Listen to Each Other

Reading: Matthew 18.15-20
Do you ever have a problem with jealousy? If only you had been brought up differently, had grown up somewhere else, had gone to a different school, had known a different set of friends, had had more money, had got a better job, had better health... things would be different.

There's nothing very positive about jealousy. Its comparisons don't help us to cope with (or to move into action in) the situations we are actually facing. Jealousy always makes the assumption that life has been kinder to someone else, that they have been plain luckier than we have...

Of course, we shouldn't deny that there are differences in our circumstances - sometimes very large differences! But again and again, we hear of people with the same bad circumstances making out very differently.

Remember the story Jesus told about the three servants (Mt.25.14-30)? One was given five thousand coins ("five talents" in the King James), another two, another one. The "one talent" servant did nothing to improve the value of what was entrusted to him. His excuse - "Sir, I know you are a hard man; you reap harvests where you did not sow, and you gather crops where you did not scatter seed. I was afraid, so I went off and hid your money in the ground. Look! Here is what belongs to you!"

He certainly illustrates the paralysing fear we spoke about a few weeks ago - so scared he did nothing! As I reflect on his situation, I wonder to what extent jealousy underlay his fear. Can't you picture his thoughts? "One measly talent! Only one measly talent! And he expects me to do something with that! Now, if he had given me five talents, or even two... I'm sure I could have done something useful with that! But it's just not fair! The others have been given a much better chance than me! Well, I'm at least as responsible as the others! I'll make sure our master gets it back in full! I won't lose it! I'll hide it!"

We sometimes hear it suggested that God has a preference for the disadvantaged. In this parable Jesus singles out the disadvantaged one for condemnation - because of what he hasn't done with what he has received. We all have some advantage - what do we do with it?

The Child in the Midst...

You would imagine that, in the presence of Jesus himself, the disciples would have had no trouble at all with jealousy. Never before had they been so aware of such greatness and such humility.

And yet... at the beginning of Matthew 18 they are asking Jesus, "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?" The accounts in Mark and Luke make it quite clear that they had been arguing about which one of them would be the greatest (Mk.9.33-37; Lk.9.46-48). So Jesus calls a child, has him stand in front of them and then shocks them by saying, "I assure you that unless you change (lit. turn around) and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven." Here they had been thinking, "We are the lucky ones. It will be one of us for sure! But which one? Me, of course! I have every reason to expect to become the greatest!" And here is Jesus saying to them, "Steady on! With that attitude you won't make it at all! Humble yourself and become like this child. That is the way to enter - and, incidentally, to be great - in the Kingdom."

But they were poor listeners and slow learners. What Jesus said was quite clear, and yet, two chapters later, we read that James and John got their mother to come to Jesus to ask a favour, "Promise me that these two sons of mine will sit at your right and your left when you are King" (20.20ff). As if Jesus hadn't spoken plainly enough!

So this rumbling mixture of jealousy and ambition is in the background of the passage we are looking at today.

But Jesus went on. With the child still there, he says, "Whoever welcomes in my name one such child as this, welcomes me" (v.5). And a warning, "If anyone should cause one of these little ones to lose his faith in me, it would be better for that person to have a large millstone tied round his neck and be drowned in the deep sea" (v.6).

So Jesus is emphasising the need to change and to become like children - with humility and simple faith. He is telling them that it is important to welcome such children. And he is warning them not to cause any of these little ones to lose their faith in him - the "stumbling-block" of the King James was the stick that set off the trap.

Jesus then goes on to say, "See that you don't despise any of these little ones. Their angels in heaven, I tell you, are always in the presence of my Father in heaven" (v.10). He tells the story of the man who had a hundred sheep and went searching for the one sheep that had gone astray. "In just the same way your Father in heaven does not want any of these little ones to be lost" (v.14).

In all of their jealousy and ambition for the greatest place in the Kingdom, the very purpose of the Kingdom was being missed!

As Jesus humbled himself to become a man, so they are to humble themselves. Like Jesus, they are to live in such a way that each person - from youngest to eldest - will be brought home again and be nurtured in a growing faith in him. There is no place for their jealousy and ambition in the Kingdom.

The Brother who Sins...

"If your brother sins against you..." Against this background, these words take on a different significance.

What happens when jealousy and personal ambition begin to take hold in a workplace? Quiet words are spoken behind a person's back to other workmates - perhaps in hope that an unfavourable rumour may get back to the boss. Jealousy and ambition are a good feeding ground for gossip.

Let us be quite clear about gossip. A half-truth is not the truth. Its aim is to deceive. It is as serious as an outright lie.

Note the situation - "If your brother sins against you..." This is not about a rumour, or about a bad story someone else has passed on to you. It is about something against you. Jesus is talking about "sin", not about a difference of opinion or a disagreement or some action we did not like. Be careful here. We can make everything into a sin where our personal wants and wishes have been crossed!

What is your response to be? "Go to him and show him his fault... privately, just between yourselves." Don't spread a story! Until you have talked to him directly, you only have a half-story! You are inclined to interpret what has happened in a way that favours your own point of view. You have been hurt. Have you misunderstood his intentions? Has he been reacting to something objectionable about you?

These situations tend not to be straightforward at all. Listen to something Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount - "You have heard that people were told in the past, 'Do not commit murder; anyone who does will be brought to trial.' But now I tell you: whoever is angry with his brother will be brought to trial, whoever calls his brother 'You good-for-nothing!' will be brought before the Council, and whoever calls his brother a worthless fool will be in danger of going to the fire of hell. So if you are about to offer your gift to God at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift to God" (Mt.5.21-24). There sounds to be a real question as to who is right and who is wrong! And even the person who is "right" is not right to be angry! It is imperative to get together and to "make peace" - the sooner the better!

"If he listens to you, you have won your brother back." Listening is needed on both sides. But where we are talking about a clear sin, we have to be direct about it - you were lying to me, you did not deal honestly with me, you set about to destroy my character. If the sin is acknowledged, reconciliation can begin to take place.

"But if he will not listen to you..." Only then is it permissible to "take one or two persons with you". They will be able to have an independent view of the whole situation, will confirm that the other person has sinned against you and will add their call for him to acknowledge his fault. Of course, it is also possible that they might conclude that there is fault on both sides or that you have been totally unreasonable. The assumption is that they are independent witnesses - not people you have programmed to your own bias!

"And if he will not listen to them..." The matter then goes before the whole church - in his presence. And if he will not listen to the church, he is to be regarded as a non-believer.

"Who is the greatest...?" "I assure you that unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven!"

Agreeing Together

That jealous ambition is to have no place among them. What they need to express is agreement and peace.

"And I tell you more: whenever two of you on earth agree about anything you pray for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven" (v.19).

What a promise! The Father will be listening! There is power when the Lord's people agree concerning the things to pray for! It will be done for you!

"For where two or three come together in my name, I am there with them" (v.20).

When there is agreement - not jealousy and dissension - when there is agreement among the Lord's people, he is powerfully present! Being together "in his name" means that we are his people, his representatives, those who are seeking to know and do his will... No wonder that kind of prayer is powerful!

What a change from the beginning of the chapter! They must put their ambitions behind them and agree together in his name. Then great things will begin to happen. And that's how it is for us too!


© Peter J. Blackburn, Buderim Uniting Church, 5 July 1993
Except where otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the Good News Bible, © American Bible Society, 1992.