Lection: Matthew 18

September 17, 2023

Exodus 14:19-31
Matthew 18:21-35

“Acts of God?”

I am finding that it is an interesting process to focus my preaching this month on the Season of Creation while I continue to follow the Scripture readings for Sundays that are set in the Revised Common Lectionary. I want to acknowledge the Anglican Communion’s resource “Preaching for God’s World” which provided some helpful information and inspiration for today’s sermon, as well as the blessing of discussing the focus text from Exodus in our Bible study earlier this week.

If you’re a regular church-goer or you went to Sunday School years ago, you probably know the story recounted in Exodus 14 quite well. It may be images from that old movie, “The Ten Commandments” with Charleton Heston as Moses that come to mind when you think of it. You see him standing there with his arm raised high over the sea, and miraculously the waters begin to part, rising up into great walls of water on two sides.

It’s a spectacular demonstration of God’s power and love for the Hebrew People. As we have been remembering over the past couple of Sundays, God heard the cries of the Hebrews as they suffered under hard labour and slavery in … Read more »

September 10, 2023

Exodus 12:1-14
Romans 13:8-14
Matthew 18:15-20

“We Can Do Hard Things”

Where two or three are gathered in Jesus’ name, Christ is present. When we come together like this on Sunday mornings to engage in the rituals of praise, prayer, preaching, and Sacraments, Jesus is here with us. I hope that you know that, and that you feel that, and that you are encouraged and strengthened by that promise.

I know that there are many different reasons why people decide to attend worship on a regular basis. You may come for the music, or for the friendship and community, or because you made it a habit many years ago, and it’s just what you do. But when I’ve asked regular worshippers why they come to church each Sunday, many of them say that it strengthens them for the week ahead.

It’s because life is hard, and we need to be reminded that we are loved and that we belong. We need to be assured that when we mess up, we can be forgiven and try again. We need to hear that God has difficult but important things for us to do in the world, and we need to know that we can do those hard things.

I … Read more »

September 13, 2020

Romans 14:1-12
Matthew 18:21-35

“A Whole New Way”

I suggested to Graeme and Bill that a musical setting of the Lord’s Prayer would be very appropriate for the Ministry of Music today. They are the familiar words of our Lord Jesus, the prayer that he shared with his disciples when they asked him to teach them how to pray, the prayer that we, and Christians around the world, include in our worship almost every time we gather.

You’ve likely noticed that Presbyterians tend to say the prayer a little differently than others. Where most ask God to forgive their trespasses, and others request forgiveness of their sins in general, Presbyterians often use the translation of Jesus’ prayer that says, “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” And that seems very fitting for today’s passage from the Gospel of Matthew. After all, Jesus tells a story about a slave who owes a lot of money to his king, and about a second slave who owes quite a bit to the first slave.

The king mercifully forgives the massive debt of the first slave, cancelling what he owes and freeing him from the impossible task of paying it back. But rather than following the ruler’s … Read more »

September 6, 2020

Romans 13:8-14
Matthew 18:15-20

“Loving our Neighbours by Caring for Creation”

From September 1st to October 4th, the Christian family celebrates the good gift of creation. This global celebration began in 1989 with the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s recognition of the Day of Prayer for Creation and is now embraced by the wide ecumenical community.

During the Season of Creation, we unite as one family in Christ, celebrating the bonds we share with each other and with “every living creature on Earth.” (Genesis 9:10) The Christian family celebrates the season by spending time in prayer, considering ways to inhabit our common home sustainably, and lifting our voices in the public sphere.

Here in Canada in 2020, faith communities and faith-based organizations are coming together under a unified banner to mobilize Canada-wide education, reflection, action, and advocacy for climate justice. The Presbyterian Church in Canada has signed on to this initiative called “For the Love of Creation” with other people of faith, hoping to make a meaningful contribution in the next decade towards a sustainable future for all life on the planet. The goal of the movement is to work together to build healthy, resilient communities, and a better future for all beings in Creation.

And so today, at … Read more »

September 17, 2017

Exodus 14:19-31
Exodus 15:1b-11, 20-21
Matthew 18:21-35

“Beyond Perfect Forgiveness”

It was lovely to begin our Tuesday morning Bible Study this week. I appreciated the opportunity, early in the week, to get together with a group of faithful and thoughtful Christians to explore and discuss the Gospel text assigned for this morning’s service.

Biblical interpretation and application to our lives is often better when we do it in dialogue both with the wider Christian community through commentaries and reflections of other pastors and theologians, as well as with real live people who are a part of our own community of faith. (If any of you would like to join us, know that you are always welcome on Tuesday mornings at 10:30 am.)

Anyway, in our study on Tuesday we talked about Peter’s question to Jesus about how often we should forgive another member of the Christian community who sins against us. Of course, this text comes just after the one we talked about last Sunday about how to work out conflict that arises in the church from time to time.

That text encouraged us to do everything that we can to work things out with someone who has hurt us – first, going to speak to them … Read more »

September 10, 2017

Matthew 18:15-20
Romans 13:8-14

“Where two or three are gathered”

Where two or three are gathered together, there is the likelihood of at least two or three different perspectives, opinions, or preferences. And where two or three are gathered together, there is the potential for conflict.

Although it would be nice to say that whenever we gather in the name of Christ, we discover unity, and make peace, and live and serve harmoniously together, the reality is that even in the church, we don’t always get along that well.

Yes, I’ve heard about some of the conflicts that have flared up in this Christian community over the years. Some of them have been resolved or let go of, and some forgiving and even some forgetting has long ago taken place. And there are others that still plague us in our relationships, stirring up feelings of frustration, hurt, or anger, and continue to hamper our relationships as co-workers in the gospel and brothers and sisters in Christ.

I’ve also heard about some of the conflicts that plagued other Christian congregations to which some of you used to belong. You came to this church seeking peace and rest from the struggle, and a caring community where you could … Read more »

July 17, 2016

Colossians 3:12-17
Psalm 103:1-14
Matthew 18:21-35

“The Fruit of the Spirit is PATIENCE”

Preaching on the Fruit of the Spirit this summer is turning out to be an interesting adventure. Instead of being tied to the lectionary readings, I have been set free to explore a different theme each Sunday… always beginning with some pondering about which Scripture passages to select that will speak to that theme most appropriately.

On the subject of PATIENCE, the fourth fruit of the Spirit, I began by just exploring the definitions. I found that phrase that I shared with the children this morning – “waiting without complaining,” and I found much more.

The Greek word used in Galatians 5:22 about the Fruit of the Spirit is μακροθυμία (macrothumia) which can be translated either as “patience” or “long-suffering.” Just that alternate translation highlights something about what patience is all about, doesn’t it? Long-suffering.

How about this definition? “The quality of being willing to bear adversities, calm endurance of misfortune.”

Or how about this one? “Patience requires endurance, constancy, steadfastness, and perseverance; especially as shown in bearing troubles.”

As I read more, I found that many commentators wanted to separate out different kinds of patience – patience with the circumstances of life (like the … Read more »

September 14, 2014

Matthew 18:21-35

“As We Forgive”

Way back in Matthew chapter six, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray. He encourages them to pray honestly and sincerely, telling them not to be concerned with using many words, and not to pray just to be seen praying by others.

And then Jesus teaches them the prayer we still use every Sunday in our worship. He says, “Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.”

And Jesus goes on to explain, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

How often we pray the Lord’s Prayer and ask for God’s forgiveness of our sins! How often those words slip easily across our lips, “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors”! But how very rarely do we pause to consider the implications of … Read more »

September 7, 2014

Matthew 18:15-20

“Resolving Conflict”

This morning’s Gospel text may be one of the most practical and applicable passages in the whole Bible. It’s not a complicated parable with many layers of meaning. It’s not an apocalyptic saying with mysterious symbolic language. It’s not a poem, or a prophecy, or even a commandment from long ago that makes us work hard to figure out how to apply it to our contemporary lives.

This morning’s passage from the Gospel of Matthew is instead a very practical set of instructions from Jesus for what to do when conflict arises. You see, Jesus’ disciples and the people they met along their missionary journeys experienced conflict. There’s even a Gospel story about Jesus’ disciples arguing with one another as they went along the road – arguing with each other about which one of them was the greatest.

Jesus’ first disciples got into conflict sometimes, and even Jesus got into conflict. I imagine that most of the time Jesus probably kept his cool when conflict arose – when the Pharisees tried to trick him or test him, when his disciples didn’t understand him or even tried to oppose him. There’s even one story in which Jesus does get angry and … Read more »

September 4, 2011

Romans 13:8-14
Matthew 18:15-20

When Jesus walked through the towns and villages of Galilee, he taught and healed and helped the people that he met. And he had a consistent message wherever he went: “Repent,” he said to all the people, “because the Kingdom of God has come near.” And when Paul took up Jesus’ mission, he said pretty much the same thing.

In today’s passage from Romans, Paul uses the metaphor of night and day. He points out how much changed when Jesus came into the world like a light shining into the darkness. The change that has come upon the world was as swift and as unstoppable as the sun rising in the morning. And the Christians have got to realize that the night is over, and “wake up!”

Paul describes this time that we live in as that wonderful time when the darkness of night has dissipated, and the day is near. It’s the in-between time… between the dark night before Christ, and the full brightness of the kingdom of God. And it’s time, Paul says, for Christians to start living like it’s day time, like the kingdom of God is here.

“Let us live honourably as … Read more »