You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your
kin: you shall reprove your neighbour or you will incur guilt yourself.
Leviticus 19:17
“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.”
Matthew 18:15
How
often do you reprove your neighbour? If I did, I think I might get a mouthful
back, if not a punch in the face. That’s how strange this passage sounds to
modern ears. For the Israelites who had received the Law from Moses it probably
sounded quite different. Their society was based on the family, the tribe, the
nation, distinct from the surrounding tribes. They were to keep themselves holy
as their God was holy. So hatred of anyone in the family could lead to diluting
the purity and cohesion of that society and make them no better than the
Canaanite tribes around them. There are plenty of stories in the Old Testament
showing the consequences of family and tribal feuds. What is interesting here
is the call to responsibility, not just for one’s own actions, but for those of
others within the national family: not just sins of commission but of omission,
if they failed to try to bring back the wayward to the fold. A couple of verses
later come the words “… you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the
Lord.”
I
do not think it is a coincidence that Jesus speaks the words from Matthew’s
gospel between the parable of the lost sheep and his call to keep on forgiving.
The parable tells us the extent of God’s love for all his people: every one is
precious. He is prepared to keep on searching, keep on trying till he finds
that individual and restores him or her, bringing new life, hope and security
in the knowledge of that love. Jesus extends the concept of kin beyond national
boundaries to all in the community of faith. Rather than bearing grudges, we
should quietly sort out disagreements with our fellow Christians, if possible,
constructively, not destructively but with under-standing and forgiveness. By
so doing, we do not give up on them, but following God’s example, seek to be
good shepherds guiding them to him.
Do
we do enough to nurture young Christians, to help them develop their faith?
Lord, help us
to see you in others. May our lives reflect your love so that others are drawn
to you.
Kate Grand
Chorlton Central
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