Sunday 6th September 2026 - The Feast of Creation in Christ: Homily on Matthew 18:15–20 (Trinity14) Relationships Matter
Relationships are important to God. The very fact that you are here in this building to worship God this morning means you already know this to some degree. But God doesn’t only care about our relationship with Jesus — God cares deeply about our relationships with each other. Because God cares so much about our relationships, Jesus teaches in today’s scripture passage that there are certain steps we should take when a brother or sister sins against us.
The words of Jesus in Matthew 18 are not simply a godly method of conflict resolution. They are a treasure box full of gold nuggets of wisdom about how we should relate to one another as the people of God. In fact, each verse of this passage is a gold nugget of relational goodness.
A good way to mine the gold out of this passage is to start at the end with verse 20 and work backwards. The last three verses can be confusing and understanding them is key to understanding exactly what Jesus is telling us.
Working Backwards from Matthew 18:20
Verse 20 — Christ’s Presence in Reconciliation
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
This is one of the most comforting promises Jesus gives His people — and one of the most misunderstood. Jesus is not simply saying that He turns up when a few Christians happen to be in the same room. He is speaking specifically about the hard work of reconciliation.
He is saying: When you do the difficult, vulnerable, sometimes painful work of repairing relationships, I am with you. I stand in the middle of that conversation. I bless that effort. I honour that courage.
Gold nugget one: Christ is present in the work of reconciliation. Not just in worship, not just in prayer, but in the honest conversations we would often rather avoid.
Verse 19 — Agreement After Conflict
“If two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.”
Again, this is not a blank cheque for prayer. Jesus is speaking about agreement after conflict. When two people who were once divided come to a place of unity — when forgiveness is offered, when truth is spoken in love, when understanding is reached — their prayers carry a particular weight. Their unity becomes a channel through which God delights to work.
Gold nugget two: Reconciliation strengthens our prayers. Unity is not just pleasant; it is powerful.
Verse 18 — Binding and Loosing
“Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
“Binding” and “loosing” are rabbinic terms referring to decisions about how the community should live faithfully. Jesus is saying that when the Church handles conflict with grace, truth, and patience, heaven ratifies that work. God honours the decisions made in a spirit of reconciliation.
Gold nugget three: How we handle conflict shapes the spiritual reality of our community. Our choices about forgiveness, truth-telling, and restoration echo in heaven.
Now We Can Move to the Beginning!
Once we understand these three verses, the earlier part of the passage becomes much clearer. Jesus is not giving us a bureaucratic procedure. He is giving us a relational pathway — a way of actually dealing properly with hurt in a way that protects dignity, honours truth, and seeks restoration rather than punishment.
Every step is soaked in grace. Every step is aimed at reconciliation. Every step reflects the heart of God.
The Heart of the Passage is this…
When a brother or sister sins against us, Jesus does not say:
Instead, He says: Go to them. Speak. Listen. Seek peace. Do the work.
Because relationships matter to God. Because unity matters to God. Because the Church is meant to be a community where reconciliation is not rare, but normal — not exceptional, but expected.
And Jesus promises: When you do this work, I am there. Not watching from a distance. Not judging from the sidelines. But standing in the middle of the conversation, blessing the courage it takes to repair what is broken.
The Feast of Creation in Christ
And if reconciliation is at the heart of Christian life, then it must also shape how we relate to the wider world — including the creation God has entrusted to us.
To celebrate Christ’s presence among us is also to honour Christ’s presence in creation. The Feast of Creation in Christ reminds us that our relationships extend beyond the human community. We are called to live in reconciled relationship with the earth itself — with the soil, the air, the waters, the creatures, the places entrusted to our care.
So why not broaden the horizon, and deepen your relationship with creation by getting involved with any (or all) of our Eco-Church initiatives? Or perhaps join the biodiversity project in the graveyard and grounds?
These are not side-projects. They are expressions of the Gospel — practical ways of living out reconciliation with God, with one another, and with the world God made.
There are many opportunities to take this morning’s Gospel seriously. And Christ promises to be with us in every step we take.
Amen.
Fr. Mike.