The Message, September 6, 2026: "Restoration," Matthew 18:10-20

Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
September 08, 2026

 

“Restoration”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
Matthew 18:10-20

“Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven. What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.

“If your brother or sister sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If you are listened to, 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 that person 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.”

            This Sunday is yet another worship service during which I will begin my message with a confession. During our Bible Study on Thursday evening I told the group that when I was doing my worship planning for the month, I absolutely did NOT want to preach on this passage today. Last Sunday, we focused upon Paul’s letter to the church on Rome and his instructions on how we are to live as “true” or genuine Christians, and how we are to live and function as a Christian community. He told us that every member of the body is vital to the healthy functioning of the community; no part of the body is to be minimized, diminished, or dismissed.

            He told us that we are to live at peace as best as we are able and when conflict arises, we are to bless those who persecute us. Paul tells us that we are not to seek vengeance. He told us that we are to hate evil and that when someone does wrong us, we are not to repay evil with evil. Rather we should overcome evil with good.

            And then in this morning’s passage, we back up twenty years in time and listen to Jesus’ teaching about what we are to do when a brother or sister harms us, or sins against us. As I was sitting in my office doing my worship planning, I thought about the visitor that might be joining us today, or someone who has just started attending the church. They might be thinking to themselves, “What is going on with this church?!”

            But then I took a deep breath, I walked around for a bit and came back. So, here we are. What are we to make of this passage. As I have just admitted, it is not easy. Jesus’ words challenge us, not because we have done anything wrong. Instead, Jesus is preparing us for those times when we do experience pain or struggle or conflict in our relationships with one another.

            As is sometimes the case with our lectionary readings, our passage for this morning drops us into the middle of a conversation between Jesus and the disciples. Let us back up just a bit. What were they talking about? Chapter Eighteen of Matthew’s Gospel begins with the disciples asking Jesus, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And how did Jesus reply? He placed a child in their midst then said to them, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” (Matthew 18:4-5)

            How does one live in this community of faith? How does one live in God’s beloved community? Well, it is not by being arrogant, or selfish, or self-serving, pursuing your own passions and appetites. Rather, the beloved community is one in which everyone matters … even those who may seem insignificant in the secular world. As difficult as it is for us to imagine today, in the culture of that day, children were virtually insignificant. They had no value until they reached a certain age … when they actually become productive or useful. Otherwise, children were seen as property.

            As we can see, Jesus is continuing to make the point that the disciples are not to be tempted to think more highly of themselves. Humility and gentleness and mutual affection are the hallmarks of those who are members of this gathered community. He then went on to make the point that no one is indispensable within the beloved community. The parable of the sheep that wanders away is one that has become so familiar to us that it has lost its shock value. For Jesus’ first listeners, they very thought of a shepherd leaving the ninety-nine sheep to pursue the one that strayed was inconceivable. No shepherd worth his salt would be so reckless as to chase after that one stray sheep. But Jesus was saying to them that that one sheep may be the one that needs the “flock” the most. That one sheep cannot simply be written off as an acceptable loss.
Jesus was telling them that God will not give up on that one sheep that strayed and neither should they.

            Clearly, Jesus is under no illusion that living in peace and harmony will be easily accomplished. He knows the human heart and mind. He knows that conflicts will arise. He knows that there will be times when we harm one another. Jesus needed to prepare us for those times when humans acts as humans do.

            What are we to do when someone hurts us? What are we to do when we are feeling happy about the thought of that one sheep walking away? What do we do when hurtful … or sinful acts … occur within a community that is supposed to have love and affection and care as its foundation?
The goal is reconciliation. The goal is the restoration of relationships. The goal is peace and healing within the community.

            As we listen to this passage, it is not easy to hear. We may want to avoid it, just as I did when I was doing my worship planning. Jesus supplied us with the first Human Resources Handbook. He knows that no one likes conflict. He knows that we do not seek out confrontation. But Jesus also knows that sinful acts and hurtful behaviors can seriously erode trust and relationships in any community, Christian or otherwise. And he also knows that avoidance only delays the healing and reconciliation. He knows that not intentionally pursuing reconciliation and restoration can result in serious consequences; evil heaped upon evil; pain heaped upon pain. Jesus gives us a path toward healing.

            Admittedly, that path is not easy. It requires courage. It requires humility. And it asks us to be willing to make ourselves vulnerable. We have to be willing to pursue that one sheep. And we have to be the one that is willing to take that first step down the path toward healing and restoration. The truth is that it may not go well. The other party may have no interest in walking that path with us. They may believe that they did nothing wrong. They may believe that we were the ones that caused the harm or the hurt; that we were the ones that committed the sinful act, or the destructive behavior. All of that is possible, and that is why Jesus gave us all of the steps that we should follow.

            All of that is possible. But the other possibility … the ultimate goal … is that healing is achieved, grace and forgiveness are offered, and restoration is achieved. And when that happens there is joy. When that happens relationships can not only be restored but also deepened and strengthened.
We know that Christian communities are countercultural. Established in the strictly striated culture of the first century, Christian communities brought men and women, rich and poor, slave and free together in the same community. You may remember that Paul warned the community in Rome not to be haughty or arrogant, reminded them that they are to associate with the lowly. In his letter to the Philippians Paul wrote, “In humility, count others as better than yourselves.” Twenty or so years earlier, Jesus was imparting this lesson upon his disciples and all who would follow them.

            We know that Jesus calls us to follow a Way that will be difficult. He calls us to follow the higher path, a path that is based upon right relationship with God and with one another. He tells us that we have to be willing to be the bigger person, the gentler person.

            As I said a few moments ago, this path is not easy. When we have been hurt, perhaps grievously so, it can be nearly impossible to take that first step toward reconciliation. And to be clear, we are not excusing sinful acts and behaviors. This path of reconciliation and restoration includes recognition and repentance. In order for genuine healing to occur, the party … or parties … involved have to take responsibility for the harm that they inflicted.

            The beauty and the blessing in all of this is that we do not walk this path alone. Jesus is with us. Wherever two or three are gathered in his name, Jesus is there. His Word and his gentleness, his peace and his love are there. Jesus is not just with us when we worship, when we sing and pray. Jesus is with us in the pain and in the struggle. Jesus takes us by the hand and strengthens us and steadies us.

            Jesus offered this teaching with the gathered community of the faithful in mind, but the principles and the practice do certainly apply to our interactions and relationships in the wider world. Yes, we can hold our pain and our hurts. Yes, we can carry our anger and our bitterness. Yes, we can carry our desire to get even. But what does that get us? How does that contribute to our joy? How does that make for peace?

            And, yes, sometimes loving does mean letting go. Yes, there will be times when a relationship cannot be restored. After all, we are only human and sometimes the pain and the damage are too great. But we take comfort knowing that Jesus will be with us in that moment as well. Jesus will hold us as we mourn the loss.

            Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. And when conflict, or pain, or injury do occur, let us pursue peace and restoration in our relationships. For when we dwell in God, when we dwell in God’s beloved community, we dwell in love.

Amen.

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