Wednesday after the Fourth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on June 26, 2024 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 18:15-20 (NKJV)
18:15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.
18 “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
Devotion
Our Lord recognizes that there are times when judgment is necessary, even within the Church. He has established an orderly procedure for it, so that judging can be done properly, without animosity or hypocrisy.
The primary motivation must be the restoration of the sinning brother. Complaining about our brother’s sin to someone else does not indicate a concern for his spiritual well-being. It is meant to hurt his reputation and has the effect of antagonizing him. Christ commands that we put aside our cowardice and speak directly with our brother about the offense he has caused. If he does not listen, then it is appropriate to involve others.
Even if the brother persists in his sin, Christ does not allow personal judgment against him. Instead, He reserves the authority of spiritual judgment for those He has placed in the Office of the Ministry. They are commanded to absolve the sinner if he repents, and to condemn him if he does not. Even then, it is not their own personal judgment, but Christ’s judgment.
Collect: Grant, O Lord, we beseech Thee, that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by Thy governance, that Thy Church may joyfully serve Thee in all godly quietness; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
