Christ the King Epiphany Church, Wilbraham

The Rev. Martha S. Sipe

September 6, 2026 / Pentecost 15 (Lect. 23A)

Matthew 18:15-20

Did you hear about the teenager who was excommunicated?  His parents confiscated his phone.  Get it?  Ex – communicated.

Okay, so that’s a groaner at best.  I tried looking up jokes about excommunication to ease into the subject on this holiday weekend, but there weren’t many to be found, and most of the jokes I did find weren’t appropriate to share with you.  I just wanted to start with a little humor before exploring this passage about excommunication because that is what Jesus is talking about in Matthew 18, isn’t it?  The process of how to kick someone out of the church.  At least, that’s how this passage is frequently understood.  And while the word excommunication is not often used in Lutheran or Episcopal circles, the concept still exists.  The ELCA constitution specifically references Matthew 18 in its process for disciplining members for such things as persistent and public denial of the faith, willful criminal conduct, continual and intentional interference with the ministry of the church, and willful and repeated harassment or defamation of members.  Plus, perhaps you didn’t know:  the Book of Common Prayer allows for priests to refuse communion – almost literally, ex-communicate – those living notoriously evil lives, those who have done wrong and are a scandal to other members, and when hatred is observed between members of the congregation.  It’s serious and sobering business – not something that I have ever had to get into in 28 years of ministry, and something that I pray fervently that I will never have to face.  So if you’re thinking about engaging in any of the behavior I just mentioned . . . please don’t.

“if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a gentile and a tax collector.”  That’s what Jesus says.  But the lectionary does us no favors here.  The ecumenical powers that be who have chosen what lessons are read in public worship and where those lessons start and stop – in my humble opinion, they have really obscured the deeper meaning of Jesus’ words in this passage by isolating this text from the rest of Matthew chapter 18.  And this is where the sermon will become a sort of group Bible study.  In your bulletin today, you’ll find a copy of the text that precedes today’s Gospel lesson and the words that immediately follow it.  Please take out that sheet now and read along as we explore the larger context of Jesus’ words.  And I should say:  my apologies to our Creation Care Advocates for adding yet another piece of paper to the bulletin.  I’m glad we’re not starting the Season of Creation until next Sunday!

Before we start through Matthew 18, let me set the stage.  Here in this chapter, we find Jesus just talking to his disciples, not the crowd.  These are the people he has chosen to continue his ministry after he has gone.  And it’s worth noting that the conversation starts with the disciples asking, really, a rather arrogant question.  Let’s start at the beginning.

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 

And of course, Jesus being Jesus, he doesn’t directly answer the question.  He gives them an example to ponder instead.

2 He called a child, whom he put among them, 3 and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

See, the disciples were asking the wrong question.  They wanted to know which disciple is the greatest.  From Jesus’ perspective, the better question goes in the opposite direction:  not who deserves the most honor, but who is humble enough to participate in the kingdom of God?  Who is willing to become like a child and relinquish their claims to status altogether?

Jesus continues by focusing with laser sharpness on his concern for the most vulnerable.  And you can tell by his words that he really wanted to make his point.

6 “If any of you cause one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of things that cause sin! Such things are bound to come, but woe to the one through whom they come!

And he continues by demanding that the disciples take their own temptation to sin, their own capacity as leaders to do harm to the vulnerable, with deadly seriousness.

8 “If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell of fire.

10 “Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven.

Then we can all breathe a little easier when we get to this lovely parable.

12 What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.

We might be more comfortable with the parable than with Jesus’ admonition to “cut off your hand” but we shouldn’t miss the point.  That last line is very important:  “It is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.”  It is not the will of God that anyone should be separated from the flock, read that excommunicated.  Then, and only then, do we come to the passage we heard earlier.  Only after counseling humility, and prioritizing care for the vulnerable, and warning them to recognize their own temptation to sin, and telling the parable about reconciliation, then, and only then, does Jesus turn his attention toward what to do when there’s a completely unrepentant person in their midst.

15 “If your brother or sister sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. 

Work it out face to face, in private.

If you are listened to, you have regained that one. 16 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. 17

Take it slowly.  And deliberately.

 If that person refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church, 

Get others involved – not to gang up on the wrongdoer, but because possibly losing one member affects the whole body.

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.

Let that one bet to you as a gentile and a tax collector – outside of the community boundaries, to be sure, but NOT outside the mercy and concern of the community because Jesus, over and over again, invited Gentiles and tax collectors and other notorious sinners into his company.  No one, NO ONE, is outside the boundaries of God’s love and concern.

If we were to keep reading in Matthew chapter 18, which ordinarily we would do next week, except that we’re departing from the lectionary to celebrate a new festival of the church called Creation in Christ – if we were to keep reading in chapter 18, we would hear the next “black” words on your insert:

21 Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if my brother or sister sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.

Just in case we haven’t yet understood how much Jesus wants us to stick together, to be reconciled to one another, Jesus tells Peter that forgiveness should be infinite.  That’s what seventy-seven times means.  We are called to forgive not just seven times, seven being the perfect number, but seventy-seven times.  Never-ending forgiveness was Jesus’ way, and because we are followers of Jesus, it should be the church’s way, too.

Now we will likely never have to deal with excommunication as a matter of church discipline.  But the same principle holds true in our personal lives.  How often have we been tempted to “excommunicate” others from our lives?   And in truth, there are times when the healthiest course of action is to separate ourselves from bullies and abusers and generally toxic individuals.  But when we’re tempted to cut someone out of our lives just because of a disagreement, Jesus speaks to us suggesting one-on-one conversation, bringing others in only when help is needed, focusing on the goal of “regaining” the relationship, and always remembering that Jesus is among us.  Which is great news, since we all stand in need of forgiveness and grace, which our Lord so willingly gives.