It isn’t popular these days to talk about religion in general conversation. If the subject arises, however, almost certainly someone will say, “You know, I admire Jesus. I think he was a great teacher and a great religious leader. But I just don’t like the church. I don’t like institutional religion. I think Jesus is great, but not the church.”

            And sometimes the person will add, perhaps with a smile, “If I can ever find a perfect church, I’ll join it.”

The scripture lesson

            Today’s scripture reading tells us something of what Jesus himself thought about the church, and it tells us one of the secrets for having a perfect church. But hold tight, because this isn’t an easy scripture. In fact, it is one of the more difficult ones. A preacher might be glad, if possible, to avoid it.

            Let me remind you of the verses we’ve just heard. Jesus describes a church where one member has sinned against another. Jesus doesn’t identify the sin. It could have been gossip or slander, by which perhaps someone’s reputation had been hurt. Or perhaps cheating in a business dealing. Or perhaps it was nothing more than a misunderstanding between the two. Whatever the issue, the church member is to ask another member or two to go with him as he talks with the person that he thinks has done him wrong. If the member rejects the discussion, the offended person is instructed to tell the story to the whole church. If the offender still refuses to repent, the church is to treat that person as an outsider, as if he or she had been cast out of the membership.

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