But as the living source of love and grace.  The love and grace that is found in the church.

VI. END

Today we are celebrating communion—the Lord’s Supper.  We believe the communion to be an instrument of grace, meaning that when we receive this meal we receive the grace and love of God.  That’s why everyone is welcome to receive it, because it’s not something we do, it’s something God does in us.  Sometimes, receiving this free sign of love is the first encounter people have with God and it can be a powerful one.  That is what the sacraments are: means of grace.

What if the community itself were a sacrament?  What if we understood that it was in community that we encountered the love and grace of God?

I brag about the students in this community all the time.  It’s true.  I probably annoy my colleagues with how much I talk about you.  But if I brag about you it’s because I believe that this community has come closer than most to living out that understanding of church.  To being a place not that solves problems, but welcomes without judgment or condemnation those who have them.  A place not that provides simple answers, but is willing to ask the difficult questions.  A place that is not trying to sell anything, but is only interested in giving things away.  We still have a lot we could do better, but when we are a community of welcome for all, when we do not content ourselves to be a refuge, but seek to be an embassy in the middle of a broken world, then we more fully model the Christ whose body we are called to be.  When we are that community, then when “two or three are gathered” Christ truly is in the midst of us.

Jesus gives us instruction about how we should handle conflict in the community because community matters.  Community matters because it is in community where we encounter grace.  It is in community where we face our brokenness, where we love without condition, where we share in one another’s burdens, where we work for justice for others, where we experience the world-transforming love of God.  And, as Jesus tells us when he speaks of “where two or three are gathered”, it is in community where we encounter the living God.