September 13, 2026 "God's Way: (re)connecting"

16th Sunday after Pentecost

Genesis 50:15-21

Psalm 103:1-13

Romans 14:1-12

Matthew 18:21-35

Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ,

grace and peace to you from the one whose way is mercy. Amen

This year we are paying special attention to God’s Way,

 how God does things,

we’re paying attention to this

because as people of faith

 we want to join in with what God is doing.

This month, through our scriptures

 we see that God’s way is one of connection and reconnection,

that God calls us into community

even as God knows that life in community can be difficult

especially given the wide variety of people and opinions

present when any number of people gather,

variety which can and will lead to conflict and broken relationships.

But God also knows that it doesn’t have to be this way,

that there is a way for the rich variety that God created

 to live together in harmony, God’s way.

When God set aside the people of Israel to be the people of God

 who were to show God’s way to the world,

 God gave them the gift of the law

To teach them how to live with one another in community

But with the people took the law

and focused on the small details

rather than the larger point

giving rise to legalism and judgment

- legalism being the practice of trying to determine

 just how close to the line we can get without going over it,

and judgment determining when others have crossed the line

and what to do about it

often some sort of exclusionary punishment

all of which creates further separation

getting farther away from God’s intention

of a whole community living in harmony with one another.

And to be clear, we all do this, it’s not just about the Israelites

We all focus on the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law.

They way Jesus teaches is a return to the spirit of the law

Which is why Jesus’ teachings on the law seem to get more extreme.

“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘you shall not murder,’ and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment…”(Matt. 5:21-22)

what Jesus is doing is going to the root,

 the cause of breaks in relationship

because Jesus came not just for rules but for a way of life.

When Jesus begins his ministry

he does so by proclaiming “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

 a proclamation he enacts through healing all those who are sick,

Jesus has come to bring healing and reconciliation

Not just for a moment but as a way of life.

Now that doesn’t mean Jesus is a soft touch

when it comes to dealing with conflicts-

 we saw last week Jesus outline a process

for addressing such conflicts in community,

go to that person alone, then bring two or three people, then take it to the whole community-

 but mercy is always part of the approach

because the end goal is reconnection, reconciliation.

The passage on dealing with conflict in a community

is surrounded by parables of mercy-

before it is the shepherd that leaves the 99 sheep to go look for the 1 lost sheep.

 After it is our gospel for today

 the parable of the unforgiving servant,

 which takes the teaching on mercy a step further

 showing God’s expectation that those who receive mercy

 offer it to others in turn,

 that it be a way of life.

Jesus tells this parable

in response to Peter’s question about how many times he needs to forgive,

 as much as 7 times?

 No Jesus says,

that’s still the legalism speaking

what I’m teaching is a way of life,

a continual returning to forgiveness

 until it is a lived reality,

 so not seven times but seventy-seven times

 or in other words it is the work of a lifetime.

We get to see the fruit of a lifetime of forgiveness in our first reading for today

 as Joseph forgives his brothers

and even promises to care for them.

Remember these are the brothers

who many years before,

jealous of their favored brother,

faked his death and sold him into slavery.

That’s quite a bit to forgive

but enough time has passed, years and years,

 that God has had time to work through the actions of the brothers

 and while the intervening years were not all sunshine and roses

 God was with Joseph the whole time

preserving and even prospering him,

showing Joseph great mercy along the way

such that now when his brothers approach

him he can fully and honestly forgive them,

the fullness of that seen in his promise to provide for their future lives.

God showed Joseph mercy

 and Joseph got to the point, the work of a lifetime,

where he could show mercy in return.

Mercy that led to the survival of a people.

 Mercy begets mercy,

this is how Jesus brings the kingdom of heaven near

and Jesus has called us all to participate in the proclamation and growth

 of the kingdom of God on earth as in heaven

not as an exercise of checking off boxes

-okay I forgave that person seven times now on to the next thing-

or even a life of judgment

-well that person isn’t doing it right that’s going to get in the way of the kingdom-

But to create a whole way of life

a life that is lived toward God.

That’s what Paul is telling the community in Rome.

 Yes there are going to be differences within the community,

 judging those differences will only further divide things,

instead focus on your own convictions

 let others live theirs

because God is the only judge,

your job, our job is to live focused on God’s way,

“For we do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”

And when we live to the Lord

God’s kingdom will grow

 as those who have been shown mercy show others mercy

 and on and on until showing mercy isn’t something we do

 it is who we are,

 it is a way of life,

 God’s way,

God’s way lived out in the world,

 God’s work our hands,

working together building a future, repairing the world.

the kingdom of God on earth as in heaven. Amen