Scripture: Matthew 17:24–27; 18:19–35
[The Second Conventicle Act (1670) forbade meetings of more than five persons.] And the mayor said mildly to me, “Mr. Fox, you are an eminent man amongst those of your profession; pray, will you be instrumental to dissuade them from meeting in such great numbers? For, seeing Christ hath promised that where two or three are met in his name, he will be in the midst of them, . . . why will not you be content to partake both of Christ’s promise of two or three, and the King’s indulgence to four?” Unto which I answered that Christ’s promise was not to discourage many from meeting together in his name, but to encourage the few, that the fewest might not forbear to meet, because of their fewness. —George Fox
Questions: What religious or cultural practices do you think Jesus would speak out against today, and which ones might he consider nonessential, counseling us to not offend others? How are you as an individual, within your family and within your congregation, working to build trust that can form the basis for ongoing forgiveness? How do you ensure your faith community is teachable, so that you learn when others point out ways in which your community may be causing harm?
I feel comfort hearing Matthew 18:20: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” It shows how small the church can be, but that it needs to be more than just one.
Have we noticed that after 18:20 comes 18:21–22?
Then Peter approached him and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? As many as seven times?
“I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven.(CSB)
Have we noticed that before 18:20 comes 18:15–17? Just before we are told the church can be small—just two or three—these verses give us the radical procedural clarity of gospel order:
If your brother sins against you, go and rebuke him in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he won’t listen, take one or two others with you, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every fact may be established. If he doesn’t pay attention to them, tell the church. If he doesn’t pay attention even to the church, let him be like a Gentile and a tax collector to you. (CSB)
Sometimes Friends go blind for lack of seeing that of God in other Friends. Sometimes Friends poke out their eyes with sharp edges of labels or with splinters of doctrine, and can no longer see that other Friend as fruit of the Vine. I pray for the courage to go, take them by the hand, and make them visit each other in places where their lives speak.
I also pray for the courage to remind both my Friends whom I love, and who have a hard time loving each other, that God loves them both as God loves me.
If I walk out, I would be leaving them in a worse state than the heathen or the publican in the scuttled fragment of verse 17. So I hang out with the two quarreling Friends, and soon I feel it’s time to hand them over to their Guide. Before I leave them, I remind them of the love they are missing. I tell them that they may disagree about the names, and still be united in their hunger for the love of God.
Unity won’t make the discord go away. Unity will only gird our struggles with love. It will give us strength to climb the tender rungs of gospel order, and the endurance of hard-to-count, ever-flowing forgiveness.
–Benigno Sánchez-Eppler in “Friendly Perspective” from Matthew: The Life of Jesus