P ♰ C

– by Jean Allen

This is one Gospel I’d be extremely leery of taking literally as written without taking into consideration the context plus Jesus’s overarching mission. Jesus told his followers how to deal with someone who sins against them: speak to them and if that doesn’t work, take witnesses to speak to them and if that doesn’t work, take it to the Church. If that doesn’t work, “let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” A bit brutal, what?

However, immediately preceding this week’s text is the parable of the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to go seek out one lost sheep. Jesus does not advocate ostracizing the wayward person; he pulled the Gentiles and tax collectors into his fold and they were as loved and accepted and sought after as anyone else. Matthew, who wrote this text, had been a tax collector himself. Jesus’s idea is that if someone is acting out of line, you seek them out – with love, concern and acceptance. They are as important as the ninety-nine who don’t stray. Banishing or shutting anyone out of the Kingdom is absolutely not the way of the Lord.

The other point of this text may be that Jesus was giving his followers a way to deal with disputes after he was gone. The Jews had the ‘Bait Din’ (house of justice) that met to resolve disputes according to Jewish law, not Roman law. This was supposed to be an impartial body of educated Jews but it was really an old boys’ club, rife with corruption where positions could be bought or given as favors. Also, judgements were made according to the Old Testament laws and Jesus was establishing a new order based on mercy and forgiveness. The Bait Din was definitely not a place where his infant Christians would receive fair hearings or could resolve disputes in the way Jesus intended.

Even before he died, Jesus knew there would be conflict and disputes in the young Christian community. What a surprise, huh?

Christians aren’t perfect.