The Readings
Old Testament
Exodus 12:1-14
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the Lord. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.
The Gospel
Matthew 18:15-20
Jesus said, “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.”
The sermon
Conflict and relationships
When I was in the process of thinking
through these lessons and looking for a common thread between them I
came to the conclusion that common ground was relationships and the
conflict that occurs between people.
The old testament reading is a
continuation of the story of Moses and his conflict with the Egyptian
Pharaoh. What we did not read today were the dramatic events leading
up to today's reading of the Passover. Moses and Aaron tried to
convince pharaoh to peaceably let them leave Egypt but pharaoh would
have none of it. So, God sent plagues upon the people of Egypt. God
sent frogs, gnats, flies, the river ran blood red. boils, and still
pharaoh would not listen. Finally, the last plague does it. It
results in the death of the first born of everyone and everything in
the land. However, if certain rituals were performed in the
households of the Jews then the angel of death would passover those
households. Pharaoh's son dies with this plague. He finally sort of
gives up and the people are allowed to leave.
In our reading from Matthew, Jesus
talks about conflicts and how to settle them. He says if a member of
the church sins against you talk to him in private and try and settle
it that way. He progresses with further steps, each a little more
serious in nature until he finally says if the person still will not
listen then you should have nothing to do with the person.
We are a social people. Christianity
is a religion that is meant to be practiced in community. In other
words, we need to get along. The last thing we want is to be a
caustic church. In-fighting among church members can poison the very
foundation of a church community. Believe it or not there are people
who join a church and then actively work to tear it apart. I have
heard the stories and I have seen it happen.
I love our church family and I believe
you do too. I have seen that we genuinely care about each other and
I am so grateful for the care and love you have shown me. When I
say, “let us share the peace.” and we a we all shake hands or
give hugs it means something to me.
Please remember that at the end of this
gospel reading Jesus says, “when two or three are gathered in my
name, I am among them” he is telling us that he is a part of our
community and he is present among us. So, remember that Jesus is
among us when we gather to worship. Amen
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