Advent Lutheran Church

"Kinship Community – God’s Family Values (Pentecost 12)"

            It has been an interesting summer, politically, with the uptick of the “Tea Party” influence, and the bickering across the aisle that seems to go on endlessly.  However, if that drives you crazy, they ponder the fact that we pretty soon we will be in full-swing campaign mode of the 2012 presidential election, and then (mark my words) we’ll hear once again those two little words:  “Family Values.”

            Funny thing is, Biblical families aren’t so great!  Consider Abraham and his son Isaac, who he was about to kill; Jacob’s twelve sons who schemed and argued over a piece of fancy clothing; King David and Bathsheba, whose husband David had killed in battle so that he and his lover could be together.  Even those “family values” are assumed to be rooted in the witness of Holy Scripture, these values aren’t so “Christian” after all.  However, the family values that ARE in the Bible don’t get much air time, probably because they are too hard to do!

            In the passage from Matthew today, we find Jesus in the middle of creating a new “kinship” community called church. He was building on the foundation of community that the Jews already had, but that community was rooted in and based on The Law – the Old Testament “eye for an eye” and the Ten Commandments.  Now, as originally intended, these laws were “good news” because their purpose was to order the community’s life and practices.  But over time they became legalistic, so Jesus “reinterprets” the scripture (aha!) to include grace, adjusting the human ways of following the Law back to the divine intentions of following God.

            However, Jesus’ call to us to “follow me” was not an invitation to a partnership nor a democracy, it was the beginning of a whole new relationship, a new community that had Jesus  as the foundation, Christ at the center.  And this “kinship community” called the church started out really well in the 1^st century:  if one had a need, another filled it, all property was held in common and no one was left out or excluded.

            Is our kinship community here at Advent Lutheran Church really different from the world around us?  Well, of course it is, because we have the only real power to change the world around us!  Here’s a perfect example: Matthew 18’s “Rules for Conflict Among Kin.”

            Family Value #1:  LOVE ONE ANOTHER  (Note that I am using the translation of “brother” or “kin” in lieu of “member of the church.”  I believe that to be a more faithful translation of the Greek word adelphos.)  Therefore:  “If your loved one sins against you…”

You can just talk about them behind their back, or you can call a bunch of people to complain about them. You can send them a nasty email. Copy the pastors. And, while you’re on a roll, you might as well copy the bishop!  Or even worse than that, you can avoid conflict at all costs.  Don’t say anything, just un-friend them on Facebook. And, if you can’t avoid them on Sundays, you can just leave the church.  No, no no…!  How is THAT being part of a kinship community?

            Instead, the power underlies what Matthew 18 tells you to simply, “Go to the person (directly, and by yourself) in love, and then just LISTEN…If that doesn’t work, and only then, (and truly, if you need some to help YOU in keeping your cool, being patient and loving or conveying your message clearly and compassionately,) then take two or three others along as witness.  (Are these witnesses for you or your brother?)  But this is how the world will know our family values.  Remember the words to the old camp song?  “They will know we are Christians by our love…”

            Family Value #2:  EVERYONE BELONGS (please reflect on the fact that Matthew 18 is preceded by the story of the Lost Sheep, and how the shepherd leaves the 99 to go after the one wandering sheep.)  Fortunately, many churches, included Advent, use Matthew 18 as a guideline for addressing conflict in the congregation.  Unfortunately, Matthew 18 is also, often used by churches to exclude their “troublemakers.”  Why?  Because the cost of reconciling (turning from ourself to the other) is so high!  Surely there’s an easier way!  I know!  What about casting out the Gentiles and the tax collectors!  Yeah!  But think about Jesus’ inter-actions with Gentiles:  the Canaanite woman pleading for her daughter’s healing; the Roman centurion also seeking a cure for his servant; the woman at the well, looking for acceptance; the Samaritan adulteress needing forgiveness and the Gerasene demoniac in need of an exorcism.  Consider the tax collectors that Jesus ate with routinely, and Zacchaeus, as well as that old tax collector whose name graces this gospel, Matthew himself…

            Think about an undeserved wrong in your family: the injustice, how unfair it was and how much it hurt. Now imagine yourself forgiving.  Or being forgiven.  The power of that kind of grace-filled love does not come from us, I can tell you, but only from the hand of God. Remember:  Once you draw a line in the sand, you can just bet that Jesus is on the other side.

            You know, brothers and sisters, Resurrection changes us.  Following Jesus changes us, and I don’t mean that we’re all going to become monks or nuns or missionaries or even pastors.  But I do mean that having Christ at the center of our priorities and our lives changes us, and the world around us.  Be God’s presence in the world and draw ‘em in to what is HOLY.  Like Ezekiel, be responsible only for the warning, because you are not responsible for the change…

Don’t seek vengeance (“Vengeance is mine, says the LORD”) or judgment (“Judge not, lest you, yourself be judged.”)  And God doesn’t need your help to ensure someone else’s salvation (yup, God already took care of that through Jesus.)                      

            Biblical family values basically mean -- It is NOT about us.  Matthew 18 is not even primarily about church order, but about how ALL God’s chillun’ find a way to live together and care for one another.  Two Simple Family Values:  Love One Another and Everyone Belongs

You extend the invitation over and over and over again so that everyone is welcome; so that no one is left out;    so that the family stays together – all reconciled in Christ. Claim that as your value, you’re safe. 

            Just remember The Golden Rule which is held by every faith around the world in one way or another:  “Do unto to others as you would have them do unto you.”  Or, as Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Just in case we, too, might sin one day against someone we love, or who loves us.  Instead of being outcast, lost, we’d have one, then two or three (or more!) coming to look for us, unable to rest till we’re found…until we are safe. Returned home. Welcomed back to the table.      The Table of Grace.  Amen.