I guess Jesus really believed in the importance of community, because throughout the entire eighteenth chapter of Matthew's gospel, community is the perpetual theme. Speaking to his disciples, he let them know that their faith is not a private matter, that it is not something they can go off by themselves and enjoy all alone under the shade of some tree. He wanted them to know that their life in Christ is a community affair. Their life in Christ does remarkable things when two or three of them are gathered together in his name.

He let them know that they needed to engage each other like brothers and sisters need to engage each other, to remind themselves that they belong to one family. When families or communities work well together, they become a means through which the fruits of the kingdom are truly recognizable. When families do not work well together, there can be episodes of striking out against each other in hurtful ways. When such occasions present themselves, constructive and loving communication has to be pursued, hoping that such communication will again permit that family to be a manifestation of how God wants us to share, to work together, and to care for one another.

This is exactly what Jesus is talking about in this morning's gospel. In the Christian family, in the Christian community, when your brother or sister sins against you, you must go and have conversation with him or her. And if that doesn't work, you don't stop there. You must keep going back, if necessary, taking other people with you, doing every thing in your power to get your brother or sister back in communion with you.

There are, I think, two curious things about this advice that Jesus gives. First, he puts the burden on the person who has been offended. This seems strange at first, until you take note of how easy it is for us to hurt another person and not even know we have done it unless we are told. Consider how easy it is for us to make what we think is an innocent remark in conversation that in reality is a cutting or hurtful statement to one or more of our listeners.

When I was chaplain at Greer School, back in the seventies, I lived for 10 years just outside the village of Millbrook. There were, and still are many very wealthy people living in Millbrook. On a number of occasions, I was invited to some of those wealthy parties; and one of the things this poor guy found fascinating was that the food came up on a dumbwaiter from the kitchen to the upstairs maids. It was then brought to us at the table. At one of those parties before dinner, I was in conversation with perhaps a quintet of people and we were all sipping martinis. One of the ladies had been asked where she lived. She responded, "Hopewell, New York." I had never heard of a Hopewell, New York. "But," I blurted out, "Do you mean Hopewell Junction?" There was silence. I later learned that to everyone else in the group Hopewell Junction sounded rather vulgar and the young lady wanted to give the impression that she came from a more sophisticated part of the world, not a place with a name that had a blue collar sound to it. How did I know? I was just a kid who grew up in a very poor place called the South Bronx. And I didn't realize at the time that I had caused her so much pain and embarrassment. A little later in the evening she came over to me, and it appeared that she had had a few more martinis, and let me know, with more than just a touch of anger, how she felt about my comment. I felt like two cents, and immediately, I profoundly apologized. Fortunately, I was able to get a bit of a smile from her.

When we are sinned against, or when someone hurts us or offends us, Jesus wants us to go to that person and let him or her know what he or she has done. I must confess, I really don't think the young lady at the party was thinking biblically when she confronted me; she clearly didn't use biblical words on me, nor, to be honest with you, she didn't use any words I care to repeat in the pulpit. But I do think I have given you a contemporary example of what is being asked of us in this morning's gospel. And I do know from that point on, this man has been very careful not to offend other people, especially at dinner parties where martinis are flowing.

The second curious thing is that Jesus seems truly interested in getting people to listen to each other. If a member of family, a member of community is unable to listen, if even in the presence of other people the doors used for communication stay firmly shut, we are not to go through our lives pretending that nothing has happened. We are to recognize that the family is not whole, and the attempt for reconciliation, the attempt for healing must continue.

Part of my summer reading has been an Edward Rutherfurd novel entitled, New York. Salvatore Caruso, a brick layer living in "Little Italy, falls in love with a lovely young woman from Long Island. He courts her, meets her family and introduces her to other members of his family, including his younger brother, Angelo, with whom he lives. The day he asks her to marry him, she confesses that she is not in love with him, but with Angelo. Oh boy! Salvatore immediately feels estranged from his younger brother, add to that to some degree he no longer feels part of the family as they spend time preparing for the wedding between Angelo and Teresa. Uncle Luigi tries to talk to Salvatore, as does his little brother. He even refuses Angelo's invitation to be the best man at the wedding. However, he grudgingly elects to attend the nuptial event. When he sees his brother on the wedding day, he is immediately overwhelmed by the love that he has felt for decades for his little brother, and he holds him and tells him how very proud he is of him. The anger and jealousy dissolve; and on that day, not only were Angelo and Teresa made one, but the Caruso family was also again made one.

Jesus is telling us in this gospel that we need each other. Through the eighteenth chapter of Matthew, especially the verses that make up this morning's gospel, Jesus underscores the importance of Christian community. Speaking to his disciples, speaking to us, he lets us know that our faith is not a private matter. We were not created to isolate ourselves from each other. .

I would remind you also, when families, when communities work well together, we become the primary vehicle through which the advent of the kingdom of God is manifested in this world. Let us join our hands, our intellects our energies, and our hearts together as one big family, manifesting the hope, the joy, and truly manifesting the fruits of the kingdom of God.