On Christ Consciousness in Relationship
September 6, 2026
Rev. Tracey May
Psalm 119: 33-37
Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, and I will observe it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. Turn my heart to your decrees, and not to selfish gain. Turn my eyes from looking at vanities; give me life in your ways.
Matthew 18: 15-20
“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, 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 the member 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.”
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Today’s sermon is titled On Christ Consciousness in Relationship.
Friends, I am grateful to be returning to this work with you after weeks away. I was surprised how much I thought about our church community over the past month; I raised many prayers for us and for the work we are engaged in as individuals and as a collective. On my travels throughout New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine, I passed by so many churches, many of them Congregationalist, like our own. We are part of a lineage that is clearly traced to the Puritans and the Pilgrims that came to this continent seeking religious freedom. The difference between Puritans and Pilgrims is revealed in their names. The Puritans sought to purify the Church of England without abandoning it; the Pilgrims were separatists who were seeking to establish a new model of church governance, or church polity, where the decision making power was moved from the Bishop to the congregation. The first congregational church was established in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620. The early settlers soon realized that this new polity would only succeed if the clergy were well-educated. Harvard was founded in 1636 as a Divinity School for congregationalist preachers and by the turn of the century, another Divinity School was needed so, to the west, Yale was founded in 1701. The Congregationalist movement is distinctly American and the key to its success is the necessity of keeping the Christ consciousness central in relationship. Without a religious hierarchy, and as Pilgrims and Puritans discovered the many challenges and responsibilities of self-governance, quality education of their clergy and their commitment to a Christ-centered life were absolutely essential. We should be proud that the Congregationalist movement informed and supported the formation of the young Republic as a bedrock for democratic ideals to grow and flourish.
For self-governance in church and in state, there must be tolerance for dissent, and there must be continual refinement of processes and procedures to further the common good. This requires working together. Working together successfully requires two things, a sincere affinity for the work at hand and some degree of vulnerability so there can be room for the ideas of others and, especially, room for the Christ consciousness to exist within the working relationship.
A Friend, who is not currently part of a faith community asked me the following question on my first day back at work this week. She said, “You would think church would be the last place where people would have conflict and hurt feelings and yet it seems to run deeper than in most places; why is that?” The answer that occurred to me first is that church is a place where people deeply care, church is a place of learning where vulnerability is encouraged and even required, really, if one is to grow spiritually, church is a place people support through a contribution of their time, attention, and financial resources so they are invested on multiple levels, and, lastly, church is a place based on the teachings of care for one another and that care requires a practice of forgiveness. Forgiveness is really difficult work.
Jesus offers us some sound advice in our scriptures today when we find ourselves in conflict. This passage is commonly referred to as “The Rule of Christ.” On the surface, this passage appears to be a kind of template for conflict resolution, an outlined approach for how to address grievances. This passage comes in the middle of a chapter that is full of good advice on right living. Jesus begins this discourse by speaking first about children and how we must open our hearts as children so easily do. He warns of placing stumbling blocks for others and reminds us that we are to be strict with ourselves so as not to sin against another. Then Jesus offers consolation in the parable of the lost sheep, assuring us that even if we lose our way, our welfare is of more concern than that of the 99 who did not stray.
Following the parable of the lost sheep, we find our scriptures for today where Jesus instructs his followers about what to do when one person in the community sins against another. Here Jesus is drawing from his rich Jewish tradition of the laws of sanctification known as the Mishnah. The steps are clear but there are problems with the translation. For one, Jesus would not have been speaking about “members of the church” because the church did not yet exist in the time of Jesus. The book of Matthew was written in Greek in the year 85 CE. Instead of “member of the church” the original Greek used the word adelphos, translated as brother or sister. A more accurate translation would be as follows: “If a brother or sister sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If they listen to you, 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 they refuse to listen, tell it to the church…” Here the Greek word for church is ekklesia, translated as those who have been called out from the world and to Christ; this is also known as the beloved community, of which we are all a part.
Jesus clearly advises us to not be quick to pass judgment, but rather to seek to make amends and to try more than once. We will hear more about this next week when we look at the passage of scripture that follows.
Our scripture passage from this week is not just a template for reconciliation. If we look more deeply at what Jesus is describing, the intention behind the process is described best in the words of biblical scholar Dale Andrews; he proposes that what Jesus is holding up for us is “the ethos of care for the other.” The ethos of care for “the other” is, in this case, the care for the offender, care for the one who has wronged another.
I was unsure about the meaning of ethos. Ethos is “the characteristic spirit of a culture, era, or community as manifested in its beliefs and aspirations.” Jesus is instructing his followers to remember what we are all about. What is the characteristic spirit of our community? Does it accurately reflect our beliefs and our hopes for the future? These questions can be answered by how we treat one another, how we forgive or how we withhold forgiveness, and how much effort we put into making amends. We are to take great care, Jesus says, because how we resolve conflict is a clear reflection of who we are and of whom we follow.
Our passage today comes to a close with the familiar phrase, “wherever two or more are gathered in my name, I am among them.” I love these words. Again, Jesus draws on the Jewish Mishnah to articulate the concept of divine presence whenever two or more are gathered around the scriptures. The “glory of the divine presence” is summed up in one word in the Jewish tradition. The glory of the divine presence is Shekinah, with a capital S.*
In closing, I can not imagine what could be more important than our commitment, as followers of Christ, to make room for the presence of the Christ consciousness in all our relationships, especially in those that are strained or broken. The same principles apply as we address the strain and brokenness in our culture in America in the year 2026. Jesus reminds us to take it one step at a time, and remember to make room for the divine presence, the Shekinah, within us and among us, always, forever and ever. Amen.
*https://www.sefaria.org/English_Explanation_of_Pirkei_Avot.3.2.3?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en
Pastoral Prayer
In this stillness, we lift our prayers to a place beyond us, where the unfathomable divine workings of God are all that are. May peace replace anxiety, may love replace fear, and may assurance replace uncertainty in all we are facing in our lives. Help us, Holy Spirit, to look for the best in ourselves and in one another and yet foster in us a spirit of forgiveness, tolerance and understanding. Please be with those of us in need, those enduring illness and those in recovery. Guide us with the light of your loving presence, we pray in the name of Jesus, who gave us this prayer so long ago….Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not to temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever and ever. Amen.
Benediction
I leave you with these words of prayer written by Bishop Joseph Butler in 1657:
“Help us to improve to Perfection, till all partial affection be lost in that entire, universal one…
and Thou, O God, shalt be all in all.” Amen.