Grace to you and peace from our loving God, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

This morning's message is the flip side of a coin whose counterpart is found in last Sunday's second lesson. Today we hear of our responsibilities on behalf of God in the world—"Doing God's Work." Last Sunday, we heard about those matters which belong solely to God.

You may recall the passage from Romans:

Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." No, "if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

This makes for an interesting contrast. Last week, we heard teaching from Paul against vengeance, since judgment is God's business, not ours. This week, Matthew teaches us about forgiveness both in dealing with people within the church and outside the Body of Christ.

What may seem a contradiction—get out of God's way, on the one hand, and do the work of God, on the other, finds a common bond in forgiveness. The work of God, who is love, includes forgiveness.

- When we take vengeance, we act contrary to God, as Paul taught last week.

- When we work towards forgiveness in the community, we act in concert with God, as Matthew teaches this week.

The message is simple enough. It's the working out of this teaching that gets tough. The specific directions here in Matthew about the process of reconciliation simply don't get applied very often, even by those perhaps most committed to them. Here's a surprising example from history involving two supposed servants of God.

In the seventeenth century, the French explorer Samuel de Champlain reported back to Europe on the wonders he encountered in the New World. One of his letters tells an unusual story of a community in Nova Scotia that was served by both a Roman Catholic priest and a Protestant minister.

Champlain doesn't detail the doctrinal disputes that arose between these church leaders, but he explains the means by which they resolved their differences. At regular intervals, the priest and the pastor engaged in public fist-fights. According to Champlain, crowds of settlers, native Americans, and voyagers who were passing through would gather at the center of the village to cheer on the combatants. (Barker, Tarbell's, 1994)

Maybe Jesus should have said that wherever two or three are gathered together, there is conflict—especially if they are closed minded and religious. But this is true, of course, whether the context is religious, civic, political, or personal.

In these days of national political conventions and campaigning, a story about a former president may be appropriate. It involves former ABC Chief White House Correspondent, Sam Donaldson, who was rather controversial and contentious. He was an equal opportunity nuisance, treating presidents of both parties with equal lack of deference. He was, as you may recall, especially hard on former president Jimmy Carter, though. Donaldson tells about traveling with Carter to a small village near New Delhi, India to see how the village solved its energy problem. This was at the height of concern over the energy crisis—the one we should have learned from in the 1970s.

This particular village solved its energy problem by throwing all the cow manure from its herds into a large pit, then siphoning off the methane gas from the manure to light the village lamps. The reporters and the officials with Carter all stood on the lip of this manure pit inspecting the process. "If I fell in, you'd pull me out wouldn't you, Mr. President?" joked Donaldson. "Certainly," Carter replied. Then he paused and added, "after a suitable interval."

Carter is well-known for his religious commitments, but he certainly deserved to take that shot. It is worth wondering whether applying Matthew's principles in the public arena is a real possibility.

But surely there is hope for the community to which Matthew has Jesus address his words of counsel—the church.

Here's an image that may help us imagine the potentials that lie within the church.

A small boy defined a net as a bunch of holes tied together with a string.

It would be difficult to find a better symbol for what Matthew portrays Jesus as saying to his disciples. The key is in the phrase "tied together."

When string is tied together into a net, it has functions and abilities that it does not have when it is simply a ball of string. When we are "tied together" as God's people—or woven together as the song ("Weave us Together")says—the congregation has power and effectiveness that members do not have alone.

Given the bureaucracies that have developed in various denominations today, it may not be readily apparent. But I'm not sure that the church was intended to be so heavily organized. Jesus insisted to his disciples that valid Christian judgments and decisions could be achieved when only two believing members of the Christian community gathered together with faithful hearts and minds.

- It says nothing about needing a consensus.

- There is no article requiring a quorum.

- Jesus does not instruct us to name a standing committee.

- No mention is made of a long-range plan.

- No Church Council action.

- No regional evaluation or investigation.

- Not required two-thirds, 51 percent, or simple majority vote.

- No bishops, district superintendents, area ministers or executives, priests, or ordained ministers.

None of this is necessary in order to make valid, binding decisions within the living body of Christ.

All that Jesus tells us we need is the mind of Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit. With Christ, the community of faith can move forward, even though perhaps only "two or three are gathered in his name." Without Christ's presence, not even an assembly of 10,000 can achieve results that will empower the church for forgiveness or for the future.

Jim Wallis speaks to the importance for Christians of an awareness of their power and resolve to use it:

In South Africa in 1987, Nelson Mandela was still in prison, and the world thought, for good. School children were being killed daily by government police, and the struggle seemed to be at a standstill. I met a 14-year-old boy who was, like many there, organizing in elementary and high schools. (Let's not forget the final turn of victory in South Africa was facilitated by the bravery and wisdom of children.) Anyway, I asked him if he was optimistic for the future, and he said, "Absolutely."

When I asked him if he thought there would be a new, free South Africa someday, he stated to me matter-of-factly: "I shall see to it personally."

Here are the watchwords Wallis would have us never forget:

"There is simply no other alternative than for each person to see to it personally." (Jurek, "A House Divided," in Detroit Metro Times, 8-14 November, 1995, 16).

The church is the place where "see-to-it-personally" people are tied together to "see to it together." It is the place where those who are tied together, like a net, work together as partners with God to do the work of God. No less.

The challenge for every congregation—even two or three who are gathered together—is to be the church, to claim this promise of our Lord, to form a small partnership in Christ that becomes the way for God to take action in the world. For where only two or three are gathered in the name of Christ, our Lord is with them. Amen.

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord, unto eternal life. Amen.