Tuesday, October 29, 2024  

---

Today's Scripture
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.” (NRSV)

---

Reflection

“Go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone.” This passage opens with a reminder to address grievances privately. That seems especially relevant in today’s culture of sharing everything on social media. It goes on to say if that doesn’t work, bring a couple of other people, and if that still doesn’t work, bring the whole church. So far, so good. That all sounds like solid advice in line with what I would expect to hear in the Bible.

But then in verse 17 we seem to be instructed to write off the person who sinned if they won’t listen even to the church. That’s what it means to treat someone like a tax collector, right? That seems fundamentally antithetical to what I would expect from the Bible, from what Jesus taught. God does not ever give up on God’s children and Jesus broke bread with tax collectors. How can I make sense of that?

Perhaps the way to read this is that if I’m unable to reach someone, even with the support of the whole church, the next step is to give them some space. At a certain point pushing harder or yelling louder isn’t going to work and is likely to do more harm than good. And I need to trust that because Jesus does eat with the tax collectors and he does search for his lost sheep, he will find a way to reach that person.

---

Prayer
Lord, for the opportunity to reconcile with those who have sinned against me and for the knowledge that sometimes only you can make it right, I give you thanks. Amen.

---

Written by Nicole Spirgen, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

Devotion index by date | I’d like to receive daily devotions by email