The Art of Reconciliation
Monday, September 10, 2012 at 08:47AM Chrysostom reflects on Matthew 18:15-20, that famous "confrontation" passage:
He does not say "accuse him" or "punish him" or "take him to court." He says "correct him." For he is possessed, as it were, by some stupor, and drunk in his anger and disgrace. The one who is healthy must go to the one who is sick. You must conduct your judgment of him privately. Make your cure easy to accept. For the words "correct him" mean nothing other than help him see his indiscretion. Tell him what you have suffered from him. What then if he does not listen, if he stubbornly flares up? Call to your side someone else or even two others, so that two witnesses may corroborate all that's said. For the more shameless and boldfaced he is, so much the more you must be earnest toward his cure, not toward satisfying your anger and hurt feelings. For when a physician sees the sickness unyielding, he does not stand aside or take it hard but then is all the more earnest. That then is what Christ orders us to do. You appeared too weak since you were alone, so become stronger with the help of others. Two are sufficient to reprove the wrongdoer. Do you see how he seeks the interest not of the aggrieved party alone but also that of the one who caused the grief? The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 60.1.
Ancient Devotions
Reader Comments (3)
"For the more shameless and boldfaced he is, so much the more you must be earnest toward his cure, not toward satisfying your anger and hurt feelings." --Which is exactly when the temptation is strongest to throw the offending person overboard and be done with them. What a difference it would be if we took Christ's command seriously in all our relationships!
Funny that you should post this today because I spent the whole weekend debating church discipline with my (somewhat more liberal) brother. He basically thinks the passages in Matt 18 and 1 Cor 5 are too harsh and don't need to be taken literally. And I just...beg to differ. But that's a long story...
It's so beautiful to read sound exposition written in the 4th century. Another proof of God's timeless truth.