“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.” (Matthew 18:15-20, NRSV)
If someone has sinned against you, go and speak with them.
That is the problem with the world today, we get made when someone has done something and expect them to just know it and to admit to it. And it may be that they know what they have done, but maybe the do not. Every week in the Lutheran church I serve we confess our sins and usually something is included in that confession that goes something like this, “Forgive us for the things we did not know we did.”
We need to communicate, and that is what this passage is about.
Talking to others. In good times and in bad. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and the church is only as strong as its weakest relationship. We need to keep communication open not only with God but with all of the members of the body.
So if someone has wronged you, then go and talk with them.
aSacredRebel 