Unflinchingly

            I may have flinched as our pastor started today’s reading from Matthew 18.  Not only have I never understood these verses, but I have also seen them used to justify judgment instead of work restoration:

¹⁵“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. ¹⁶But 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. ¹⁷If 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. ¹⁸Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹Again, 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. ²⁰For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

                As Dave read the last half of verse 17, “let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector,” new  understanding suddenly flooded me.  I considered these verses in the light of Jesus’ life.   He continually surprised the religious leaders of his day by his treatment of the outsider.  He even said on at least one occasion when asked why he was eating with sinners and tax collectors that he came for sinners, not the righteous (Mark 2: 15-17). 

                Think again about how Jesus treated Gentiles and tax collectors.  He reached them in the mess of their lives and loved them to repentance and faith.  He fellowshipped with those considered incorrigibly sinful and utterly unclean.  He never compromised Himself:  He stood for Who He Is.  He is Truth; He is the Light of the world; He is God’s own Son.  But how can the Holy hang out with the unholy?  Because of His sacrificial love:  “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

                So how are we to treat the Gentiles and tax collectors among us, those who are hardened by their sin and unwilling to listen?   We treat them with the love of Jesus.  We treat them with His heart of mercy.  We reach out to those who have stumbled or fallen, knowing that we, too, have stumbled and fallen time and time again.  We share the wideness of His mercy and full gratitude for His grace.    That does not mean condoning or joining in others' sin.   It does not mean a smug self-righteousness and quickness to condemn.   It DOES mean opening our hearts and our lives.  It means coming alongside the strugglers and stragglers as fellow pilgrims and sharing our journey of faith—unflinchingly.