Fifteenth Sunday of Pentecost, Proper 18; 10 September 2023: Exodus 12:1-14; Psalm 149; Romans 13:8-14; Matthew 18:15-20
We need neighbors. We need each other. Our history is marked by cooperation and conflict, and many efforts to help us live together. All our readings today circle around our lives with others.
The Hebrew scriptures today set up the Passover: Moses and Aaron give the people of Israel instructions on what they are to eat, and how they are to eat. Here it is clear that they are addressed as a group: the instructions are for “the whole congregation of Israel”. And they need to know others: if their household was too small to eat a whole lamb, they were to “join its closest neighbor”. The sign of the lamb’s blood on the door posts and lintel would tell the Lord that this was a house of Israelites, and they would be spared the death that would come. Furthermore, they were to remember this day: “throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance”. Which, some three thousand years later, they do. The Passover Seder still includes lamb, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread.
Paul focuses on attitude: “love one another”. He repeats this, reminding his readers that the commandments can be summed up as “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Just as you would not harm yourself, you should not harm your neighbor. “Love does no wrong to a neighbor.” This is easier said than done, leaving aside the fact that people sometimes do harm themselves. Paul doesn’t say it, but to fulfill this, we need to learn to love ourselves. We need to “live honorably as in the Day”. Loving ourselves and others changes the way we live. There is a reason that versions of this golden rule appear all over the world.
Finally, Matthew reports Jesus providing his disciples with extremely clear guidance on how to resolve conflict, advice that works not only in the church but in the world. Start with a conversation with the other person. If they don’t listen, bring in two people as witnesses, and try to find a way forward. Only then do you bring in the church. If they won’t listen to the church, they should be shunned, “as a Gentile or a tax collector.”
All of us have to deal with other people. Following the guidance in these readings would not hurt as we do so. Approach others with love, trying not to do harm. Try to resolve conflict quietly: it may not work, but it’s worth a try. And finally, remember what needs to be remembered. The Lord orders the Israelites to remember the Passover. We remember days that matter to our nation, like Independence Day; but we also celebrate birthdays, we remember anniversaries, and we also note the anniversaries of deaths. Many of us will remember 9/11 tomorrow. Such remembering anchors us in time, and they anchor us to others.
“Owe no one anything, except to love one another.” It is hard, but a good way to live.