Today we’ve got the concept of ‘our time & GOD’S TIME’ >
Couple of important notes about these two things, about ‘our time & GOD’S TIME’ > We don’t want to set up these two things as opposites, as if it’s either our time or God’s time, or our time versusGod’s time > they both coexist, they both occur together, that’s an important starting point for us as we think about this
We work in our time, but God works in both our time and HIS time. He has the bigger picture, the better understanding, all the angles that we cannot get ourselves.
We can also sub-in the word ‘perspective’ here, so it can be our perspective & GOD’S perspective where he sees things differently and more fully than we do. So to lead us into this space where we’re considering our time & GOD’S TIME, we’ve got our gospel reading today to take us there:
What’s going on here?
(Read Matthew 18:15-20)
Thinking about the process for conflict management or resolution that Jesus describes there – is that something you’ve ever used yourself?
Have you ever used that exact method of dealing with an issue, a problem or a conflict? Please come and chat to me after if you have, I would love to know how it went!
We’re probably more likely to use different methods to the one Jesus describes here, and the most likely reason for that is because this is hard. This is not easy, this is a really hard method to follow isn’t it.
There are many easier options than dealing with an issue head-on in this way, where difficult conversations are had, witnesses are involved and even the church serves here in working towards a resolution.
We might even say that as church we’re not very good at this method – how can we be good at it if we don’t use it! We would need to practice this method if we were going to be good at using it, maybe something there we can reflect on and ask for God’s help with.
Conflict management or resolution is a key part of this passage of course, dealing with sin, but there’s also a few other things that are really important for us to notice in what Jesus says here:
If we were going to summarise this passage we could say this:
Acknowledging that there are issues/concerns/problems is the first step, acknowledging what’s happened and that there might be a need for some sin management, some conflict management and/or resolution, reconciliation we might say too.
Very helpful to have trustworthy witnesses and the role of the church in support of managing the issue and working towards finding a resolution.
And then we get some other bits from Jesus, less about conflict management and more about heaven and earth and his presence with us:
He brings in heaven and earth to the conversation here, there’s a bit of a hint at differences or distinctions between ‘our time & GOD’S TIME’
And finally this passage signs off with some really beautiful, comforting words doesn’t it: ‘For where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them.’
Jesus brings in some heavy content early for us today, but finishes with the ultimate comfort of his presence with us – thank you Jesus for reminding us about that part!
How good to know Jesus is right there with us as we deal with issues, problems or concerns that come up in life between us and other people, whatever they may be.
Even more to place our worries, our concerns, challenges and struggles we might be facing at the moment, into his hands. Not holding or clinging onto them in our own hands, but releasing them into his hands where he can take care of them, he can give us his good gifts, we are not left alone to figure it out by ourselves.
So what are some ways that we can get caught up in what’s happening in ‘our time,’ as in our time on this earth, what’s happening for us and in our own lives?
There are a few ways we can go here > we can be focused on the past, we can be focused on the present, we can be focused on the future. I wonder which one you would say you lean towards! Past, present or future…
I came across some really interesting psychology recently, a thing called ‘time perspectives.’ This is a concept designed to help us better understand the ways we see ‘our time,’ the things we focus on, the things we are drawn to – and it can be very different for different people.
I want to share with you the five types of time perspectives we can operate in – I wonder if you identify with any of these, of you see signs of these at work in the people or the world around you:
Past-positive: You look back at your history with warmth, happy memories, and nostalgia.
Past-negative: You focus on old pains, regrets, or bad things that happened before.
Present-hedonistic: You live strictly for immediate fun, pleasure, and excitement without worrying about tomorrow.
Present-fatalistic: You feel your life is controlled by outside forces or fate, so planning feels useless.
Future-oriented: You delay instant rewards, set long-term goals, and plan hard for what comes next
[Source: Philip Zimbardo]
Interesting list of things there, maybe some of them are actually a bit hard to hear, a bit confronting, maybe you think this is all a load of rubbish!
Good to have those thoughts, good to wrestle with and question these things, especially as church doing that together with a tone of respect and compassion for different perspectives of other people.
If we give this research the benefit of the doubt and come at with a bit of curiosity, which one do you lean towards? Maybe you move between these different perspectives, depending on the day and the situation you’re in. Maybe you think about your own life in one way, and you think about your church life in another way.
We could also apply these perspectives to our own church community as a whole couldn’t we, which one of these would you say our church is in right now or has leant towards in your time here with us? Interesting, maybe some points for good discussion there.
All of this is about ‘our time,’ how we see things, what we focus on.
But what about God?
How does God see things, what does he focus on, what does he lead us to focus on as we do life together as church??
Remember from earlier how we work in ‘our time,’ but God works in both our time and HIS time. He sees it all, he knows it all.
In this tricky part about binding and loosing we hear today, which historically means what is forbidden and what is permitted, we can understand as Jesus connecting heaven’s work with our work here on earth.
After all the church is meant to be the expression of the kingdom of heaven here on earth in our time, God’s work in the world is revealed by the Spirit through his people. His known, loved, chosen people, aka you and me.
Jesus gives authority to the church – not to be taken lightly – to forgive sins, to build community, to be ambassadors and representatives of Christ in the places we find ourselves and with the people we find ourselves alongside.
And REALLY IMPORTANTLY, Jesus does not say ‘you have the authority now, leave me out of it!’ That is not what he says, we must remember that part whenever challenges or issues come up. Lean not on our own understanding, lean on his as we know.
What DOES he say? We’ve already heard it: ‘For where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them.’
He remains, he doesn’t go anywhere. He stays with us, he stays in the thick of the challenge with us helping us through, reminding us of his good gifts, his provisions, his life-giving presence with us all the way through this journey of ‘our time’ on this earth.
And we can never understand – in our time – the fullness of presence Jesus has with us and with all who know him > at last count that’s about 2.5 billion living people around the world right now, Jesus has a serious workload we could say! A pretty serious unifying thought there, the way God is God for you, for me, for every single person who knows him. Amazing.
So we cannot understand GOD’S TIME – all we have is the work he does in our time, and trusting in the work he is doing in HIS time. Putting it in his hands, trusting him with our lives, receiving the gifts he has to give us, sharing them in community. That’s the dynamic, the rhythm for us to follow along together. We need some help on that journey don’t we, let’s bring that to our God in prayer:
Lord we thank you for the time you have granted us, and the way you work in and through us as your known, loved and chosen people. Help us when we get stuck Lord, when we miss or forget that you are always at work in your time. Help us to trust in you, to go to you in times of need, to be led not by who we think we are but by who you are, what you have done for us and who you say we are. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
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Tom Kitson 