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Our Scripture lessons this morning are all about life together in the faithful community.

We hear that theme in the first lesson, from Ezekiel, when God tells the prophet that, as a leader in the community, the prophet has a responsibility to the community, the prophet has a responsibility to share God’s word with the people, to share God’s warning with the people, to call the people to be the community God wants them to be—the prophet has a responsibility to share with the people God’s word of life.

And we hear that theme in the Gospel lesson today, when Jesus explains that the members of the Christian community have a responsibility to each other, to work together to build up relationships of reconciliation and renewal and mutual love.

And we hear that theme in the Epistle lesson, from Romans, where Paul provides a whole list of the qualities that distinguish the Christian community, and that give the Christian community its capacity to overcome evil with good.

Everything today revolves around life together in the faithful community. And that’s particularly significant for us, because today we at St George’s begin again, for another program year, many of the activities that draw us together and nourish us and strengthen us for our work of ministry in Christ’s name, as Christ’s people, as a Christian community in the midst of a busy world. Today on this Kick-Off Sunday, we are called to reflect together—and to take action together—on those special qualities that give us our life together in the faithful community.

So what do these “community” lessons say in particular to us at St George’s today?

Well, the Gospel lesson tells us something about our responsibility to each other to build up relationships of reconciliation and renewal. Jesus says to his disciples: “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone”—and then Jesus goes on to provide a whole procedure for settling disputes or hurts between members of the church.

Now, what I find quite remarkable about this is not just the very practical, very down-to-earth wisdom of Jesus’ instructions for settling disputes, but what I find remarkable is the very first instruction of all: if someone sins against you, you should be the one to go and begin the process of reconciliation. Jesus makes quite a point of saying that it is the responsibility of the one who has been wronged to take the first step in making the wrong right.

And this goes against most of our typical personal feelings and social conventions. We tend to think that if someone has done us wrong, if someone has done us harm, then it is up to them to admit the error of their ways and to come to us and apologize. We tend to think that the burden of reconciliation lies on the person who has committed the sin, the one who has set a stumbling-block in the way of right relationship. And in some ways that seems logical enough—but it has some hidden pitfalls in it. If it’s up to the one who has done wrong to begin the process of reconciliation, that puts the wrongdoer in a position of powerlessness, that holds the wrongdoer down and makes them beg to be let up again. And if the wrongdoer is held down, that puts the one who has suffered the wrong on the moral high ground, that puts the wrong-sufferer in a position of power, where they can withhold relationship until their desire for restitution has been met. That kind of power-dynamic in a relationship, where one is down and one is up, where one demands and the other has to beg, the kind of power-dynamic does not help reconcile a relationship, but drives a wedge deeper into relationship, it pushes the relationship farther apart and in the long run makes genuine reconciliation that much more difficult.

But Jesus cuts through all of that when he says, “If another member of the church sins against you, you go and point out the fault.” Jesus says that members of the faithful community have a responsibility to each other, to hold each other to account for the quality of our relationships and the work of reconciliation, a responsibility to call forth from each other the best intentions and the best goodwill and the best forgiveness and the best love that we can give. And that is true not only for relationships that have been damaged by sin and stumbling-blocks—that’s true for all our relationships. In joy and in sorrow, in happiness and in hurt, in sin and in celebration, we are responsible to each other to bring out the best in each other, and to grow together toward the fullness of love that is God’s will for us.

And the reason we can do this, Jesus says, the reason our connections in the church can have the power to call forth what is best in us, is because Jesus himself is with us in all our Christian relationships. “Where two or three are gathered in my name,” Jesus says, “I am there among them.” Our work of reconciliation and communication and friendship and forgiveness, our work of building up relationships of genuine mutual love, isn’t something we do all on our own, all on the power of our goodwill or the strength of our good intentions. But our work of love is empowered in us by Jesus himself, by the Spirit of Christ made manifest in another person’s smile, or another person’s need, or another person’s call to us to do our best, or another person’s support for us when we’re feeling lost or lonely or having a hard time, or another person’s prayer for us for healing and wholeness and well-being. In all our relationships, wherever two or three are gathered, Jesus is here with us, and Jesus’ love flows into our love, and Jesus makes us able to give love for each other, and for the world.

It is that quality of Christ’s love among us that Paul is talking about when he calls us to let love be genuine; to love each other with mutual affection; to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep; to live in harmony with each other; and to live peaceably with all. That’s what we can be like, when we take the responsibility to call forth from each other the best that Christ’s love among us makes us able to give.

And that is what we are all about here together this morning. As we being a new program year, as we gather children for Sunday School, and adults to help them share and grow their faith, as we gather the choir to offer their gifts of music and lead us all in the offering of song and praise to God, as we gather adult learners for Wednesday School in the upcoming weeks, as we gather with a seminary intern who will help us grow in our ministries as we help her grow in hers—as we gather here in Christ’s name, we celebrate that Jesus is among us, we celebrate that Jesus calls us to be responsible to each other to bring forth what is best in each other, we celebrate that God gives us the gift of genuine mutual love in our life together in the faithful community.

And that is something we can celebrate today, and tomorrow, and all the days we share.

In the Name of God: the Holy One, the Holy Word, the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Readings For Sunday, Sunday, Sept. 8th, 2002