Right Relationship

What do you do when you are offended by someone?  Do you ignore them?  Do you confront them?

‘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. 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. 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. 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. 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. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’ - Matthew 18:15-20

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus tells his disciples how to bring the relationship back in order.

Try to do that first, he says, and if they don't listen, don't give up.  Instead, find someone else to go with you and try again.

And if that doesn't work, see if the person will listen to the church.

These instructions are for the apostles, who will make judgments about the people who go against the church or against members of the church, but it applies to us as well.

We can try to bring someone back from the edge.  If someone offends us, we can talk with him.  We can seek help from someone else who knows him.

If we truly value the relationship, we will do these things.

Some may say, forget it.  They may think the person is not worth the effort, but that's not how God sees us.

So, before we dismiss, let us reconsider.  Can we make this better?

If so, we should try.

If not, maybe we should try harder.

More to come...