Lost Sheep and Broken Fellowship audio (5MB)
Matthew 18:10-22
When I was growing up we ran sheep on our farm. Now sheep all, mostly, look the same. But there’s one sheep I’ll never forget. It was a ram actually, and we took to calling him Houdini because no matter what paddock he was put in, he wouldn’t stay in it for long! Even when we fixed the fences and added another strand of wire to make them taller, he always managed to get out. Whenever we went to count the sheep he’d be gone, so we’d have to start looking for him. First we’d try in with the ewes, but often once he’d frolicked with them for a while he’d move on. Sometimes make his way the entire length of the property. It became quite a chore, finding him, chasing him, catching him and bringing him back, knowing that in a few days he’d just as likely have gotten out again! After the thrill of the chase wore off, I didn’t often feel like rejoicing when I found him!
But Jesus says in Matthew 18, that we should rejoice when we find lost sheep. Of course Jesus isn’t talking about finding woolly four legged animals but people. What kind of people are we to seek out? When he tells this parable in Luke’s gospel, the lost sheep is clearly those who are outside of God’s family. But we’ve got to be careful, because here in Matthew Jesus is making a different point. The lost whom need to be found are ‘these little ones.’ At the start of the chapter, to settle the argument the disciples were having about who’s the greatest, Jesus called a child and said we all need to become like children if we’re to enter the kingdom of heaven. But in verse 6 onwards there’s a change in language from children to little ones. It’s ‘these little ones’ that we’re not to despise and that we’re to seek out and find.
‘These little ones’ might include children, and those that society looks down upon. But it also could be those who are little in their faith. Those who still need to grow in maturity in some way. That makes sense in the context of the argument about who’s the greatest doesn’t it? Even if you are ‘the greatest’ you can’t neglect the ‘little people.’
The reality is they’re not unimportant. Jesus says their angels continually see the face of God. They’re watched over and their watchers have complete, constant access to God! If they’re that important, how can we let them go astray? Instead we need to be keeping watching out for each other. God’s promise through Ezekiel was that he would be the great shepherd, that he would seek the lost and care for the sick and the wounded (Ezekiel 34:11-16). He calls us to imitate him. We’re to be like our great shepherd, actively watch over each other. It’s not about sitting back, but going to seek out the lost. Cain’s complaint, ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ has no place in the church!
I think we do a good job of watching over each other here. If someone’s away for a week, we do a good job of calling them up, going and seeking them, of making sure they’re OK. But of course, more than just making sure they’re physically OK. Doing that is simple. Physically finding someone and bringing them to church is easy. But how do we go about bringing someone back who’s lost their way spiritually, who’s caught up in sin? Or how do we deal with those who sin against us in particular?
Jesus goes on to explain how in verses 15-20. We’re to approach others directly but discretely, with a clear destination in mind, and to do so prayerfully.
If someone sins against us, or if we see a brother or sister caught up in sin, we’re not to sweep things under the rug. The church wouldn’t be a very attractive community if all sorts of wrongs were just ignored. We have to call each other to account for the sins that we commit. But note that Jesus isn’t talking about petty disagreements. He’s not laying out a program for dealing with those who don’t like the way we arrange the flowers, choose music, way they talk to others over morning tea. He’s focused on what is clearly sin, who are damaging relationships with self, others and world. Who are deliberately hurting the faith of other Christians by teaching or living unrepentantly and shamelessly contrary to God’s word and commands. When we see our brothers and sisters sin in this way, or when they sin against us, we’re to directly and deliberately address them.
But when we do approach others, we’re to do it with gentleness, dealing kindly with one another, as Paul advocates in Galatians:
1My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Galatians 6:1
So we don’t gossip. We don’t stand up and publicly name and shame those we’ve seen do wrong. After all we might be wrong, or we might not have all the facts. So rather than give in to the temptation to talk to others, we’re to first have a private conversation out of love for one another.
If that doesn’t work, then Jesus says we’re to gather others and to again talk to the person. If we find our selves in this position we shouldn’t just gather up those who agree with us. Jesus isn’t advocating gathering a posse or forming gangs of vigilantes! Indeed, if it were the case here, I hope you’d gather a member of the vestry, or staff, or anyone in leadership within the church to go with you. (Those who’ve trained, and have delegated authority).
It’s only if both these approaches fail that we’re to bring things before the whole church. It’s not something to do lightly, but as a last resort. It’s not standing up in Community notices, or over morning tea, but something done after consultation. It’s a difficult, painful, decision to bring something to the attention of the whole church and not to done lightly. If even this fails, we’re to treat the person like a tax collector or pagan. That’s not to say that we shun them, or having nothing to do with them whatsoever. It’s to recognise that by their actions they’re placing themselves outside the family of God. And how do we approach outsiders? We seek to win them for Christ!
Throughout this process of restoring broken fellowship that’s the goal, that’s the clear destination we’re always to have in mind. It’s not to win an argument or to vindicate ourselves. The goal in approaching others, is that they might listen. What we seek is that they will listen, it’s mentioned three times in 15, 16, 17. It’s that people will listen to reason, more than that they’ll listen to the gospel. And that they’ll respond with repentance and true faith.
Through all this we’re to ground ourselves in prayer. Jesus promises that when we pray together, God hears us and he loves to answer our prayers. Verses 18-20 are a great affirmation of the power of prayer, but Jesus mentions them hear because he’s thinking of prayers for the forgiveness and restoration of brothers and sisters who have fallen into sin.
The question is though, what happens when we confront someone, they repent but then do it again? You can see Peter wrestling with that question in verse 21. How many times Lord must I forgive someone who sins against me? Is maybe seven times enough? How often do we have to seek out the lost and seek to restore them? When I was growing up do you know how many times I had to go looking for that lost sheep, Houdini? Wasn’t just once or twice, it wasn’t even just seven times. But never did my dad say, that’s enough, don’t bother going to look for him. As often as the sheep was lost, I had to go out and find it. That’s what Jesus says back to Peter. His reply of not seven times, but seventy-seven times, isn’t to put an upper limit on it, but to say as many times as it happens, we’re to forgive. There’s no limit on how much, or how often, we’re to forgive one another. That’s the point of the parable that Jesus goes on to tell from verse 23 onwards. Resentment and revenge have no place in the church. After all, if we’ve been forgiven so much by God, how much ought we to forgive one another? We’re to be like God, slow to anger and quick to forgive!
That should be a mark of our community here. Not just because it’s the third line of our mission statement. We seek to build a community that demonstrates God’s love, because of who we are and who we’re called to be.
We’re to seek out and care for one another. Not letting anything go, but out of love gently correcting and guiding one another. Being ourselves open to correction when we stray from the truth. And out of love forgiving one another. Who if they looked on and saw such a community in action wouldn’t want to be a part of it? Who wouldn’t want to join God’s kingdom community here?
