Year A
Season after Pentecost
Proper 18 (23)
Matthew 18:15-20

Contextual Background:

Jesus teaches about reconciliation within the community: if someone sins, go to them privately; if they refuse, bring witnesses; if they still refuse, treat them as a Gentile or tax collector. He concludes: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

Within the Jewish Tradition:

Jewish law emphasized witnesses and fair process. Covenant life depended on repair and restoration, not endless exclusion.

The Challenge Then:

The challenge was to handle conflict without domination or avoidance, practicing honest accountability rooted in love.

The Challenge Now:

Our culture swings between canceling people harshly or ignoring harm. Jesus calls for courageous repair: truth-telling, accountability, and reconciliation.

Loretta J. Ross talks about “calling people in” rather than “calling people out.” I have included her TED talk below.

We have too often, especially in the social media age, signaled our purity through moral indignation at people. This has not worked. Instead, it has often caused people to react defensively.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12

Love your enemies, Jesus said in Luke 6. Does cancelling people or not calling people in look like love?

In Matthew 20, Jesus says that those who enter work of the Kindom late, get the same wage as those who were earlier.

All of these have something to tell us about the way we seek both the truth and true reconciliation.

Implications for Leaders & Communities:

• Leaders: model honest, loving conflict.
• Communities: make reconciliation a central practice, not an afterthought.

What I Am Learning:

Christ is present when we risk truth and reconciliation in love.

The Question I’m Sitting With:

How can I confront with love and forgive with courage?