Scripture. Matthew 18:15-20. NRSV
18:15 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.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 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.
18 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.
19 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. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them."
As usual, I selected the scripture reading for today months ago. You may remember that I swapped the Laborers in the Vineyard parable with another so I could use that one on Labor Day Sunday. This is the other.
A lot of what Jesus taught to his followers was simply how to get along with other humans. We’re rather good at not getting along, and indeed, he seems to take it as a given that members of the congregation will come into conflict with one another. I do want you to know that I disagree with the way a couple of words were translated. First, the word translated from the Greek as church in verse 15 is actually adelphos, (ᾰ̓δελφός) which means brother, so that’s just inaccurate. That verse might more accurately be read as “If a brother sins against you...” Then, an entirely different Greek word is translated as church in verse 17 - Ecclesia (ἐκκλησία). It means assembly, or even congregation, and although over time it did come to mean church, so that by the time the Bible was translated into English this would have been an accepted meaning, in Jesus’ lifetime there was as yet no church. This is a specifically Christian word. And there were no Christians yet. And while I realize that this may just sound like semantics, we need to remember that Jesus was a Jewish teacher and healer. He might speak of the Temple or synagogues, but not church. When he used the word ecclesia he would have meant the assembly of Israel, all Israelites.
And I know you probably don’t care about the Greek, well some of you might, but it is important to know what the original meaning or intent of a passage was, and to do that we sometimes have to look back to the original language. I try not to do this too often because when I was at Chapman the pastor of the Disciples Church I attended spent quite some time every Sunday waxing eloquent on the original Greek or Hebrew of that day’s reading - and it really annoyed me. Today it fascinates me, but I hadn’t studied Greek yet at that time.
Today our nation grieves the loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who sat on the Supreme Court for 27 years. She was the second woman ever to serve as a Supreme Court Justice and was a fierce advocate for gender equality. Hundreds of people gathered Friday evening at the Supreme Court building, leaving flowers, weeping and even singing - America the Beautiful, the Beatles’ Imagine, and Amazing Grace. She will be missed. The Supreme Court has seven members so that if there is ever a tie in a decision, the Chief Justice can cast the deciding vote. That happens more often than we might hope. But that’s the way our system works - one more than 50% is a majority, and majority rules.
Another method of decision making is consensus. According to Merriam-Webster consensus is a general agreement, or the judgment arrived at by most of those concerned, or group solidarity in sentiment and belief. Consensus means generally accepted opinion. One example is most people believe that it is wrong to kill another person (YourDictionary.com)
Consensus means every one is on the same page. Sounds easy enough. Unless, of course, you and a group of friends are trying to decide where to go for dinner, or what movie to watch. (Vocabulary.com). Jesus was aware of this, as well, which may be why he said, “if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” thus encouraging us to come to a place of sufficient agreement that we are in one accord about how to go forward.
I remember the years of peace talks around ending the War in Vietnam. Ten Weeks! were taken up with arguing over what shape the table they used for meetings should be. They had to reach consensus, because if everyone could not come to an agreement the Peace Talks would not go forward. It took another five years before all the parties involved could reach an agreement. And although not everyone was 100% satisfied, they were sufficiently in agreement that the Accord could finally be signed. That’s what consensus takes - unless you are Quaker.
Quakers, known as The Society of Friends, do consensus.
Quaker decision-making is grounded in the belief that when several people come together to labor in the Spirit they can discern a truth that exceeds the reach of any one individual. In making decisions Friends do not simply vote to determine the majority view, rather they seek unity about the wisest course of action. The goal is "unity, not unanimity." (The Disciples goal is unity, not uniformity, which is very similar.). Over time Friends have developed ways to conduct meetings that nurture and support this discernment process. Ensuring that group members speak only once until everyone who wishes to speak has been heard encourages diversity of thought. Respecting the opinions of others is critical. Listening is crucial. Looking at each other - Quaker meeting houses often have rows of seats facing each other. When you look someone in the face while they are speaking, you can hear what their heart is saying better. It is not an easy process. I have read accounts of meetings that go on for a very long time until that one last hold out agrees that, while not 100% satisfied, he can live with the decision. Unity, not unanimity.
Don Shelton was the Regional Minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the Pacific Southwest for 12 years. I heard him say more than once that if a congregation’s decision about pretty much anything was 50% plus 1 vote, it would probably be wise to take that particular issue back for re-consideration until consensus could be reached. Don’t give up on whatever it was, but work hard to come to an agreement. Whether it is the color of the new carpet, the calling of a new pastor, or the decision to become Open and Affirming, if more than 10% of the members are in opposition, there’s a fairly good chance it will not go well.
Now, I have heard a lot of horror stories about Church Boards - no matter what title that group has. I bet you have too. I’ve heard of Boards keeping secrets about their financial condition, one family running the congregation for decades, feuds between different factions of the Board . . . Church politics can get pretty ugly. I have attended a lot of Church Board meetings, and maybe I’ve just been blessed, but what I see more often than not is a serious attempt to reach consensus on every issue. Most Boards, and especially this one here at First Christian Church in Selma, are willing to continue discussing any item until reaching a place where everyone can live with the decision they make. Yes, Board meetings often take a long time, but the reason for that is that the people who serve really care about what is best for the congregation, so they want to make sure that any decisions they make on behalf of the congregation will serve God and the church the best way they can determine. We can do that same thing outside of Board meetings. (By the way, Board members - we do have a meeting today at 2 pm on Zoom. See you there. Except maybe Dave, who is visiting his son).
Our world is far from peaceful right now, but we can make it so. If we, as church and as individual children of God, seek to really listen to each other, to respect the other’s opinions, to look at each other so we can hear what their heart says, then no matter what the topic, we can start the work of reaching consensus . . . agreement . . . peace. God’s gift of peace is precious, and we can have it if we truly want it. It will take very hard work, but it can be done, if we don’t give up, if we keep seeking ways to agree instead of ways to disagree. All we have to do is reach consensus, for Jesus promised where two (or lots) agree on what you are asking, it will be done for you.
Go out therefore,
to seek agreement,
to seek consensus,
to seek God’s will,
to seek peace.
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