Sunday Morning Leftovers (9/6/2026) with Anne

In Sunday’s gospel reading (Matthew 18:15-20) Jesus gives his disciples a procedure for a sinning brother or sister and it involves confrontation. I don’t know about you, but I am not a confrontationist and avoid conflict, when possible, and yet Jesus is saying that there are times when confrontation is necessary. 

When I think of “sins” or the act of sinning, it is almost always with God in mind.  Thou shalt not… is a command of God and if broken it is a sin against him.  Yet in this passage Jesus emphasizes our sins against each other and provides a loving remedy; though it appears harsh.  His objective is not to scold that person but attempt to bring them back into a state of grace. Let’s look at an example (totally fictitious).

Say a member of the Church is in a restaurant, drunk and acting in a belligerent fashion toward the waiter/waitress who is also a member of their local parish.  According to Jesus, the offended should confront the offender – privately, and obviously not at work and in their drunken state.  If the offender apologizes, step one of Jesus’ procedures ends the issue.  If, however, the offended brother or sister is mocked for being “too sensitive” or “mistaken” then they should bring another member, (or two) from the church and confront the person again.  If the offender finally agrees, repents and apologizes, Jesus’ remedy is complete.  But if the offender gets even more ruffled by the situation and will not listen, then it is time to take the issue to the church, which in Bible times meant a public hearing!  And if the offender still will not listen, the church is told to treat that person like a “gentile or tax collector.”  In other words, shunned, like what the Amish do. 

That is harsh treatment by our standards today, but Jesus has set forth this process for two reasons.  First, he wants to bring the sinning brother/sister whom he loves back into the fold, and second, he wants there to be harmony among his flock.   

Confrontation is never easy, but when done in love – as opposed to anger – there is a way to remedy the situation one way or another according to Jesus.